Australia - WHV

Miss.Sian-Marie

Sorry if this is in the wrong section.

Basically I've just been granted my working holiday visa to go to Australia for 12 months. I'll be staying with my friend for a while in Noosa but then looking to get my own place. I'm aiming to go in July of this year and just wondered if someone would be able to answer some questions for me....

- Flights - Cheapest, Quickest etc? Went to the travel agents and there are so many places I can travel via just don't know which is the best. Also if anyone could shed some light on open ended flights it would be much appreciated.

- Jobs - When I get out there I'll be having a week to get over the jet lag/culture shock etc. Is there anyway I can apply for jobs now or will I have to wait until I am out there to do so? And also where is the best place to look?

- Accomodation - One of my really good friends has been out there for about 6 months, got a house with his friend and they have a spare room so I'll be staying with him for a while to get myself on my feet, job sorted etc. As with the jobs really where's the best place to look? Cheapest way to rent a flat/house?

These are the main things I'm keen to know about for now but if anyone would like to add any extra tips/advise etc it would be greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks,

Sian-Marie

than4

Flights - All airlines will stop at least once and take about 24hrs to fly to Australia. Your choices realy depend on where you want to fly from (Emirates fly from many UK cities whilst many other carriers only go from Heathrow) and if you want to stop. If you don't want to stop, then price is probably your only issue. However, saying that Singapore airport is wonderful and that would be my first choice for a stopover. When are you going? Its cheaper to fly now/soon in the Australian winter than in summer.

I think with most flights you have to book a return date - this can be up to 11 months in advance, and then you can probably change the date later. STA or another travel agent can probably help you with this.

Jobs - depends on what work you think you would like to do and the restrictions with your holiday visa. If you are only intending to do casual or temp work then I would wait until you get there and go through an agency - they will want to interview you in person. If you are allowed to do a more "professional" job then I would start applying and see what happens.

Accom - depends on what city you will be living/staying in. Staying with a friend is a good place to start as they will be able to help you with local amenities, travel etc. You will probably want or need to share a house due to financial reasons. You can try looking on the AUstralian gumtree sites or on realestate.com.au to get an idea of costs. For example in Melbourne I would estimate you would be looking at at least $100 per week in rent plus food and bills.

Hope that helps, good luck!

whitfreak

Just a word of warning, I was out there a couple of months ago and lot of people were having issues finding work and there seems to be a growing campaign to prefer Ozzies rather than people on a working holiday visa. (and by issues I mean they'd been there 6 weeks hadnt found anything so were going home)

I wasnt there on a working visa (just site seeing), but if you have a particular job in mind then you should be able to do some research atleast now. If you were thinking farm-stays and that type of thing then you should be able to apply now, or atleast before you go.

abfmdf

Flights
There are 3 or 4 main stop over points in going to Australia most of them via Asia (Hong Kong ( with Cathy Pacific, Air New Zealand) , Singapore (with BA, Qantas, Singapore airlines), Kula Lumpar ( with Malaysia airways) which are all very good stop overs. The other two main routes are via Dubai (Emirates) or via Los Angeles (Continental/ Air New Zealand).

It is worth stopping overnight when travelling to Australia it helps massively to prevent jet lag which can stuff up your routine for a week. Singapore Airlines are currently doing a stop over deal for a £1 a night (which is great value as they are really nice hotels)

Qantas often also do deals that include internal flights (which is worth checking out if you intend to travel alot) (virgin blue are the budget airline down there btw)

If you dont mind the discomfort probably the cheapest way to get there is to airasia http://www.airasia.com/site/au/en/home.jsp they do cheap flights from London to Kula lumpar and then on to the Gold coast (not that far from Noosa) but like ryan air you would have to book the individual flights.

You do not need an open ended ticket btw to enter Australia on back packers visa and might be better off simply booking two singles.

Jobs
The problem trying to get a job through temp agencies in Australia is that the agents get commission for getting people off the equivalent of JSA/income support, as you cant claim the these they get no commission !! Therefore in my experience you have very little luck down this route.

The second problem is that under the terms of the back packers visa you are only allowed to work in any one job for 3 months (although many do, with cash in hand)

The Job centre in Australia actually have a very good system for back packers, with jobs aimed especially at them. (they have computers like they do here and they have what is called back packers trails) which are routes back packers like to take and jobs which are available in each of those places. These jobs are not easy (fruit picking and bar work) but it is all part of the experience. Many of the hostels are also very good at organising work and have agreements with some of the farmers.

Accommodation
Noosa, Bundaberg and north Queensland the accommodation is generally pretty cheap, but if you are in the major cities (Brisbane, Sydney etc) the rent can be as much as it is in the UK !! I generally found the local papers/shop windows as opposed to the net is were best deals are.
Rememebr save your self alot of time and use google street view (most of australia is mapped) so you can figure out if you want to live there before you spend half the day on a bus

Good luck planning