Expert: Frank Denison - 1/25/2008

Question
QUESTION: hi my name is josh potts and i am looking to movie to australia and become a
citizen. i however need a lot of help. I was hoping you could help with some
questions i have about the complexity of this move. Like for instance how
does the college system work down there? like cost, housing, and
qualifications. I am hoping to live there and go to college. i hope you we can
stay in touch and thank you for offering to help.

From a hopefully soon to be aussie
josh potts

ANSWER: G'day Josh,
         Happy to offer what ever advice I can. Your question is complex, but I will try to help.

The college system is mostly set up for students to enter after they have finished high school. Your ranking after you finish school determines what type of course you can apply for, and to a lesser extent, which college you can attend. There is however a chance to attend by completing an evaluation conducted by the college, and then if your grades are good enough, you can attend the course you want.

The payment for college (we call it Uni) is a loan from the government. This loan is given interest free, and you do not have to pay it back until after you finish your degree. Once you start work, and you are earning a certian amount, the government then automatically starts deducting repayments from your salary. If you only worked part time earning say $10,000, you would not have any deductions until you started earning at least $30,000. I doubt this payment system would apply to you unless you became an Australian citizen. Housing cost is like every city in the world, the closer you are to the city centre, the more expensive it is. A house in an inner city suburb would cost at least $500,000, but a house in the suburbs, would be available at $350,000. Untits and town houses would be available from $200,000 though.

Some more info on moving to Australia is available at http://www.australia.gov.au/
http://www.australia.gov.au/Immigration

Information about study in Australia is available at
http://www.australia.gov.au/Studying_in_Australia

Good luck. Contact me again if required.

Regards,
Frank

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: so when you apply for college or Uni, i would have to take what we call here a
placement test and that will determine wether or not i can go to that school?
another question i have is what the cost of an apartment or rental property is
per a month. i have lived in an apartment here for a while and i am paying
about   600 dollars a month for a two bedroom in the city of minneapolis. is
that close to what they have there.

thank you so much
-josh-

Answer
G'day again Josh,
         Yes, you are correct, you will have to do a placement test to see if you can attend that Uni.

The rental cost of a 2 bedroom apartment, right in the heart of the city would be, depending on quality and location, $400 to $700 a WEEK. Yes that is the weekly rental. You would get a 2 bedroom apartment in the suburbs for a similar cost to what you are paying now. Inner city rental is very expensive.

Regards,
Frank