• When you land, we'll help you find work with one of our clients. Your consultant will talk you through the roles available for your trade before you fly.
• It's free for you. Employers pay our fees, so you never pay us a cent.
• How quickly you start depends on your trade, your tickets and the roles available. Your consultant will tell you what's realistic, along with real pay rates for your trade and city.
• Have these ready: an up-to-date CV, two work references, copies of your licences and tickets, and a current passport.
• We value our workers. Work well for us and you'll have a job with us for as long as we can give you one.
• If a role doesn't work out, talk to your consultant straight away. We'll look at other roles with you.

• Your NZ passport is all you need. You're granted a Special Category Visa at the airport, with no application and no fee.
• It lets you live and work in Australia for as long as you stay. A new one is granted each time you arrive.
• After four years living here, you can apply directly for Australian citizenship.
• Not an NZ citizen? NZ permanent residents need a different visa, so talk to your consultant first.

Official source: Home Affairs: New Zealand citizens

Electricians

• Victoria: your NZ electrical registration is recognised, but you’ll need a Victorian licence before you start work. Apply online through Energy Safe Victoria with a copy of the front and back of your current NZ practising licence. You can do this from NZ, so start it before you fly. Energy Safe Victoria: interstate and NZ electrical workers
• Queensland: with a current NZ electrician practising licence, you can work as an employed electrician without getting a Queensland licence. You only need one to run your own business. Business Queensland: electrical licences for interstate and NZ applicants
• South Australia: apply for a licence through Consumer and Business Services under mutual recognition, with a copy of your current NZ licence. SA Government: interstate and overseas licences

Plumbers

• Victoria: NZ plumbers can apply for a Victorian registration or licence through the Building and Plumbing Commission under mutual recognition. It isn’t automatic. You’ll need the application form, a certified copy of your NZ registration, a passport photo and ID. For a licence, you’ll also need proof of public liability insurance. Applications are made by email, so you can apply from NZ. The Commission checks your details with the NZ board and may add conditions. Once approved, your card arrives in 3 to 4 weeks, so it’s worth starting early. Building and Plumbing Commission: mutual recognition for plumbers
• Queensland: apply to the QBCC under mutual recognition. They can only issue a licence equivalent to your NZ one, and any NZ conditions carry over. Keep your NZ registration active until you’re approved. QBCC: interstate or overseas applicants
• South Australia: apply through Consumer and Business Services under mutual recognition. SA Government: interstate and overseas licences

Tickets you’ll get once you land

• White Card: you’ll need one for any construction site, and your Site Safe passport doesn’t carry over. In Victoria the course has to be done face-to-face once you arrive (online courses aren’t accepted). It usually takes a day, and your statement of attainment lets you start work while the card is posted out. WorkSafe Victoria: construction induction (White Card)
• High risk work licences (forklift, EWP, dogging, rigging, crane): these are issued in Australia after an Australian assessment. Check with your consultant which ones your role needs. WorkSafe Victoria: high risk work licences

Your driver licence

• You can drive on your current NZ licence when you first arrive, then swap it for a local one. NZ licence holders can usually swap without sitting a driving test.
• Victoria: swap within 6 months. Drivers under 25 need to pass the tests. Before you leave NZ, order a Certificate of Particulars from NZTA, dated within the last 3 months, as VicRoads needs it. How to swap your NZ licence in Victoria
• Queensland: swap within 3 months. How to swap your NZ licence in Queensland
• South Australia: swap within 3 months. How to swap your NZ licence in South Australia

• Partners and kids who are NZ citizens get a Special Category Visa when they arrive too.
• Partners who aren't NZ citizens need their own visa. Check with Home Affairs before you book.
• Kids can enrol in local schools. Check enrolment rules with your state's education department before you arrive.

Official source: Home Affairs: NZ citizens and your family

• A current NZ passport. It's your visa, your ID and what you'll use to enrol in Medicare.
• Copies of your trade certificates, licences and tickets, plus two work references.
• Your NZ driver licence. Moving to Victoria? Also order a Certificate of Particulars from NZTA, dated within 3 months, to swap it for a Victorian licence.
• A written reference from your NZ landlord. It helps your first rental application here.

• NZ student loans are only interest-free while you're based in NZ. Tell Inland Revenue before you move.
• Your KiwiSaver stays yours. You can keep it, and later move Aussie super across to it if you head home.
• Keep your NZ bank account open for the first few months. It makes moving money and paying any NZ bills easier.
• Most Kiwis bring a few weeks of savings to cover rent and setting up until their first pay lands. Worth knowing: most Centrelink payments aren't available to NZ citizens who arrived after 2001.

Official source: Inland Revenue: Living overseas with a student loan

• Most Kiwis ship their tools over. Book the shipping before you leave NZ: your belongings need to be sent as part of your move to come in duty-free.
• Tools and gear you've owned and used for 12 months or more can usually come in without customs duty or GST. Keep receipts for anything newer, as it may be taxed.
• You'll need an Unaccompanied Personal Effects Statement (form B534) and a packing list. Most shipping companies or customs brokers lodge it for you.
• Everything shipped gets a biosecurity check. Clean all soil, mud and plant matter off your tools, boots and outdoor gear before they're packed, or you may have to pay for cleaning or treatment.
• Cars, utes and vehicle parts aren't covered and have their own import rules.
• Flying with a few hand tools or your work boots? Declare them at the airport. You won't be penalised for declaring something.

Official source: Australian Border Force: Unaccompanied personal effects

• Give notice on your rental and ask your landlord for a written reference before you go.
• Cancel or pause your NZ phone plan, power, internet and insurance.
• Set up mail redirection with NZ Post so nothing important goes missing.
• Selling your car is usually simpler than shipping it. Cars and utes aren't covered by the duty-free rules for belongings.

• Search for your properties via Real Estate.com https://www.realestate.com.au/
• Rental applications usually ask for ID, proof of income and references. Once you're working, a letter from your employer or your payslips count as proof of income.
• Bond is usually four weeks' rent and is held by the state, not the landlord.
• Most people book a short-term stay first, then inspect places in person once they've landed.
• Your consultant can tell you which suburbs are close to your site.

• Apply for a tax file number (TFN) online once you're here. It's free, takes about 20 minutes and arrives by post within 28 days.
• Give your TFN to your employer. Without one, tax comes out at the top rate.
• Your employer pays 12% of your wage into a super fund, on top of your pay. Choose your own fund or go with your employer's, and check your payslip shows it going in.
• Super is for retirement, so it's locked away until you're older.
• Australia's financial year runs 1 July to 30 June, not April to March like at home.
• Most people pay a 2% Medicare levy on top of income tax. It comes out of your pay automatically.

Official source: ATO: Apply for a TFN

• Kiwis living here can enrol in Medicare. You'll need your NZ passport and two documents showing you live here, like a lease and a bank statement.
• Medicare covers public hospital treatment and helps with the cost of seeing a GP. Many people add private health insurance for extras.
• Ambulances aren't covered by Medicare. Queensland residents are covered free by the state. In Victoria and South Australia, get ambulance cover through Ambulance Victoria, SA Ambulance Service or your health insurer.

Official source: Services Australia: Medicare for NZ citizens

• The emergency number is 000, not 111.
• Public transport cards: myki in Melbourne, go card in Brisbane, metroCARD in Adelaide.
• Time difference: Melbourne and Brisbane are 2 hours behind NZ, Adelaide 2.5. Queensland skips daylight saving, so Brisbane is 3 hours behind in summer.
• Grab an Australian prepaid SIM when you land. Most of the big carriers sell them at the airport.