Moving our Korean friends to Australia has been quite an experience. So much so I thought I would write about it to help others.
Heads up: When you land here, expect to fill out a forest full of forms and sign as many!!
To give some background, my friends have a successful business in Korea. They wanted their kids to go to school in Australia, experience a more relaxed lifestyle and to expand their business here also.
The first thing we explored in Korea was getting the right immigration lawyer. We discovered all immigration companies are not equal and the authorised ones are called Mara Agents. These agents are endorsed and recommeded by Australian Immigration.
Australia is in the midst of getting rid of the business visa 457. The question was, was there a Mara Agent in Seoul we could use who could possibly speak Korean and English or did we need to use one in Australia. We started with the only agent in Gangnam, Seoul who seemed to have the experience we required. We sent some emails and they were extremely slow in answering (first warning sign!). When he finally answered, he apologised for the lateness of his reply but his actions throughout our short relationship continued without any change. After a face to face visit which we paid for after the session, we found him to be "all over the place" with his explanations and we were none the wiser. After our visit he also tried to charge my friends for work they didn't authorise and which went against the conversation we had with him in Seoul. So we dumped him like a hot rock and looked at using someone in Australia. We are now using McInnes Wilson in Brisbane . They have a very good lawyer in Sharon An who speaks both Korean and English. She also has a great network of people. They specialise in people who are bringing businesses to Australia. (They also know of a way to get around loaning money in Australia as well... they are well worth the money!!)
To get the kids over first it was decided to get them a student visa and a guardian visa for the Dad. To do this you go to the International Student Agency in Seoul ($200 each application). They will source an invitation from the school you choose** and get the appropriate visas. Family history and birth certificates all needed to be translated officially. Visas are no longer visible in the passports, rather you are sent hard copy documents to use. (Get yourself a folder to put all the info including visas in one place - you'll use it many times).
**After much research and phone calls to a Korean Association already established in Cairns we managed to find what we were told were the best schools in Cairns for a 12 yo and a 7yo (Australian ages). They were Edgehill State School and Cairns State High (for the 12 year old the following year). The best thing about getting an invitation from a school is that you don't have to live in their zoned area. It was by chance we decided to pop into Edgehill school and introduce ourselves (and the boys) just before the school holidays started, when we discovered we had some enrolment forms to fill out before they could start. Whew! The 7yo went into Grade 1 and the 12 year old was Grade 6 the last grade for that school.
Edgehill State School put their international students into mainstream school and the kids are given two buddies and told us they are well supported. This actually is not the case. The EQI say that the kids should get specialised English training. This has not happened and as I am writing this we have gone to the school principal to complain and we were told this would be rectified this week. Its been 4 weeks now and so far nothing has changed. I don't quite understand why Edgehill has such a good name. The school itself is quite run down. If we could choose again, I think we would choose a private one like Trinity Anglican School in Kewarra Beach.
Dad took the kids to a local barber for a hair cut....WRONG!! What a disaster. I took them to a Japanese hair salon to fix the boys haircuts. I highly recommend Hair Salon Comachi, 2F
/34 Lake Street, (go up the stairs) Tel: 07 4051 8132. Trading hours are 9-6pm closed Sunday and public holidays. There is also another good Korean hair salon on the ground floor of the Orchid Centre, entry from Lake or Abbott Street.
The very first thing you should do when you land is get an Australian phone number. We used Optus but Telstra is just as good in fact Telstra has free WIFI in most places which is helpful. (Depends on who has the best deals at the time). Buy an Australian pre paid simcard (you can't choose a number like you can in Korea, but you do get a few to choose from). You choose the pre paid plan you want (the reason I say pre paid is that if you want to go with a plan you will require ID documentation that you won't have just yet). If you want to buy a phone (or a contract) you will need the following ID: 1. passport, 2. a bankcard 3. residential agreement.
The very first thing you should do when you land is get an Australian phone number. We used Optus but Telstra is just as good in fact Telstra has free WIFI in most places which is helpful. (Depends on who has the best deals at the time). Buy an Australian pre paid simcard (you can't choose a number like you can in Korea, but you do get a few to choose from). You choose the pre paid plan you want (the reason I say pre paid is that if you want to go with a plan you will require ID documentation that you won't have just yet). If you want to buy a phone (or a contract) you will need the following ID: 1. passport, 2. a bankcard 3. residential agreement.
After School Care and Learning English.
We managed to find an amazing lady in Genny Frazer through Family Childcare Cairns. As it was school holidays Genny took the boys for a full week then when school started she picked the boys up and took them to her home until 5pm Monday to Friday. She is truly amazing with kids and both love been there. Their English and manners have improved so much in one week and continue to do so. The cost is very reasonable at $7.50ph each child.
Mail
We managed to find an amazing lady in Genny Frazer through Family Childcare Cairns. As it was school holidays Genny took the boys for a full week then when school started she picked the boys up and took them to her home until 5pm Monday to Friday. She is truly amazing with kids and both love been there. Their English and manners have improved so much in one week and continue to do so. The cost is very reasonable at $7.50ph each child.
When you first arrive in Cairns get a Post Office box for all your mail. You will need to fill out 2 forms for this and you will need a passport or your drivers licence to open it up. We did this with Cairns Nth Post Office who were easy to deal with. The yearly cost is $129. They text you when something has arrived which is a great service.
Drivers Licence
Apply to get your Qld drivers licence as soon as possible this will help reduce the forms you have to fill in when you buy cars, phones etc. In our case, our client had an old NZ licence so it was reasonably easy. He just had to show a passport, lease agreement (further information about that in this blog) and a letter from the bank with his address on it to have it transferred to a Qld licence. No eye or driving tests. The cost is $175 for 5 years or $76 for one year.
Drivers Licence
Apply to get your Qld drivers licence as soon as possible this will help reduce the forms you have to fill in when you buy cars, phones etc. In our case, our client had an old NZ licence so it was reasonably easy. He just had to show a passport, lease agreement (further information about that in this blog) and a letter from the bank with his address on it to have it transferred to a Qld licence. No eye or driving tests. The cost is $175 for 5 years or $76 for one year.
Opening a Bank Account
Whilst in Korea we applied for a bank account with the Commonwealth Bank online. This means you can transfer money whilst in Korea to your Australian account. When you arrive in the country to get access to your account all you need is the letter they provided and your passport . The access card is waiting at the branch you nominated (Lake St if its Cairns). The process, of course, wasn't all smooth. The bank had to give my friend another Netbank client number as there is some sort of gliche in the system with accounts registered overseas and the Commbank app. Things you need to remember in your first visit to the bank... you need to organise the limit of the amount of money you can withdraw from your account in one day. If you are buying cars and property then $20k is probably a good figure. ATM limits are $2,000AUD a day, this cannot be increased. Make sure you have the ability on your card to scan and get cash out at stores. Most big stores will give you cash on your debit card when you purchase goods. We dealt with Sarah at the Lake Street branch. She is very knowledgeable. They also have 2 Koreans at the bank as well. Once you are done get a print out of your address on bank letterhead. It's handy for future ID. Also a very handy ID is a bank statement with your address on it (ask Sarah to help with this as its a drama to get one and may take a couple of days!). Allow plenty of time for the bank - the waiting time is not good, in fact I might even change banks down the line due to their slow service.
We started to look at properties to buy in Cairns, in Korea but found our calls and emails were ignored by agents.... so don't waste your energy. Unless they see you face to face they're not interested. There are many agents in Cairns and they will say anything to sell a place! There's even a guy who advertises himself as a buyers helper for $15k and doesn't answer emails or calls if you call from overseas so don't waste your time. If you want to view a place then book it one week before you leave.
What we found out about properties whilst looking.
1. As at July 2017 the property market for units in Cairns is flat it's been like that for the last 10 years. People are putting approx. $45k on what they paid and for the most part not getting it.
2. If a property has been on the market for over 2 months it may have had contracts fall over which increases the buyers negotiation power. It has also lost it selling momentum so you can offer less than what they are asking and probably get a yes.
3. Mould is a problem in Cairns so make sure all rooms have a fan. Ideally you want air conditioners in each room as well. A friend says she keeps the fans on all day and night and gets people in once a year to thoroughly dust her place during the hotter months to keep out the mould.
4. If the property you are looking at abuts to a park check it out at night. The local natives use these for parties/ drinking, and arguments - it can be noisy.
5. Edgehill, Aeroglen, Cairns North have loud plane noise check it out to see if you're ok with it before buying. A lot of people recommended Edgehill to us as a great place to buy, personally I don't rate it at all. There is a good part to Edgehill re houses and there is a not so good part near the school with overpriced houses, flooding problems and petty crime problems. Edgehill also gets the plane noise, so I have no idea why houses are more expensive there other than its near Edgehill School which I think is also overrated.
6. We were told to be careful buying in suburbs starting with 'M'. That being said we nearly bought our first place in Manunda, it was right on the perimeter abutting Cairns North. We checked out the area which was in a great location, quiet and had good neighbours. It was a ground floor apartment in a 3 story block which buffets the plane noise. We have also viewed rental properties in the "M" areas which are really nice and gated. I think the problem is certain streets rather than the actual suburbs. Information which you could get from your real estate agent. I think you need to put in thought about the type of place you buy in these areas and know where the problem areas are.
7. Be careful buying wooden houses. If the wood has not been treated it could or will have termite problems. A lot of them have louvers for windows which should be cleaned every few days to stop mould. These houses are lovely to look at but very high maintenance.
8. Flooding... be careful where you buy as some roads and properties are prone to flooding. You can check with the local council or watch out for the flood metre sticks on the roads. This means in heavy rains you may not be able to leave or return to your property for a few days. Some parts of Redlynch, "The Beaches" and Edgehill are an example of this. Also be careful of buying properties which have a creek. Check it out for flooding first.
9. If looking at units the body corp fees on average are around $4.5k per year. Also ask what's in the sinking fund. You want to know that is topped up or your body corp fees may suddenly increase. Make sure the property is of a good standard and looks well looked after.
10. If you are looking for a place to live, make sure you are aware of the zoning when buying units near the Esplanade. If they are holiday units you may not be able to live in them permanently. They may be zoned for 3 month holiday stays only. Also be careful you are not buying something in a holiday pool managed by people who have bought the management rights in complexes. You have no say in who goes into your apartment. Always speak to the complex managers if you want to know if a unit is ok or if it needs major work. A real estate agent tried to sell us a unit knowing the bathroom needed $10k of work done to it, but didn't tell us. We found this out through the management agent.
1. As at July 2017 the property market for units in Cairns is flat it's been like that for the last 10 years. People are putting approx. $45k on what they paid and for the most part not getting it.
2. If a property has been on the market for over 2 months it may have had contracts fall over which increases the buyers negotiation power. It has also lost it selling momentum so you can offer less than what they are asking and probably get a yes.
3. Mould is a problem in Cairns so make sure all rooms have a fan. Ideally you want air conditioners in each room as well. A friend says she keeps the fans on all day and night and gets people in once a year to thoroughly dust her place during the hotter months to keep out the mould.
4. If the property you are looking at abuts to a park check it out at night. The local natives use these for parties/ drinking, and arguments - it can be noisy.
5. Edgehill, Aeroglen, Cairns North have loud plane noise check it out to see if you're ok with it before buying. A lot of people recommended Edgehill to us as a great place to buy, personally I don't rate it at all. There is a good part to Edgehill re houses and there is a not so good part near the school with overpriced houses, flooding problems and petty crime problems. Edgehill also gets the plane noise, so I have no idea why houses are more expensive there other than its near Edgehill School which I think is also overrated.
6. We were told to be careful buying in suburbs starting with 'M'. That being said we nearly bought our first place in Manunda, it was right on the perimeter abutting Cairns North. We checked out the area which was in a great location, quiet and had good neighbours. It was a ground floor apartment in a 3 story block which buffets the plane noise. We have also viewed rental properties in the "M" areas which are really nice and gated. I think the problem is certain streets rather than the actual suburbs. Information which you could get from your real estate agent. I think you need to put in thought about the type of place you buy in these areas and know where the problem areas are.
7. Be careful buying wooden houses. If the wood has not been treated it could or will have termite problems. A lot of them have louvers for windows which should be cleaned every few days to stop mould. These houses are lovely to look at but very high maintenance.
8. Flooding... be careful where you buy as some roads and properties are prone to flooding. You can check with the local council or watch out for the flood metre sticks on the roads. This means in heavy rains you may not be able to leave or return to your property for a few days. Some parts of Redlynch, "The Beaches" and Edgehill are an example of this. Also be careful of buying properties which have a creek. Check it out for flooding first.
9. If looking at units the body corp fees on average are around $4.5k per year. Also ask what's in the sinking fund. You want to know that is topped up or your body corp fees may suddenly increase. Make sure the property is of a good standard and looks well looked after.
10. If you are looking for a place to live, make sure you are aware of the zoning when buying units near the Esplanade. If they are holiday units you may not be able to live in them permanently. They may be zoned for 3 month holiday stays only. Also be careful you are not buying something in a holiday pool managed by people who have bought the management rights in complexes. You have no say in who goes into your apartment. Always speak to the complex managers if you want to know if a unit is ok or if it needs major work. A real estate agent tried to sell us a unit knowing the bathroom needed $10k of work done to it, but didn't tell us. We found this out through the management agent.
Renting through an agent here is a nightmare. If you can find an Airbnb or short term accommodation for 3 months its easier. That being said.... we used 7 Airbnb's and each one, bar one, had its problems. (Make sure you check the Airbnb references and stay away from ones charging cash bonds on top of the Airbnb charges, the owners are a nightmare and don't give the bonds back when you leave). Airbnb's are generally of a poor standard in Cairns (and Australia in general - see my blog). If you want to rent and it's certainly the cheaper option but you need to be here on the ground to get a place. Renting cannot be done from overseas. Give yourself 4-6 weeks to find a rental and move in. You can book viewings a week prior to landing but you need to know your areas before you rent. This is what I have learnt.... . Suburbs like Cairns North has lots of apartments but try and get a ground or middle one to help drown out the noisy planes. Cairns Nth is a nice area apart from that. Stay away from places that back onto parks in this area as the "locals" sleep and drink in them and can be noisy.
Parts of Parramatta Park are ok and Freshwater and Stratford are good suburbs. Edgehill is an overpriced, overrated suburb and you have to be careful which part of Edgehill you choose, Brinsmead, Whitfield and parts of Redlynch, Manunda, Westcourt and Smithfield are ok. A lot of roads are subject to flooding around Redlynch, The Beaches, Edgehill and Freshwater and this is why you need to be on the ground to see the areas first.
Palm cove is the nicer of all the beaches and very upmarket. It's about a 30mins drive to the city. They go down in quality slowly from North to South.
The forms for rentals are the nightmare. Each person who intends to live in the apartment or house has to fill out a 4 page form for each place you want to apply for. Unfortunately the forms differ from agent to agent and so do the qualifying 100 points system. If you have several places to apply for with one agent then one application per person is ok. You will need your passport, visa, bank statement, proof of employment, previous addresses, any previous references. Offering to pay a bit more rent per week than they are asking, even $5 more, can secure the place over other applicants. There are a couple of ways to find a rental without going through an agent. The local newspaper on a Saturday morning may have some listed and a site called Gumtree. www.gumtree.com.au (be warned its a "clunky" site to use). Realestate.com.au and domain.com.au are the most popular sites used in Cairns.
Buying a House or an Apartment on a Guardian Visa
Make sure you check out as many places as you can first. That way you will get an idea on areas and prices. Its amazing what you can glean from the agents if you ask the right questions.
One of the things you need to watch when looking for an apartment is how it is zoned. It may be zoned holiday only which means you can only live in it for 3 months. If an apartment is in a managed complex (meaning someone has bought the management rights), after you have viewed the place with the agent, go back alone and speak to the manager. You might find out the real value of the unit you looked at or the manager might be able to show you a better apartment or let you know of any building defects. One place we visited with an agent we found out from the managing agent the unit was $30k more than ones she was selling and we weren't told about the bathroom which needed a $10k upgrade! We found a lot of people recommended buying in Edgehill. It's over-rated, over-priced and gets plane noise. There's a nice Edgehill area and a not so nice Edgehill area which is also prone to flooding, so be warned. Brinsmead or Whitfield nearby are far better options.
So You've Found The Place you want to buy
Put in an offer approx. $45k less than the asking price if its a unit. That's about what they paid for it. Remember the property market hasn't moved much in 10 years. When haggling go up very slowly and be prepared to walk away, Don't get emotional. A lot of places state "offers over $xxxx." You can still get them lower. One property we were looking at in Kuranda (house and land) they were asking $100k more than market value. Our agent found out this information for us. We thought the original price was cheap!! Do your research, you can usually Google the last price of the house by entering the address. Put your offer in writing to the agent.
Once your offer has been accepted you need to find yourself a good Conveyancing Lawyer and pay a deposit which is refundable under Queensland law.
We went to four places and also rang a lawyer recommended to our friend by someone in the local Korean community. We discounted the recommended lawyer as it was clear he was over charging the Koreans for their FIRB applications. The two that came up the best for us were The Conveyancing Shop - they were the most expensive but were very professional and up front with all the fees. We didn't use them on this occasion but will try them when we buy our next property to get a comparison. The other agency was Barb Jarmer and that's the one we chose. On the whole they've been good, but when we got the contract the agent had made a $100k error on the contract in favour of the seller! I rang the lawyer and asked if they had checked the contract before sending it to me. They said they had. I pointed out the error and they said that, that would have been noticed when they went through the contract with us. Attention to detail was a bit worrying for me from that time on. On the other hand we wanted a subject to finance put on the contract even though we had cash for the property (foreigners can't get loans until they've been here 2 years). Barbara came up with a good solution called "due dilligence" which allowed us to make sure we could get the money from Korea to Australia.
When we agreed on an offer we paid $10k which is held in a trust account by the managing agent. This is fully refundable in Qld law if the contract does not go through.
When buying a residential place on a guardian visa allow extra on top of your offer. As an example for a property which costs $300k allow $22k extra to buy it.
Here's a list of extra charges (based on a $299,500k property):
The standard FIRB application is $5500. By the way some lawyers here will charge you for applying to the FIRB. Do it yourself online. It's easy and just takes a little time. Charging for doing the FIRB form is just a plain ripoff! One thing to remember though make sure you get ALL the receipt details off the computer (not just the reference number) as its common for the FIRB to send you a message saying they haven't received your payment. I sent them THEIR reference number and it wasn't enough to locate our payment, luckily for me I had copied the other details.
Here's a list of extra charges (based on a $299,500k property):
- Home Concession: $2995
- Transfer Duty: $8907.50 (Paid to the Office of State Revenue and is calculated on the price of the property to be paid 30 days from when the contract becomes unconditional.)
- Plus additional Foreign Acquirer duty(AFAD): $8985 (if you are not an Australian citizen, an AFAD is payable to the office of State Revenue, even if you qualify for a "transfer duty" concession.)
- DNRM Registration Fee: $589 (Register the change of ownership)
The standard FIRB application is $5500. By the way some lawyers here will charge you for applying to the FIRB. Do it yourself online. It's easy and just takes a little time. Charging for doing the FIRB form is just a plain ripoff! One thing to remember though make sure you get ALL the receipt details off the computer (not just the reference number) as its common for the FIRB to send you a message saying they haven't received your payment. I sent them THEIR reference number and it wasn't enough to locate our payment, luckily for me I had copied the other details.
Also check the FIRB website as you can pay once for buying through auctions and you get 6 months to do this. They allow you to do this so you can bid on a few auctions at once. There are terms and conditions around this so make sure you read section 9 carefully.
This being said, our case was an interesting one. We broke the contract on a house we had made an offer on and at that stage we had still not had an approval from FIRB after waiting 3 weeks. We were fortunate enough to have a good case manager at FIRB. He suggested we look at section 49 and apply for a 6 month exemption on buying a residential home by sending him an email asking for such. We got a 12 month extention in days!
Building and Pest Inspection
The building inspector organised to get the keys from the agent and after half an hour we were invited to arrive. That gave us a chance to check that all the air conditioners and fans worked before we purchased the property. The charge for inspection was $260. We paid prior to the inspection via internet banking.
We got $500 off our buying price by doing a building inspection (as we were buying a fairly modern apartment we opted out of a pest inspection). We used Plantown (recommended by our lawyer). The communication and service was excellent. Their details are www.plantowninspections.com. Plantown picked up a few minor problems which we asked the owner to fix. The owners asked for an extension of time to consider their answer and came back with an offer of $500 off our purchase price which we accepted.
Getting the money to Cairns from Korea
We had a clause in our contract stating that there is a condition called " subject to due diligence" on the money being able to come over from Korea. This was in lieu of the usual finance clause.
The Korean banks asked for the sellers ID, the sellers refused. We got around this by supplying the Korean bank the following documentation:
1. The Contract
2. The Title of Deed
3. A letter from the selling agent (on their letterhead) stating the address and price of this property.
Buying a Car
You would think buying a car would be easy in Australia. NO!
Be prepared to pay cash if you are from overseas as you have to be here 2 years before you can get loans from Banks or brokers. If you have applied for your Qld licence prior to buying a car it is considerably easier. The paperwork for buying a car without a Queensland drivers licence is horrendous and the paperwork takes about 3 hours! You'll need your passport, a credit card, a debit card, your lease agreement (there's a way to get one of these if you know someone locally or have a friendly Airbnb host) or power bill with your name and address on (you of course won't have one of these). Time wise it is better to leave a deposit, let them do the paperwork and come back the next day to sign all the papers.
The car sales people will also try to on sell you tinted windows and a sun/bat protection spray which can cost anything from $795 to over $1000. I'm not saying don't get these, actually you need them but make sure you are paying a fair price. After ringing around I found out $795 for both is an excellent price.
Leather seats get very hot in the summer so its not a selling point when buying a vehicle! One of the cars I bought has leather trim and I will have to get a car seat cover for that and it's winter! Check the paint work isn't peeling anywhere. It costs approx. $5k to repaint a medium size car here like a Toyota Corolla, so it's worth getting a protective spray.
Definitely buy a $5 window sunscreen to reflect the sun - you can get these from Target or K Mart.
Car Insurance
Quite often the place you buy your car from will also be insurance brokers. Feel free to get quotes from them, but they won't necessarily be the cheapest or best. For our first car we used the Commonwealth Banks insurance company - Comminsure. It was a good price and we did it on line. You don't get your documentation straight away, it is posted quite a few days later to your address - quite a poor service I thought and a pain in the arse if you are airbnbing! As well, I have just seen on TV recently that Comminsure are in trouble for not paying out on claims, so I am not recommending them. Check out YOUI as well. The second car we bought, we went with Suncorp through the broker, which was cheaper than Comminsure. I found out later that roadside assistance had not been added so when we rang to add that to the policy we managed to reduce it from $7 per month dearer to an increase of $2 per month by giving the insurance company our CTP (Compulsory Third Party) insurance. Your insurance company can transfer that over for you if you have a QLD drivers licence or you can do it later when you get your licence. Both insurance policies had broken windscreen and roadside assist cover only. Ours were approx $58 per month each but the monthly fee does depend on where you live, drivers ages, types of cars and many more variables.
Driving in Cairns
There are a few differences in Australia compared to Korea:
1. No free left turns (unless stated) - stop at all red lights.
2. Pedestrians have right of way on crossings. You have to stop for them even if there are no lights. It is considered polite to stop for people anywhere except on main roads/highways where it may cause accidents.
3. Using phones whilst you are driving is illegal and there are hefty fines for doing that if you get caught.
4. Don't speed, there are camera's and hidden speed cameras in unmarked cars everywhere. Its just not worth it.
5. You can do U-turns in most places but there will be signs visible if you can't.
6. It is the responsibility of the driver to ensure all passengers are wearing seat belts whether in the front or back seats. The driver will be fined if they are found to not be wearing them.
7. Children under a certain age have to be in car restrainers.
8.In Australia there are lots of roundabouts. The rule is to give way to all vehicles on the roundabout. When it's clear on your right you may indicate and move onto the roundabout. (Do not stop on the roundabout to let cars on - you will probably get rear ended!) Indicate left when you reach your exit point.
I hope you find this helpful.
Quite often the place you buy your car from will also be insurance brokers. Feel free to get quotes from them, but they won't necessarily be the cheapest or best. For our first car we used the Commonwealth Banks insurance company - Comminsure. It was a good price and we did it on line. You don't get your documentation straight away, it is posted quite a few days later to your address - quite a poor service I thought and a pain in the arse if you are airbnbing! As well, I have just seen on TV recently that Comminsure are in trouble for not paying out on claims, so I am not recommending them. Check out YOUI as well. The second car we bought, we went with Suncorp through the broker, which was cheaper than Comminsure. I found out later that roadside assistance had not been added so when we rang to add that to the policy we managed to reduce it from $7 per month dearer to an increase of $2 per month by giving the insurance company our CTP (Compulsory Third Party) insurance. Your insurance company can transfer that over for you if you have a QLD drivers licence or you can do it later when you get your licence. Both insurance policies had broken windscreen and roadside assist cover only. Ours were approx $58 per month each but the monthly fee does depend on where you live, drivers ages, types of cars and many more variables.
Driving in Cairns
There are a few differences in Australia compared to Korea:
1. No free left turns (unless stated) - stop at all red lights.
2. Pedestrians have right of way on crossings. You have to stop for them even if there are no lights. It is considered polite to stop for people anywhere except on main roads/highways where it may cause accidents.
3. Using phones whilst you are driving is illegal and there are hefty fines for doing that if you get caught.
4. Don't speed, there are camera's and hidden speed cameras in unmarked cars everywhere. Its just not worth it.
5. You can do U-turns in most places but there will be signs visible if you can't.
6. It is the responsibility of the driver to ensure all passengers are wearing seat belts whether in the front or back seats. The driver will be fined if they are found to not be wearing them.
7. Children under a certain age have to be in car restrainers.
8.In Australia there are lots of roundabouts. The rule is to give way to all vehicles on the roundabout. When it's clear on your right you may indicate and move onto the roundabout. (Do not stop on the roundabout to let cars on - you will probably get rear ended!) Indicate left when you reach your exit point.
I hope you find this helpful.
Deb Jackson
E: danceswithrose@yahoo.com
