# Living cost in Melbourne



## Raj57 (Aug 10, 2010)

Hi All , 
Need some advices on the expenses part , as I have got job in Melbourne and gross salary is 65K annually. As of now company has hired immigration agent for my subclass 457 . 
Could you please give me some idea on the expenses part in Melbourne and what will be taxes for this salary scale if I am in 457 status?
I heard taxes are less than PR and place is cheaper than Singapore.
Correct me if I am wrong...

Please let me know your experence .. Thanks in advance.


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## Dolly (Feb 17, 2008)

Hi there,

If you have a look at the Cost of Living sticky at the top of the forum page, you'll get an idea of what things cost.

Dolly


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## amaslam (Sep 25, 2008)

Where did you hear it's cheaper than Singapore (well maybe for Cars, but little else). Go check out the calculator at the ATO (Australian Taxation Office Homepage) to find out how much in taxes is going.



Raj57 said:


> Hi All ,
> Need some advices on the expenses part , as I have got job in Melbourne and gross salary is 65K annually. As of now company has hired immigration agent for my subclass 457 .
> Could you please give me some idea on the expenses part in Melbourne and what will be taxes for this salary scale if I am in 457 status?
> I heard taxes are less than PR and place is cheaper than Singapore.
> ...


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## ricky200276 (Jul 1, 2010)

Raj,

Please clarify from your empoyer if you'll be allowed to do salary sacrifice as a part of living away from home allowances. It must be stated on your offer letter to make it explicitly clear between both of you. Your take home pay can be substantially more because this allowances are not taxable.

Also there's no way Melbourne is cheaper than Singapore...Singapore has very low income tax rates, yup rental now a days is too much...but I suggest you should make a thorough study on this, do some math. You'll end up paying too much in Melbourne/Sydney.


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## Raj57 (Aug 10, 2010)

Hi Ricky , Amaslam and Dolly ,

Thanks for the info. It seems income tax for subclass 457 is much much higher then PR . Furthermore PR used to get child allowance every week. Auss is expensive then i though.
Since company has already lodge my 457 visa on 28th July. I don't have much option left now and I don't want to miss this opportunity either . 
As my company is too small increase a salary or asking for allowance for working away from home is really impossible.

Only option left for me is to come in Subclass 457 and convert into PR ASAP. Could you please let me know how long should I have to wait if my company is ready to sponsor PR furthermore I am eligible to apply for 175 PR application too . Could you please let me know how fast I can convert my status to PR once I am there in 457 this will help me save at least some $$$ and look for other jobs.

Your reply will be highly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Raj


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## amaslam (Sep 25, 2008)

Hi Raj:

A 175 is if you want to do an application independently. If you want your company help then you should instead look at the 856 PR visa. 

The paperwork requirements are about the same as a 175 but an 856 PR visa grant can be done within a few weeks (from my last document submitted to visa grant was 2 weeks and this was ~2006).

Also consider staying on your 457 for 2 yrs. I believe you can skip some of the checks for an 856 if you do that. 

There is no time limit where you must be on a 457 to apply for a PR visa however. 



Raj57 said:


> Hi Ricky , Amaslam and Dolly ,
> 
> Thanks for the info. It seems income tax for subclass 457 is much much higher then PR . Furthermore PR used to get child allowance every week. Auss is expensive then i though.
> Since company has already lodge my 457 visa on 28th July. I don't have much option left now and I don't want to miss this opportunity either .
> ...


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## roh008 (Oct 13, 2009)

It's worth noting if you work more than 6 months in a tax year you are classified as a resident for TAX purposes. Check ATO website for further details on this.

so instead of paying 29.5%/ 30% flat rate you have the same tax banding as a resident.


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## RishiRiddhi (Jun 19, 2010)

Raj57 said:


> As my company is too small increase a salary or asking for allowance for working away from home is really impossible.
> Raj


Hey Raj,

I am not expert and not even in case of 457 - LAFHA scheme as I will be moving on PR there, but from all post I have read aobut the benefit of Living away from Home Allowance I understood that, your company will not pay you anything extra apart from your salary..

It is just a part of your package which will be counted as "non taxable" and hence you will save on TAXES.. 

seniors pelase advice if this is wrong.. 

Wish you all the best with your move. 

Rushi


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## MaddyS (Jun 24, 2010)

RishiRiddhi said:


> Hey Raj,
> 
> I am not expert and not even in case of 457 - LAFHA scheme as I will be moving on PR there, but from all post I have read aobut the benefit of Living away from Home Allowance I understood that, your company will not pay you anything extra apart from your salary..
> 
> ...


I agree, when i was on a 457, the LAFHA was part of the overall package. It was not in addition to the salary.


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## Raj57 (Aug 10, 2010)

Hi Rushi/ Maddy,

As per below link basic salary for ICT ~ 62K. Can it be a package that including LAFHA and basic Salary. Or it should be basic salary only.
Subclass 457 – Market Salary Rates

Can anyone tell me if we can have sub-division in this salary scale for eg 45 for basic salary and rest 17 as LAFHA.

If it can be done , than I can ask my employer to reconsider my package to save some taxes , because right now I will be loosing lot of money in tax and will be earning less than Singapore.

Any advice ? 

As of now, my employer has already submitted sponsorship and nomination for 457 ? Can I change these terms terms even after its approval ?


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## amaslam (Sep 25, 2008)

LAFHA is not quite so simple as it depends on the family size as well and there is an additional payment of food component and accommodation component. If you do a Google for LAFHA and ATO then you should be able to find more pages showing info about it. 

Basically this needs to be a discussion between you and Payroll and HR. It CAN be done even after you start but is normally stated before you start. 

The main benefit of LAFHA is to reduce your taxable income therefore you save on taxes. It's not meant to be a significant additional source of income above your base salary.

Whether you have/don't have LAFHA stated in your 457 application does not affect the grant of the visa. So this sort of thing you should be discussing now with your company. 



Raj57 said:


> Hi Rushi/ Maddy,
> 
> As per below link basic salary for ICT ~ 62K. Can it be a package that including LAFHA and basic Salary. Or it should be basic salary only.
> Subclass 457 – Market Salary Rates
> ...


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## Raj57 (Aug 10, 2010)

amaslam said:


> LAFHA is not quite so simple as it depends on the family size as well and there is an additional payment of food component and accommodation component. If you do a Google for LAFHA and ATO then you should be able to find more pages showing info about it.
> 
> Basically this needs to be a discussion between you and Payroll and HR. It CAN be done even after you start but is normally stated before you start.
> 
> ...


Thanks for your update, I will have a look on those detail and discuss with my company . It good to know at least I can save some $$ . 
Thanks for info.


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