Visas & Advice Detail
Emigrating to Australia
It may grace the silver screen, but Australia’s scenery is just a backdrop for Brits living better lives in Australia, writes David Fuller
When Baz Luhrmann's eagerly anticipated film Australia was released towards the tail-end of 2008, the critical reception of the movie was mixed.
While some were quick to lavish praise on the Australian director's epic – particularly American chat show Queen Oprah Winfrey who gushed on her show "Our hearts are all swelling because, my God, it's just the film we needed to see" – others were not so sure. One Australian movie critic labelled Australia "the kind of movie, you would imagine, that Steve Irwin would have loved." I doubt this was meant as a compliment.
One area where all reviewers were unanimous in their assessment of the film, though, was in praising the beauty of the Australian scenery, with every superlative you can possibly think of used to describe the movie's Outback landscape.
Such ubiquitous acclaim will have delighted Tourism Australia, which has built its whole marketing campaign around the film in a bid to reinvigorate the country's flagging tourism industry. Luhrmann has even directed two ads for Tourism Australia which echo the film and feature the strapline 'See the movie, see the country'.
Just as New Zealand experienced significant increases in tourism, and subsequently immigration, following the release of the Lord of the Rings trilogy early in this decade, so too is Australia now hoping for a similar influx.
Not that the country really needs a boost as far as immigration (particularly from the UK) is concerned. The 2007/08 migration year heralded Australia's highest annual immigrant intake since the late 1960s, with UK residents forming the second-largest source of new arrivals. According to Department of Immigration figures, 149,365 permanent migrants arrived to settle in Australia in 2007/08. Of these, 23,236 came from Britain.
Although the Department of Immigration and Citizenship increased and then decreased its permanent skilled migration programme for the 2008/09 migration year by 30,000 and 18,500 visas respectively, the 115,000 places available this year is still 20,000 more than were up for grabs in the 2007/08 migration year. Australia, then, is still riding a high tide of popularity with British migrants - and we may not yet be at the high watermark.
According to figures released by the Office of National Statistics late last year, Australia is already the most popular country for people of all nationalities leaving the UK, with just under 40,000 leaving these shores and moving Down Under during the 2007 calendar year. What's more, it is expected that Oz will have become even more popular with those leaving the UK during 2008 and that numbers will increase further still this year, as the UK's economy continues its downward spiral and the recession takes hold.
Interestingly, though, while the scenery displayed in Australia (the film) could provide Australia (the country) with a significant tourism boost, for those who are planning to move to the country on a permanent basis, Australia's aesthetic qualities are little more than a bonus.
Instead, considerations such as climate, lifestyle and safety are far more likely to be motivating factors propelling Brits towards a new life in Oz.
"Our stress levels are much lower in Australia than they were in the UK," New South Wales-based British expat Pauline Hammans enthused in the November 2008 edition of Emigrate Australia. "You walk out for the door on a Friday night after work and that's it until Monday – you really can relax. There is a big family ethos over here and family time at weekends is important."
Terry and Wendy Collier were similarly appreciative of the lifestyle opportunities afforded to their family in Mandurah, Western Australia, when Emigrate Australia caught up with them in the September issue.
"We can enjoy the beach for about eight months of the year and the best part is there's plenty of fish to catch," explained keen angler Terry.
"As a family we have been on an eco-bushtucker tour in the south-west of the state, and to the gorges in the north-west near Kalbarri. Everywhere we go there are spectacular things to see and do," added Wendy.
Of course, as with almost everything in life, it takes a fair amount of hard work to get the most out of life Down Under, and anyone thinking of making the move should be prepared for some challenging times ahead.
Elizabeth Warner is just one of many Brits living in Oz who found it hard to settle in to her new surroundings. "The hardest thing I found about settling in Australia was being without a purpose," reflected Elizabeth in the May 2008 edition of Emigrate Australia. "First we had a plan to get to Oz. Then, when we got here, we had more plans – find a property, buy a car, get the kids into school, find jobs, etcetera.
"As they all got sorted out it was obviously a huge sense of relief, yet I was in no way ready for when I sat in the family room on my husband's first day at work. The absolute desolation I felt was unreal – I cried and cried for hours."
Accounts such as this are far from uncommon – especially during the early days of settlement. However, speak to most British emigrants after they have lived in Australia for a year or so and a majority will give life Down Under the kind of glowing reviews that Luhrmann can only dream about.
Click here for Australian government info
Register for your FREE emigration starter pack
Search EmiLinks for hundreds of quality Australian sites
Subscribe to Emigrate magazine. Read more ...