Australia

Living in Australia

When you think about living in Australia, what comes to mind? Do you picture Sydney Harbor and its magnificent Opera House? Maybe, you think about Melbourne, known for its coffee, culture and cuisine. Perhaps, you imagine your family enjoying a nice day at one of Australia’s beautiful beaches or see yourself working in Australia and earning a good salary.

Living in Australia offers you and your family many amazing opportunities, including a high-quality of life in an immigrant-friendly country that has great career options, world-class education, and free public healthcare. You can even become an Australian citizen after living in Australia four years as a permanent resident. Can you envision you and your family at a special ceremony not too far in the future, smiles on your faces, holding small Australian flags, receiving your Australian Citizenship Certificates and officially becoming citizens of Australia (commonly known as “Aussies”)?

This isn’t just wishful thinking – If you and your family qualify for Australian immigration and complete the procedure successfully, you could be living in Australia as permanent residents, creating the fulfilling lives you have always dreamed of in one of the most incredible countries on Earth!

From its spectacular scenery and easygoing lifestyle to its peacefulness, prosperity and freedom, Australia is an amazing country where immigrants can make their dreams come true. With its sunny beaches, wide open spaces, world-famous wineries, and vibrant cities, Australia has something for everyone and is considered one of the top countries for immigrants to live.

To receive your Australia Immigration Agency eligibility assessment, click here!

Immigrant-Friendly Country

Immigrants living in Australia feel welcomed in this multicultural country where 7.3 million (29 percent) of its 25 million residents were foreign-born. Australia’s diversity can be further seen by the fact that 49 percent of the people living in Australia were either foreign-born or they have at least one parent who was born in another country. The multicultural character of Australia is on display in its largest cities. For example, around 43 percent of Sydney’s population was born outside of Australia, while immigrants account for about 34 percent of Melbourne’s residents.

The Australian government welcomes over 160,000 immigrants from around the world each year to live in Australia as permanent residents, and values the contributions that immigrants make to the country’s economy and society. Australian Permanent Residents enjoy equality and many other freedoms and benefits, such as living and working in Australia for an unlimited period of time; attending educational programs; receiving free or subsidized public healthcare; traveling to and from Australia; having the option to open a business and buy a home or other property, and the opportunity to become an Australian citizen. Thus, while some governments have taken an anti-immigrant position, you and your family can feel at home living in Australia – one of the most immigrant-friendly countries in the world!

Australian Job Opportunities

Australia has a powerful economy, with a GDP of $1.4 trillion USD (ranked #13 in 2019),which is growing and creating thousands of jobs. This phenomenal economic growth has helped to make Aussies some of the wealthiest people in the world. For example, the 2019 Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report ranked Australia as the 2nd richest country based on median wealth ($181,361 USD) and the 4th richest country based on average wealth per adult ($386,060 USD).

The Australian Jobs 2019 report states that the largest business sectors in terms of Australian employment are: Healthcare and Social Assistance (1,685,100 workers); Retail Trade (1,272,300 workers); Construction (1,166,900 workers); Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (1,082,100 workers); and Education and Training (1,035,400 workers). During the 2019-2023 time period, it is forecast (Australian Jobs 2019) that the Healthcare and Social Assistance sector will grow by 14.9% and produce 250,300 new jobs in Australia; the Construction industry will expand by 10% and fill 118,800 new positions; Education and Training will increase by 11.2% and employ113,000 additional workers; and hiring in the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services sector will rise 10.2% and create 106,600 Australian jobs.

The “Land Down Under” is fortunate to have enjoyed sustained economic growth since 1991 and to also maintain a low unemployment rate; however, this has contributed to a shortage of skilled workers in many occupations across the country. Consequently, Australia’s government created the General Skilled Migration (GSM) program to grant permanent residency to qualifying foreign workers and their families who have the necessary English language abilities, education, job skills, and other traits. If you and your family meet the GSM program eligibility requirements and complete the application process successfully, you could be living in Australia and taking advantage of these excellent employment opportunities.

If you would like the Australia Immigration Agency to provide you with an evaluation of your eligibility, click here!

High Quality of Life

The quality of life in Australia is one of the highest in the world. Australians are known for their close friendships (which Aussies call “mateship”), as well as their easygoing lifestyle which can be summarized by the popular expression: “No Worries!” This carefree, relaxed way of life may be partly influenced by Australia’s laidback beach culture and nice weather, along with the fact that Australia is one of the most peaceful countries in the world, according to the 2019 Global Peace Index. In addition to living in a secure and stable democracy, Australians have “no worries” about healthcare, since they receive it for free or at a subsidized price under the national Medicare system. Having access to advanced medical care and highly-rated education, as well as enjoying widespread prosperity, can help Australians to have not only a high quality of life but one of the longest life expectancies in the world (around 80.5 years for males and 84.6 years for women).

The country’s natural beauty and biodiversity further enhance the standard of living in Australia. For example, you and your family could enjoy a nice day at Sydney’s Bondi Beach; go snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland; take a relaxing ride along the Great Ocean Road in Victoria; visit the scenic wine country of Western Australia’s Margaret River region; go snow skiing in the mountains near Canberra; stroll through the Adelaide Botanic Garden in South Australia; savor a sunset dinner at Uluru in Northern Territory; explore a zoo or aquarium; go camping in the wilderness of Tasmania; hike in a tropical rainforest near Cairns; have a picnic at the park; and many other leisure activities. There are plenty of things to see and do in Australia’s vibrant cities, which have a variety of excellent restaurants, cafes, pubs, museums, shopping centers, festivals, concerts, sporting events, exciting nightlife, and other points of interest. When it comes to enjoying the finer things in life with family and friends, Australia offers endless choices!

It should come as no surprise that several global assessments have found Australia to be one of the world’s best places to live. An international survey of 20,548 people around the globe conducted by US News & World Report, BAV Group and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania rated Australia #5 in the world for quality of life and named it the 5th best country overall in 2020. The 2019 HSBC Expat Explorer Survey polled18,000 people in 163 countries and rated Australia #2 for physical and mental well-being, #3 for quality of life, #5 for work-life balance and the #6 best country for ex-pats overall. Australia also came in 6th place in the United Nations 2019 Human Development Index Ranking. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2021 Global Livability Index ranked 140 cities worldwide and listed Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney (Australia’s largest cities) among the top 20 Most Livable Cities in the world. As you can see, the high quality of life available in Australia is hard to beat!

World-Class Education

Australia is among the top 10 countries having the best education systems, according to various global evaluations. The 2020 US News & World Report “Best Countries” analysis listed Australia in 7th place for high quality education, while the 2019 Legatum Institute Prosperity Index declared Australia as the 9th best country for education. Australian cities are also some of the best places for international students to study abroad, which reflects the excellent global reputation of Australia’s educational institutions. For example, the 2019 QS Best Student Cities report considered Melbourne 3rd, Sydney 9th, Brisbane 22nd, Canberra 23rd, Adelaide 26th, and Perth 41st in terms of the best destinations for international students to study overseas.

Children living in Australia receive a world-class primary and secondary education, while adults can enhance their career options at Australia’s highly-rated universities and vocational schools.The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Better Life Index (2017) states, “Australians can expect to go through 21 years of education between the ages of 5 and 39, more than the OECD average of 17.2 years and the highest level in the OECD.” In regards to the OECD’s Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), the Better Life Index (2017) reports “The average student in Australia scored 502 in reading literacy, maths and sciences, above the OECD average of 486.” Additionally, the OECD (2017) declares, “In Australia, 81% of adults aged 25-64 have completed upper secondary education, higher than the OECD average of 78%.”

Whether you or your children attend a university or receive vocational education and training(VET) in Australia, you can expect the quality of education to be of the highest standard. For example, the 2019 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), 2019 QS World University Rankings, and the 2020 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, all agree that Australia has several of the top 100 universities in the world.When you become an Australian permanent resident, you’ll be able to access world-class educational opportunities which can open the door to Australian employment and prosperity!

Australian Healthcare

Citizens and permanent residents of Australia receive quality healthcare at no cost or at a reduced, subsidized price through the country’s public Medicare system, which is administered jointly by the federal, state, territorial and local governments. Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) also covers the cost of prescription medicines in most cases for Australian citizens and permanent residents. In addition to the national Medicare benefit, individuals living in Australia have the option to pay for private healthcare insurance if they would like to receive healthcare outside of the public Medicare system and/or receive additional healthcare services not fully covered by Medicare. According to the Australian government (2020), “Medicare covers all of the cost of public hospital services. It also covers some or all of the costs of other health services. These can include services provided by GPs and medical specialists. They can also include physiotherapy, community nurses and basic dental services for children.”Receiving affordable access to advanced medical care and living in one of the world’s most peaceful countries has helped Aussies to have one of the world’s longest average lifespans (82.5 years).

Australian Citizenship

There are many advantages of having Australian permanent residency, such as the option to become a citizen of Australia. A permanent resident can apply for Australian citizenship after living in Australia only four years and satisfying other criteria (e.g., basic knowledge about Australia, good character, meeting the English language requirement, having a commitment to live in Australia long-term, etc.). The application to become an Australian citizen is filed online and if approved, the immigrant will need to attend a special ceremony to make the Australian Citizenship Pledge and receive the Australian Citizenship Certificate.As a citizen of Australia, you can apply to receive an Australian passport (one of the most powerful passports in the world in terms of the number of countries you can travel to visa-free), you have the privilege to vote in elections, and can receive other benefits.

So, what do you think about living in Australia now? Are you ready to start your new life in Australia?

If you would like the Australia Immigration Agency to provide you with an evaluation of your eligibility, click here!

Start your Australia immigration process today!