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Living abroad
The paperwork and practicalities every Australian overseas has to sort out, from tax and super to Medicare and moving back.
Living abroadLeaving Australia: the checklist to tick off before you board
Tax, bank, super, Medicare, HELP, the electoral roll and the mail. What to sort before you fly out, and what can safely wait until you land.
Living abroadAre you still an Australian tax resident once you move? How the ATO decides
Your passport doesn't decide it and neither does your flight. Here's how the ATO's residency tests work for Australians who move overseas, and what changes if you're out.
Living abroadYour super while you live overseas: what happens, and how to keep it in shape
Your super doesn't come with you, and you usually can't cash it out early. Here's how to keep track of it, stop fees nibbling at it and tidy up from abroad.
Living abroadMedicare when you live abroad: what's covered, what isn't and how to get back on
Your green card stays in your wallet but it won't pay a cent in Berlin or Bangkok. Here's what Medicare does and doesn't do once you live overseas.
Living abroadVoting from overseas: how Australians abroad stay on the roll and vote
You can keep voting in federal elections from London, Dubai or Bali, but only if you tell the AEC before the roll quietly forgets you. Here's how it works.
Living abroadSending money home: how to stop fees and bad rates eating your transfer
The fee you see is rarely the fee you pay. How to compare international transfers properly, what AUSTRAC needs to know, and when the ATO starts asking questions.
Living abroadYour Australian driver's licence abroad: drive, swap or renew?
Your Aussie licence can get you a long way overseas, but not forever. When to carry an IDP, when to swap for a local licence, and how to renew from abroad.
Living abroadBabies born overseas: how to make your little one an Aussie
A baby born overseas to an Australian parent isn't automatically on the books. How citizenship by descent works, what it costs in 2026, and how to get that first passport.
Living abroadKeeping your Australian bank, number and accounts: what to hold on to
Close too much and you'll be locked out of myGov from a hotel in Lisbon. Keep too much and you'll pay for nothing. What to hold on to back home, and why.
Living abroadMoving back to Australia: the return checklist, from packing to Medicare
Coming home is a move too, and it's often the harder one. A month-by-month checklist covering customs, pets, Medicare, tax and the bits everyone forgets.
Living abroadHECS-HELP debt overseas: the loan that follows you through customs
Your HELP debt doesn't stay in Australia when you do not. Here's how overseas reporting works, what you'll repay on a foreign salary, and why ignoring it costs more.
Living abroadCentrelink and the Age Pension abroad: what keeps paying and what stops
The Age Pension can follow you overseas, but often at a smaller rate. JobSeeker and Family Tax Benefit generally can't. Here's how portability works in 2026.
Living abroadRenewing your Australian passport overseas: fees, timing and the traps
Renewing from overseas costs more, takes at least six weeks and cancels your old passport the moment you apply. Here's how to time it, what it costs and what to do if it's lost.
Living abroadWills and power of attorney abroad: who decides when you can't
Assets in two countries means two legal systems with a say in your estate. Here's how Australians abroad usually handle wills, enduring powers of attorney and witnessing.
Living abroadBringing a foreign partner home: how the Australian partner visa works
Which partner visa fits, what it costs from July 2026, why offshore applications wait longer, and the evidence that makes or breaks a case.
Living abroadPrivate health insurance when you move overseas: suspend, cancel or keep?
Suspend, cancel or keep paying? How your Australian hospital cover, Lifetime Health Cover loading and the Medicare levy surcharge work once you live abroad.
Living abroadBringing your pet home to Australia: permits, rabies tests and Mickleham
Country groups, the rabies test, the 180-day wait and 10 or 30 days at Mickleham. How to bring your cat or dog home, and what the government fees add up to.
Living abroadShipping your belongings home: getting through customs and biosecurity
The B534 form, the 12-month rule, what biosecurity opens, what never gets in, and how to choose between a container, shared shipping and air freight.
Living abroadSchooling Australian kids abroad: choosing a school and getting back in
International school, IB or an Australian curriculum overseas? How to pick, how the IB converts to an ATAR-style rank, and how kids slot back in at home.
Living abroadConsular help abroad: what the Australian embassy will and won't do
The embassy can replace your passport and visit you in jail. It can't get you out, pay your hospital bill or give legal advice. Here's the real list.
Living abroadYour Australian credit score while overseas: keep the file alive
Your credit history doesn't follow you overseas, and it doesn't come home with you either. How to keep your Australian file healthy from abroad.
Living abroadThe inner move: the part of moving abroad nobody packs a box for
The removalists move your furniture. Nobody moves your friends, your routines or your kids' best mates. Here's how families get through the inner move.