How Much Does It Cost to Move to Australia? Real Budgets from the UK, New Zealand and Canada (2026)

Every relocation-cost article online quotes one number, and none of them are moving your household on your visa. This one splits the real cost by corridor, household size and visa pathway, using the government's own current fees, so you can build your own budget instead of borrowing someone else's. General information, not financial or migration advice.

The short answer

Before rent: budget roughly AUD $400 to $900 for a single New Zealand citizen moving on the Special Category visa (no visa charge, a short flight, minimal shipping), up to AUD $7,500 to $9,000 for a single UK or Canadian citizen on a Skilled Independent visa, and AUD $14,000 to $17,500 for a couple where one partner needs a Partner visa. Add your bond and rent in advance on top, the single biggest cash outlay in the first month on every corridor and covered in its own section below. Figures are as at 13 September 2026 and move with visa indexation, exchange rates and the season you fly.

Visa and application fees

Home Affairs sets Australia's visa charges by visa subclass, not by citizenship, so a Brit and a Canadian pay the same government fee for the same visa; New Zealand is the exception. The Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189, points-tested) costs from AUD $6,135 for the primary applicant, and the Partner visa (subclasses 820 and 801, applied for together) costs from AUD $11,710, both current Home Affairs charges as at 13 September 2026. A partner visa charge is paid once, by the partner who needs the visa, not by the Australian citizen or permanent resident sponsoring them. Additional applicants added to an application, a partner or a child on a skilled visa, attract a further charge shown for your own case in Home Affairs' Visa Pricing Estimator.

New Zealand citizens don't apply in advance at all: the Special Category visa (subclass 444) has no application charge and is granted automatically on arrival at an Australian airport or seaport. If you qualify for a Working Holiday visa instead, that pathway has its own, much lower cost structure and is covered in its own dedicated guide rather than duplicated here.

This is general information, not migration advice. Visa rules and charges change; confirm your own situation with a registered migration agent (MARA) or directly with the Department of Home Affairs before you lodge.

Flights and getting there

Long-haul economy fares move constantly with season, fuel prices and how far ahead you book. As a live snapshot taken 13 September 2026 across Skyscanner and Google Flights, a one-way economy fare runs roughly AUD $1,200 to $2,200 from the UK, a similar AUD $1,300 to $2,400 from Canada (routing through Asia or the Pacific), and a much shorter AUD $150 to $450 from New Zealand. Booking three to six months ahead and flying midweek typically beats these figures; a last-minute one-way fare over the December-January peak can run well above them on every corridor. Treat these as a planning range, not a quote, and get your own live fare before you lock in a budget.

Shipping and what to leave behind

Most single movers and couples don't need a container. Airlines charge steeply for extra checked bags, and a door-to-door courier such as Send My Bag is usually cheaper for anything from one extra suitcase up to several boxes, priced by weight and route rather than a flat excess-baggage penalty. Get a quote for your own bag count and route before deciding what to check in versus ship separately.

Families with furniture face a genuinely different decision. Sea freight for a part-container load typically costs several thousand dollars and takes six to ten weeks door to door, so anything you can sell, store or replace locally is worth pricing against the freight quote before you pack it.

Moving your money without losing 2-3% to a bank

A bank wire is usually the most expensive way to move a lump sum on any of these corridors. On top of the transfer fee, banks set their own exchange rate, and ASIC's MoneySmart is explicit that providers can charge very different rates and fees for the same transfer, so comparing the total amount that actually lands matters more than comparing headline fees (MoneySmart, last updated 18 June 2026).

Specialist providers publish a transparent rate and fee up front. Wise and Instarem suit regular, smaller transfers, weekly budget or ongoing bills; TorFX and Currencies Direct assign a dealer and can fix a rate ahead of a large one-off, useful for a bond, a deposit, or the visa charge itself if you're paying from an overseas account. Whichever you use, judge the AUD amount that actually arrives, not the advertised fee.

Your first month

Rent is the biggest line item nobody prices into a "cost of moving" figure, and it varies too much by city to give one responsible national number. What is fixed is the up-front slab landlords can legally demand: in NSW, for example, the bond is capped at four weeks' rent, rent in advance at two weeks, and any holding fee at one week (NSW Government, fetched 13 September 2026); other states run similar caps with their own numbers, so check your own state's tenancy authority before you sign. As a rule of thumb, budget six weeks' rent (bond plus advance) as your up-front cash slab, on top of whatever weekly rent your target city and property type actually command.

Health cover cost depends on which country you're coming from, not just your visa. UK and New Zealand citizens are two of the eleven nationalities covered by an Australian Reciprocal Health Care Agreement, so Medicare can cover medically necessary care from the day they arrive; Canada has no such agreement, so a Canadian moving to Australia needs private health insurance from day one, not just once permanent residence comes through (Services Australia, fetched 13 September 2026). Either way, budget for a phone plan (prepaid SIM plans from the major carriers commonly start under AUD $30 a month) and, if you'll need a car, a used-car budget that starts in the low five figures for anything reliable.

What it costs if you get it wrong

The visa charge is paid to lodge your application, not to guarantee its outcome. Home Affairs' own fees and charges guidance calculates the charge to cover processing, and a refused or withdrawn application does not routinely get that money back (Home Affairs, fetched 13 September 2026), so get your paperwork right the first time or use a registered migration agent if your case is complicated.

The other expensive mistake is timing. Signing a lease before your shipment or visa grant date lands you paying rent on an empty property; the reverse, a grant date before you have anywhere to live, means storage costs and possibly a short-term stay on top of your real rent. Build a two-week buffer either side of your planned move date before you commit to a lease or a shipping date.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is AUD $10,000 enough to move to Australia?

For a New Zealand citizen moving alone under the Special Category visa, yes, comfortably, once you add a bond and a few weeks of rent. For a UK or Canadian citizen applying for a Skilled Independent or Partner visa, no: the government charge alone is AUD $6,135 to $11,710 before a flight, shipping or a single week's rent, so $10,000 covers the visa and little else.

How much money do I need to move to Australia from the UK?

Budget the visa charge for your specific pathway using Home Affairs' own Visa Pricing Estimator, plus roughly AUD $1,200 to $2,200 for a one-way flight, a few hundred dollars for shipping a couple of extra bags, and six weeks' rent as your up-front housing slab. A single applicant on a skilled visa realistically starts around AUD $9,000 to $10,000 before rent, and climbs from there with household size and city.

Key Takeaways

• The visa pathway decides the number more than anything else: no charge for NZ citizens, from AUD $6,135 for a Skilled Independent visa, from AUD $11,710 for a Partner visa (Home Affairs, 13 Sept 2026).
• Rent is the biggest unpriced variable; budget roughly six weeks' rent as your up-front slab (bond plus advance), on top of your target city's weekly rent.
• UK and NZ citizens get Reciprocal Health Care Agreement access to Medicare from arrival; Canadians need private health cover from day one.
• A specialist transfer provider beats a bank wire on the amount that actually lands, not just the headline fee.
• A refused visa application charge is not usually refunded, so get the paperwork right the first time.

Budgeting is only one piece of the move. If you'd like the whole thing planned out, visas, housing, healthcare and your first 90 days, Ultimate Relocation Guide is a paid, step-by-step guide (from AUD $59) that covers it end to end.

Related Reading

Moving from the UK to Australia: The Complete Guide

Moving from New Zealand to Australia: The Complete Guide

Moving from Canada to Australia: The Complete Guide

Australia vs Canada Cost of Living: 5 City Pairs Compared

For a closer look at what's involved in relocating to New Zealand specifically, our New Zealand moving guide covers the practical steps end to end.

For the full country-by-country breakdown of visas, banking and healthcare once you've settled on a budget, our Moving to Australia hub pulls together every corridor guide in one place.