The partner at home

If you moved for your partner’s job, the first year can be harder for you than for them. Here’s what you’re allowed to do, what help exists, and how others build a routine.

Can you work?

Your right to work depends on your visa, not your partner’s job. Check the exact conditions on your own grant letter or in VEVO (Visa Entitlement Verification Online), the Home Affairs service that shows your visa conditions and lets you send proof to an employer.

More detail: Visa routes to Australia.

Getting your skills recognised

Some jobs need Australian registration or a licence even when your visa lets you work. For example, nurses, midwives, doctors, pharmacists, physiotherapists and other health workers must be registered through Ahpra (the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency). Teaching and some trades have their own registration too. Start the paperwork before you arrive. See Getting your qualifications recognised and Finding a job.

• Get UK references and transcripts now, while former employers are easy to reach
• Order certified copies of certificates before you leave
• Think about volunteering or a short local course to get an Australian reference on your CV

Centrelink: what help you can’t get yet

Centrelink is the part of Services Australia that pays benefits. Unlike Universal Credit, most payments need you to be an Australian resident (usually a permanent visa holder), and then to serve the newly arrived resident’s waiting period (NARWP). For visas granted from 1 January 2019:

• Only time physically in Australia counts. Trips back to the UK pause the clock
• For most payments the clock starts when you become a permanent resident, so years on a 482 don’t count
• Becoming an Australian citizen ends any remaining waiting period
• Child Care Subsidy needs you to meet residence rules: citizens, permanent residents and some partner or protection visa holders qualify, but temporary skilled visa holders aren’t on the list. Budget for full childcare fees

Building a routine

Partners often say the hardest part is the gap between the excitement of arriving and having a reason to leave the house. What helps:

1. Fix two or three regular commitments in your first fortnight: a class, a sports club, a volunteering shift
2. Take over one “settling in” project, such as the house hunt or school research, so you meet people through it
3. Keep a set daily time to talk to family in the UK that suits both time zones
4. Agree with your partner how money and big decisions work while only one of you earns
5. Give it a date: plan to review how you’re feeling after 3 and 6 months

Finding your people

Schools, clubs and local community groups are the usual starting points. Ideas and safety tips: Making friends in Australia.