I work over here on the West Coast and live in NZ. 5weeks on 5weeks off. my wife and I have the house on the market and are coming over here to travel around for a few years while I still have this job.
my question is, if I was to get a WA drivers license, would that do for travelling all states?
I understand that if you are less than 3 months in one place you don't have too worry about a license change or vehicle rego.
Any advice would be appreciated.
we are going to the Melbourne show in March, so will be looking at everything.
Insurance and permanent address will be big issues for us.
We have a Victorian Licence, MC for mine and although we are currently living in WA, it isn't permanent. Our mailing address, licence, registration, Insurance for Tug & Van, etc. are all at our daughters address in Victoria.
Isn't a problem as we are itinerant. If we placed roots down for a time we would probably consider the changing over of everything but that isn't on our radar if a radar could see that far ahead.
Get your licence and address in whatever state and go for it. It is one country just dived into imaginary lines so a few people can attempt to take from the rest of us as much as they can while we are prepared to give to them.
Rise up and join the Nomad Army. We may be older, we may not have a permanent place to live but we may also vote, if that's what we want.
P.S. If you are from NZ, don't become unemployed or sick. Australia doesn't look after Kiwis as well as Kiwis look after Australians.
I've been trotting around for a few years now on my ACT licence and rego. I actually spend 1month a year (January) in the ACT. Nobody has ever queried this arrangement. I do use my daughter's address (in the ACT) as a mailing address when I absolutely have to have a street address - though I always make it clear that no-one should expect a speedy response to any communication sent to this address as it may take months for the mail to catch up to me.
You can travel in Australia using your NZ licence unless you are moving here permanently and there are organisations that will provide a mail address for you and then forward it on to a location you request I am sure a little research will give you several options.
__________________
Life was meant to be enjoyed Australia was meant to be explored
Happily doing both to the Max.
Life is like a camera, focus on what's important & you will capture it every Time
I do not claim to be an expert on any of this, but I am aware that there are significant differences in costs and conditions depending on which state you regard as a base, and register your vehicles in. For example the annual registration charges for a caravan are significantly higher in NSW that they are in Victoria ($500 plus dollars difference). In Victoria you only need a certificate of inspection (WOF) for a vehicle when it is over a certain age and you are selling it. In NSW you need a certificate every year after the vehicle is a certain age (3 years I think).
If you have any flexibility in where you register your vehicles it would be worth investigating further.
from Kiwi point of view ( we done same) there are a few minor hurdles you may find.
1. to buy a vehicle in Vic you need Victorian licence, to buy van in SA we had to have a SA licence. No a biggy as only cost $50 - $75 to change or have to take to your state and reregister.
2. Address. We had to have a permanent address to register both in SA and Vic. Not hard either as can use a caravan park but make sure you have a email address as point of contact
3. the 3 months rule. Not an issue if you state that you are travelling for pleasure or short term seasonal work. If questioned all need to say is travel between states regularly.
4. NZ licence , once you acquire a Aussie licence demerit points will appear on it even if you were fined under NZ licence. ( found that out the hard way lol)
5. If you use NZ licence and they find out you have been here a long time you will get very hefty fine.
6. Insurance. We found that insurance cover is more comprehensive if you are aussie resident (tourist factor i guess)
Its not hard to get around the system it just requires a bit of understanding and A LOT of patience. We also found that different people in the same office had different interpretations of requirements. Basically you need three forms of identification (Aussie lic, Proof of address and passport). Proof of address can be a receipt from a caravan park. A temporary state resident dosnt need to change licence. Any state licence/rego will be treated the same at a checkpoint (if SA rego but pulled up in VIC you are expected to have vehicles to their standard.
what we have done is
I have Aussie SA licence and van registered there, Wife has Vic licence and truck is registered there. Both set up for email notification when rego due. Our permanent address is changed as required but as we have internet to register no mail is sent. Oh and the other thing you may need to look into is your operator tickets or white card. Some aren't interstate acknowledged.
Hope this answer the question and the questions that normally arise from the first one.
__________________
Opinions are a persons way of thinking, you dont have to agree with it but respect it
In NZ all your licences like digger, tractor, rollers, forklifts, DG are on your divers licence. Here you will need to resit them if you want to operate them here. This isnt done through Vic roads or similar it is done through industry training boards. This includes things like chainsaws and in some cases power tools (Ramsets etc).
The white card has different names in each state however the WHITE card is the nationally recognised one (i think its called blue card in WA but that one isnt recognized nationally) To get this you need to sit a minimum 4 hours of study + test. It can be done online and covers OH&S and is required by most construction and roading ( this is a no fail test if you open two windows while doing test). Even if you dont intend to work in these industries some places still require you to have it if yu want to go onto site. For the diggers etc the cheapest way to do them is to complete a construction course which is subsidised by the Aussie government. As usual with things here there is a trick to that as well lol.
If you need more info let me know and I will try and help.
sorry forgot to say white card = construction workers authorization card to enable you to work in construction. comes from unions and trade bodies.
Thanks
Herb
-- Edited by Herb on Friday 31st of January 2014 02:50:10 PM
__________________
Opinions are a persons way of thinking, you dont have to agree with it but respect it
