Moving to Australia
the practical first steps for police officers

Once your 186 visa is granted, you and your family are permanent residents, which makes most of this straightforward. The trouble is the order. Your tax file number needs an Australian address, your bank wants ID and an address, and your licence has a 3-month clock that starts running whether or not you're busy at the academy.

Most officers arrive close to their course start, and courses are full time: 13 weeks at Joondalup (WA), 15 weeks at Taperoo (SA) or more than 20 weeks on Queensland's PACE. Get the time-critical tasks done in the first fortnight, before training absorbs your evenings. For the months before you leave, use our UK to Australia timeline.

Do the four deadline tasks in week one: TFN, bank, Medicare and a Triple Zero check on your phone. The licence has 3 months, but not much more.

Every Australian state recognises a UK car licence, so you won't usually need a driving test. What varies is when the clock starts, what you pay and whether you keep your UK card. As a police officer you'll drive force vehicles from early in your career, so don't let your overseas licence lapse.

In WA, a one-year licence on transfer costs $112.90 in total and a five-year licence $235.50, by our addition of the Department of Transport's fees. You'll need original identity documents with matching names, and an eye test at the counter.

If you hold extra UK categories, such as a motorcycle licence, ask about each one at the counter: Queensland and NSW exempt UK motorcycle (R) licences from testing too, but other categories may be treated differently.

You can apply for a TFN online once you're in Australia and hold a visa with work rights; a 186 qualifies. The ATO says it takes about 20 minutes, it's free, and you don't need to send documents. You'll need your passport number, your names exactly as printed on your passport, and your Australian residential and postal addresses.

1. 1

   Land and get a stable address

   Day 1–3

   The ATO posts your TFN to the Australian postal address you give. A short-term rental or a trusted colleague's address works if mail is forwarded reliably.

2. 2

   Apply online

   Day 1–7

   Use the ATO's online TFN application for permanent migrants. Each adult in the family applies separately.

3. 3

   Tell payroll you've applied

   First pay run

   Your force's onboarding will include a TFN declaration. Ask payroll how it handles the gap until your number arrives.

4. 4

   Number arrives by post

   Within 28 days

   Up to 28 days. Give it to payroll straight away and keep it secure: it's your tax identity for life.

Your first Australian tax year is likely to be a part year, and you'll still have UK tax to settle. File form P85 with HMRC when you leave (see our timeline), and read our tax deductions guide for police before your first Australian return.

Your force will pay you into an Australian account, so open one in your first week. Banks set their own identity checks, but expect to show your passport and visa details and give an Australian address. Some police-specific banks and credit unions are open to officers and their families; our guide to police banks and credit unions covers who they are.

Your UK police pension will be paid years from now, but plan where it lands. Under the UK–Australia tax treaty (Article 17), pensions paid to an Australian resident, including government pensions, are taxable only in Australia. HMRC's form Australia-Individual 2003 is how you claim relief from UK tax, and the ATO then taxes the pension as foreign income. Police Pay UK explains tax on your police pension in retirement.

Moving a large sum, such as house sale proceeds, is worth timing carefully, but we can't tell you when exchange rates will move. This is general information, not financial advice.

Super is Australia's compulsory retirement saving, paid by your employer on top of your salary. As a new officer you'll be asked to nominate a fund on your first day or soon after. What you can choose depends on the force, and SAPOL is the most restrictive.

On WA's Constable 5th year salary of $102,263 from 1 July 2026, 12% employer super is about $12,272 a year before contributions tax, by our calculation. SAPOL officers must also make member contributions: public summaries of Super SA's forms put the minimum at 4.5% of super salary after tax or 5.3% before tax, which we haven't confirmed in the scheme rules.

Default funds usually include insurance, and it's worth checking before you switch away. Queensland's accumulation members get default death, total and permanent disability and income protection cover through QSuper; in WA, default death and disability cover depends on the GESB product you're placed in. If you choose another fund, compare its cover for shift workers and for an occupation like policing, not just its fees.

As 186 holders, you and your family can enrol in Medicare once you're in Australia. Enrol through Services Australia with your passports and visa details, and add every family member. Until the cards arrive, the UK reciprocal health care agreement covers medically necessary care for people who lived in the UK before arriving.

A single WA Constable 5th year on $102,263 base pay is $2,737 below the singles threshold, but overtime and shift allowances can push you over. If you go over without private hospital cover, you pay the surcharge on top of the normal Medicare levy. Our moving with family guide covers schools, childcare and family health in more depth.

The ACMA warns that some phones designed for overseas networks, older handsets and some imported models can't make emergency calls to Triple Zero (000) on Australian networks, even though they appear to work on 4G or 5G. Telcos must now identify incompatible devices, tell affected customers and stop those phones working on their networks.

Check every phone in the household, not just your own: a partner or child alone at home is the person most likely to need 000. Don't test by calling 000; ask the telco instead.

The Australian Border Force calls belongings that travel separately from you unaccompanied personal effects. You declare them on form B534. Items you've owned and used overseas for 12 months or more before you leave are free of duty and GST. Anything newer must be declared and may be assessed for duty and taxes.

Sea freight usually arrives weeks after you do, so plan for a furnished rental or basic furniture while you're on the course. We don't publish shipping prices because they depend on volume, route and timing; get several quotes. Pets have a separate process with a 6-month lead time, covered in our timeline guide.

A car isn't ordinary personal effects. To bring your own vehicle you need a concessional Road Vehicle Approval (RAV) entry approval for a personal effects vehicle from the Department of Infrastructure before it's imported. The department's eligibility rules are strict.

Ownership means more than a name on a logbook: the department wants evidence the car was available to you and regularly used by you on public roads in the country where you lived. Keep the purchase invoice and registration documents.

In WA and Queensland, compulsory third-party (CTP) personal injury insurance is included in your registration. If you buy a used car in either state, you must transfer the registration into your name within 14 days, and you can be fined if you don't. In Queensland, CTP moves with the registration.

Comprehensive insurance is separate and optional, and your UK no-claims history may or may not be accepted; ask insurers before you buy. Salary packaging a car through a novated lease may be open to you, depending on your force's arrangements. Our salary packaging and novated lease guide explains how that works, and our car and travel deductions guide covers work-related travel.

Most officers rent first, often near the academy and then again at their posting. Vacancy rates are low: Cotality put Perth and Brisbane at 2.1% and Adelaide at 1.4% in September 2026, against 2.0% nationally. We couldn't find reliable weekly rent figures by city, so check current listings for the suburbs you're considering.

Landlords will ask for references and proof of income. A letter of offer from the force showing your salary helps, as do UK landlord references. As permanent residents, you're exempt from the ban on foreign buyers purchasing established homes, which runs from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2027. Our cost of living guide compares house prices and bills, and our first home buyer guide for WA police covers buying later.

1. 1

   Week 1: identity and money

   Days 1–7

   Activate a SIM and check the handset with the telco (Triple Zero). Open a bank account. Apply for every adult's TFN online. Enrol the family in Medicare.

2. 2

   Week 2: payroll and super

   Days 8–14

   Complete your force's TFN declaration and super choice form. In SAPOL, you'll join Triple S; in WA or Queensland, decide whether to accept the default fund.

3. 3

   Weeks 2–4: home and school

   Days 8–30

   Secure a lease, lodge the bond through the landlord or agent, and enrol children at school. Lodge B534 paperwork when your shipment lands.

4. 4

   Month 1–2: a car

   Days 30–60

   Buy and transfer registration within 14 days, or, if you're importing, make sure your RAV approval is in hand and your 6-month application window hasn't closed.

5. 5

   Month 2–3: licence

   By day 90

   Convert your UK licence before the 3-month deadline (WA, Qld, SA, NSW) or 6 months (Victoria). In SA, your England, Scotland or Wales licence is surrendered.

6. 6

   By day 90: tie up the UK

   By day 90

   Confirm HMRC has your P85, your pension administrator has your new address, and your UK bank account is still open for refunds and pension payments.

For the money side of your first pay, check what you'll actually take home after Australian tax and the Medicare levy.

Built alongside our UK sister site, Police Pay UK, which covers the UK side of leaving, including your notice and pension.