UK to Australia cost of living
for police officers and their families

Taken as a whole, Australia is slightly dearer. OECD price-level data for 2025 put Australian consumer prices about 2% above the UK's at 2025 exchange rates, which becomes roughly 10% higher at today's rate (A$1 = £0.5270 on 9 October 2026; our calculation). But that average hides big differences between categories.

Housing is the big one: median dwelling values in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide are around three times the UK average in pounds. Petrol is cheaper per litre. Childcare is heavily subsidised once you hold a permanent visa. Healthcare is mostly covered by Medicare, with a levy on your pay and a surcharge if you earn above the threshold without private cover.

House values are from the Cotality Home Value Index for September 2026. UK house prices are from the UK House Price Index for July 2026, and UK rents from the Office for National Statistics for August 2026. Energy, petrol, childcare and healthcare figures come from the regulator or department that sets them, read on 9 and 10 October 2026.

One gap matters: we couldn't find official city-wide weekly rents in dollars in the sources we read, so this guide doesn't quote any. Instead we use rental yields and vacancy rates, which tell you how tight each market is, and point you to where to check real rents.

Perth's median dwelling, $975,022, converts to about £513,837: more than three times the UK average of £273,000 and well above England's £293,479. Only London, at £550,037, is in the same range as Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide.

Darwin and Hobart are cheaper, at $633,431 and $741,496. Prices are also rising fast: Darwin was up 11.9% and Perth 10.1% in the year to September 2026. Regional towns are usually much cheaper than the capitals, which matters because all three sponsoring forces post officers to the regions.

Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide medians are London-level prices on a constable's salary. Units and regional postings are where the numbers start to work.

Most movers rent first: you'll want to know where you're posted, and lenders like to see Australian income. Here's what you pay now. Australians quote rent by the week, so we've also shown UK rents per week.

For Australian cities, the official figures we found describe how tight the market is rather than the dollar rent. A gross rental yield is a year's rent as a share of the property's value, and the vacancy rate is the share of rentals empty and available. Nationally, vacancy was 2%: a very tight market where good rentals go quickly.

Adelaide's 1.4% vacancy means competition for every listing. Darwin's high 6.5% yield reflects rents that are high relative to prices. Hobart's 3.0% vacancy is the loosest of these cities. WA's international course runs in Perth's northern suburbs at Joondalup, and WA says you arrange your own accommodation during it.

The sponsored route for UK officers is the permanent subclass 186 visa, and that matters here. The temporary ban on foreign persons buying established homes runs from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2027, but permanent residents are exempt. On a temporary 482 visa you'd face foreign-buyer rules instead.

Watch one possible trap: owning a home before, including in the UK, may affect whether you count as a first home buyer for some concessions. Check the exact rule with the state revenue office before you budget on a concession. Our state guides, such as first home buyer for WA police and first home buyer for Queensland police, go into the detail.

Converting prices to pounds only gets you so far. A more useful test is how many years of a local constable's pay the median home costs. Here's each city against its own force's first-year constable pay, from our data files.

For an experienced UK officer joining a sponsoring force, the picture is better, because service lifts your pay point. The last column shows how long a 20% deposit on the city's median unit would take if you saved every dollar of take-home, a crude but honest measure of the stretch.

Compare that with home. A UK constable at the top of the 2026 scale (£52,015, our calculation) faces an average UK price 5.2 times their pay, or 10.6 times in London before London Weighting. A 20% deposit on the UK average takes about 19 months of their take-home after pension. Perth and Adelaide on experienced Australian pay sit between the UK average and London.

The two countries' figures don't measure the same thing. Ofgem's cap is for a typical home using both gas and electricity, while the Australian reference prices are for electricity alone. If the home you rent also has gas, add that bill; if it's all-electric, the electricity figure is closer to your whole energy cost. Ask about heating and cooling when you view a property.

In Perth, a household on Synergy's A1 tariff pays $435 a year in supply charges before using any power, then $332.62 per 1,000 kWh (our calculation). The Default Market Offer is the regulated reference price for a typical home: $1,988 a year in south-east Queensland and $2,334 in South Australia. Retailers can offer other market plans, so compare before you sign up.

Fuel is cheaper per litre in every city than in the UK at today's exchange rate. But you may well drive more: shift work makes public transport harder to rely on, and regional postings can mean long drives for shopping and schools. Budget for fuel by distance, not just price per litre.

In WA and Queensland, registration includes compulsory third party (CTP) injury insurance; damage to your car and other vehicles needs separate insurance. You can drive on your UK licence for a limited period, usually 3 months, before converting. Our practical first steps guide covers licence conversion by state and the rules for shipping a car.

From 6 July 2026, the Child Care Subsidy pays 90% of the capped fee for families earning up to $88,520. It then falls by 1% for each $5,000 of family income above that, reaching zero at $538,520. The hourly cap for centre-based day care is $15.19, and the 3 Day Guarantee gives 72 subsidised hours a fortnight with no activity test.

Worked example (our calculation): a one-income family on a WA Constable 5th year's $102,263 would get about 87%. For a 10-hour day charged at the cap ($151.90), the subsidy is about $132.15 and the family pays about $19.75, plus anything the centre charges above the cap. A second income would lower the percentage.

Subclass 186 holders can enrol in Medicare, which covers public hospital care and subsidises GP and specialist visits. In return you pay the 2% Medicare levy, already included in every take-home figure on this site. Prescriptions on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme cost at most $25.00 each at the general rate from 1 January 2026.

The surcharge can catch officers whose shift allowances lift them over the threshold. A Queensland Constable 1.6 with the Operational Shift Allowance earns about $116,799, which, as a single without hospital cover, means a surcharge of about $1,168 a year on top of the levy (our calculation). Compare the surcharge with quotes for hospital cover before you decide.

Two timing traps for new arrivals: Lifetime Health Cover adds a 2% loading for each year over 30 if you take out hospital cover after your deadline, and if you arrive on a 482, you're personally liable for health costs and need adequate cover. Check what Medicare covers before you cancel any UK-style cover you rely on.

Australian inflation was 4% in August 2026, against 3.1% in the UK. That matters for pay. WA's last scheduled rise under its 2024 agreement took effect on 1 July 2026, so the next WA increase depends on a new agreement. Queensland's agreement adds a CPI top-up when Brisbane inflation beats the scheduled rise. Our pay deal tracker follows every force.

The price-level gap also changes how you should read pay conversions. If Australian prices are about 10% above the UK's at today's rate, an Australian salary converted to pounds overstates what it buys by roughly that much. Our UK vs Australia pay guide shows take-home both ways.

1. 1

   Get your real pay point

   Income

   Ask the force for your starting pay point in writing, and which roster you'll work after the course. Use the take-home calculator for the fortnightly figure.

2. 2

   Pick realistic suburbs

   Housing

   Ask where you're likely to be posted, then check current rental listings near those stations. Remember regional postings are common.

3. 3

   Price bonds and set-up

   Arrival

   Bond (4 to 6 weeks' rent), rent in advance, furniture, a car and temporary accommodation. Visa costs come first: from A$6,140 for the main applicant.

4. 4

   Add family costs

   Family

   Childcare after the subsidy, school costs, health cover if you're above the surcharge threshold, and two cars if you need them.

5. 5

   Compare with your UK budget

   Decision

   Line it up against your UK take-home and bills, using today's rate, then check again before you resign: the rate moves.