Cost of Living - Australia

[OneTime]

I've had a few South Africans moving to Australia ask me about the general cost of living in Australia, so I've put my feelers out and checked out a few prices.

Bear in mind that this is just a guide - many prices would vary in different seasons, states and locations.

For the purposes of this excercise, most of these prices would be based on the suburbs of Melbourne. In most cases I've gone for branded items that are fairly generic for the sake of comparability instead of home-brand, so home brand items would always be cheaper. I've made sure that none of the items that I've priced were on special, so all standard prices.

Groceries - (Coles Supermarket)
White Bread, 650g - $3.80
Bananas - 1.98 per kg
Apples, Golden Delicious / Royal Gala - $4.98 per kg
Lettuce, Iceberg - $1.88
Butternut - $1.98 per kg
Carrots (loose) - $2.28 per kg
Onions (brown) - $2.98 per kg
Birdseye Frozen Garden Peas, 500g - $1.88
Chicken Fillets (skin off) - $14.99 per kg (bulk) $16.99 per kg (reg)
Beef Mince (regular) - $9.99 per kg
Lamb Loin Chops - $16.99 per kg
Beef Sirloin Steak - $21.99 per kg
Eggs, dozen, 600g - $3.89
Heinz Baked Beans, 420g - $1.49
Heinz Tomoato Sauce, 500ml - $2.59
Kellogs Corn Flakes, 525g - $3.76
Kellogs Coco Pops, 450g - $4.89
Nescafe Blend 43 Coffee, 150g - $7.49
Lipton Tea Bags, 100pk - $4.09
Nurofen Pain Tablets, 12pk - $3.14
Panadol Paracetamol, 24pk - $2.82
Colgate Triple Action Toothpaste, 160g - $2.98
Gilette Mach 3 Turbo Razor Blades, 4pk - $14.71
Huggies Infant Nappies Bulk 48pk - $20.98
Heinz Baby Food (Purity Apple Puree Equivalent) 110gm - $1.15
Loreal Elvive Shampoo, 250ml - $6.99
Flora Original Spread, 500gm - $3.19
Omo Washing Powder, 3kg - $14.79
Finish Powerball Dishwasher Tablets, 16pk - $6.19
Pedigree Canned Dog Food, 1.2kg - $2.79
Pura Milk (Full cream Clover equivalent), 2L - $3.39
No-Name Milk, 3L - $3.19
Wondersoft Toilet Paper - 2ply, 9 Rolls - $4.62


Luxuries
Mens Health Magazine - $8.50
Cosmopolitan Magazine - $7.20
Cadburys Dairy Milk Chocolate, 250g - $4.69
Coca Cola, 2L - $3.00
Red Bull, 250ml - $2.62

Alcohol / Cigarrettes
Victoria Bitter (lager - Castle equivalent) 375ml bottles x 24 - $42.99
Four Sisters 2007 Sauvignon Blanc Wine, 750ml - $13.99
Dunhill Infinite Lights, 25 pack - $11.53

Fuel (prices as National Average - 12 June 2008. For a comprehensive guide, check out this site (http://www.exploroz.com/OntheRoad/FuelPrices/Default.aspx))
Unleaded Petrol - $1.62 per litre
Diesel - $1.84 per litre
LPG Gas - $0.74 per litre



:grinHope this helps. I'll add more items as I come across them, and you're more than welcome to add some of your own - simply post them here and I'll add to the list.

[LongJohnny]

This is very interesting.

It's my turn to buy the family groceries on Thursday, and as we are quite an avarage family/household, I'll type up our crocery cash register receipt from Woolworths and post here as an example of an avarage, weekly grocery expedition in Adelaide.

Cheers,

LJ

[Maresa]

Ok, this is our turn, the whole planning, thinking, wondering if its the right thing to do, asking around about life in Oz etc. Fine what do you average pay for water and electricity.

[OneTime]

Ok, this is our turn, the whole planning, thinking, wondering if its the right thing to do, asking around about life in Oz etc. Fine what do you average pay for water and electricity.


Hello Maresa, and welcome! :welcome2::grin

If you have any questions, please, ask away, we're happy to help.

Yes, it is the right thing to do. First question answered. :grin

In terms of water and elec, I'm not entirely sure yet as we're still building and haven't paid full rates yet - but I will ask around and post the results.

I'll also work on things like car insurance and registration, satelite tv, etc...

[LongJohnny]

Here in Adelaide we pay our Water, Gas & Electricity bills on a Quaterly basis.

* At the moment most people's water bills indicates that they pay more towards levy's etc. than actual water consumption that's the case with us. The River Murray, Sewahe charge, Connection fee etc adds up to more that the consumption charge (in Casa la LJ in any case.)

* Our Gas bill averages around $180 a quarter.

* Our gas bills, are often a bit higher, the average is about $200 per quarter.

I'm not too sure whether our figures are a good indicator dor comparisons, as we use water, electricty & gas rather frugally. Not miserly, but we don't leave lights on in unused rooms, in summer we set our gas geyser on a cooler heat setting and we designed our garden to be water-economic, using drought resistant plants etc.


Hope this helps,

LJ

[Tessa]

What is an average salary ?

[OneTime]

What is an average salary ?

Tough to put a figure on it because it varies by area, but I've got a very detailed salary survey. I'll narrow it down and post some expamples here to give you an idea.

[OneTime]

Hi Tessa,

The average salary in Australia in November 2007 was apparently - $57,000 per anumn. http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,23636,22763090-462,00.html

I've cherry picked a few different occupations across the board from the Hays Salary Survey 2007 for the sake of comparison. Bear in mind that certain positions would earn more in bigger cities such as Sydney and Melbourne... I've used mid sized companies as an example - larger companies would usually pay more, and smaller companies less.

Management Accountant - Melbourne - $100,000 pa average ($75,000 to $110,000)
Data Entry Accounts Clerk - Sydney - $40,000 pa average ($35,000 to $42,000)
Construction Foreman - Civil- Melbourne - $70,000 to $100,000
IT Infrastructure - Desktop Support Person - $55,000 average ($45,000 to $60,000)
Human Resources Director - Melbourne - $200,000 pa ($150,000 - $375,000) :bigeek
Receptionist/Administrator - Sydney - $45,000 pa ($42,000 - $48,000)

Tradesmen in Melbourne (based on people I know such as electricians & builders) seem to earn around $50,000 to $70,000 as a basic salary, and then have bonus times (overtime, weekends & deal work) paid on top which bring them to between $80,000 and $120,000. A lot of the time tradesmen earn more than their foremen and managers, because of the hours that they do, and their superiors are usually on a salary rather than a rate.

I know of production line staff at a well known pharmaceutical company earning around $100,000 per anum - yes, working on a production line, but this usually always involves night shift and unsociable hours of work. Australians are very well rewarded with what they call "penalty rates". A lot of the time, the worse the shift or the more physical the job, the more likely you'll be paid. :laugh3:

[Tessa]

THANKS :bounce

[OneTime]

I've updated the list with a few things, especially the price of fuel, as this has risen (no surprises there)

Old Prices - 20 April 2008
Unleaded Petrol - $1.47 per litre
Diesel - $1.67
LPG gas - $0.74 per litre

New Price as at - 12 June 2008
Unleaded Petrol - $1.62 per litre
Diesel - $1.84 per litre
LPG gas - $0.74 per litre (remains the same)