Well if you know any legit tax shelter for retirement in Australia, I don't mind hearing about it like ISA in the UK, TFSA in the Canada, Roth or 401k in US.

Like I said maybe I am stupid or it simply doesn't exist apart from super.

Hi All,

I’ve been browsing Lowyat Forum on and off for the past decade or so and I’ve seen a lot of threads every now and then that centres around the topic of moving to Australia. There’s a lot of good information on here, but there’s also an equal amount of misconceptions about living and working in the land down under.

One saying that I’ve come across a lot which stands true is that the grass is not always greener on the other side, and this is something that I’ve always kept at the back of my mind when I was planning the big move. I’ve seen many migrants struggling as they did not deliberate enough when making the decision to uproot their established lives in Malaysia to give what they perceive as the land of opportunity a go.

I have a bit of time to spare over the next week, so I’d be happy to shed light on and provide some first-hand insights into moving, living and working in Australia. Some context about myself to kick start the AMA:

- I obtained my Australian permanent resident visa prior to the COVID pandemic
- I moved early 2022 at the tail-end of COVID border restrictions
- I am English-educated while my wife is Chinese-educated
- My wife and I are in our early 30s
- We are both currently working in our respective industries, either at the same level or higher that the jobs we had prior to leaving Malaysia
- We had a combined monthly salary of approximately RM35k per month in Malaysia with our house and cars paid off, which made the decision to move even more difficult

Feel free to ask me anything and I will endeavour to provide a candid answer based on my personal experience. 

In the context of future retirement when one is presumed to be older, lacking in energy, higher prospensity to fall sick,  think the best solution is to make more money such that any added tax is simply treated as a fixed cost of living in the desired country. Desired meaning, access to amenities like nursing home, hospital, walkability, safety... etc

imo, optimizing for future taxation during retirement is simply running too much on the margins. Is better to make more money such that taxation is not important, esp when one still have the earning capabilities. Taxation policies can change anytime and they probably will to curb tax "minimisers".

How's the jam in Australia during rush hour? One of the stress contributor in Klang Valley is the bloody jam to and back from work.

Any regrets so far?

What's good and bad about MY vs AU?

Has everything stable there yet?

How much it costs you to buy a 3 bedroom house in good school zone?

Well if you know any legit tax shelter for retirement in Australia, I don't mind hearing about it like ISA in the UK, TFSA in the Canada, Roth or 401k in US.

Like I said maybe I am stupid or it simply doesn't exist apart from super.

If you're gonna move your investments to australia, you need to understand the australian system and what australians do in australia, not applying what you know from malaysia or singapore since they are not applicable anyways.

The biggest thing in australia is not super, but negative gearing. many australians get a mortgage to buy very expensive properties and then rent them out. You can report a net rental loss this way and even recover tax credits from the govt. That's why you hear the insane property price growth there, it is all due to the negative gearing system

https://treasury.gov.au/review/tax-white-pa...egative-gearing

All fine and dandy until you realise there’s a negative cashflow element when negative gearing.

I’m not sure why the media likes to portray it as a free ride to riches.

Varies wildly. Some of the best high schools in established areas next to the CBD can easily go for 2m+. My area is just slightly over 1m on average. This price range is quite similar for all smaller cities for properties within good high school zones (top 3 public high schools in the state).

Can’t speak for Sydney/Melbourne though as they’re all outside my affordability.

Seems like no hope for single earner to buy a landed house 🥲

If I don't care about future family, better work life balance I won't even consider about moving to Australia. I wont even be on this thread. Yes I want best of both world. No tax on investment and the Australia lifestyle for my kids and myself. But like they said you cant have your cake and eat it. I know there's a way to get both but I will need to be a private banking level and not normal people level.
No one's door.

Reason is I can FIRE if I dont move to Australia. With all the taxes I don't think I can FIRE. Maybe yes but take longer (which I don't want to wait). The reason for FIRE is to have early retirement and enjoy life.

I agree and I already start seeing the changes in Malaysia even though it's still cheap for now. 3% tax Vs say 32.5% tax.

Hi,

Are the calculation of interest for OZ housing loan there similar to Msia? Msia SNP 500k, total payable 1 Mil+ total throughout tenure.

Thanks

i believe so as my friend just told me his mortgage has gone up nearly 1.5x since covid

No, I mean the mechanism of interest calculation not the OPR related increase.