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Preparing to Leave

To help you prepare for the transition of going back home and perhaps moving to the working world refer to our flyer, Coping with reverse culture shock.

Checklist of things to do before leaving Australia:

• Getting you and your belongings home
• Leaving university
• Lodge a tax return
• Retirement fund (Superannuation)
• Accommodation
• Other

Getting you and your belongings home

• Book your flight home and pay for your airline ticket
• Tell your family and friends in your home country that you are coming home - so that they have time to organise a bigwelcome home party!
• Check with your airline as to how much baggage you are allowed to carry. Practice packing - anything that does not fit in you can arrange to have shipped to your home country. You have a number of options:
  • Sea mail - check with Australia Post for costs
  • Sea freight - check with any shipping agent in Darwin for costs
  • Airfreight - check with your airline for costs
  • International Air Cargo, phone 08 8982 3347.

Leaving university

• Make sure that your faculty knows you are finishing your degree and that you are eligible to graduate next semester
• Check with your faculty that you have no outstanding debts (e.g. tuition fees, library fines, etc.). You will not be awarded your degree or receive your memorandum of grades if you have outstanding fees
• Let the Student Facilitator (International Support) know that you intend to attend the Valedictory Ceremony if you are unable to attend the Graduation Ceremony
• Let the Student Facilitator (International Support) know you are leaving, the date you are leaving, and confirm that we have your mailing address overseas so that we can send your degree/certificate to you and notify the Department of Immigration and Citizenship
• Go to the Charles Darwin University Helpdesk located in Red 3 and ask for your email account to be cancelled.

Lodge a tax return

Lodge a tax return form if you have been working part-time since July 1. Take the following documents to the Australian Taxation Office:

• Your return airline ticket
• Your passport
• The payment summary (formerly known as a group certificate before 2001) from your employer (if you cannot get a payment summary, request a letter from your employer stating the number of hours your worked, the gross amount paid to you, the amount of tax deducted)
• When completing the tax pack at the taxation office mark it 'Final Return'. You must include your forwarding address (in your home country) so that the tax refund cheque will be sent directly to you.

Retirement fund (superannuation)

If you worked in Australia while on a temporary visa (a student visa is one of these) your employer may have been paying money into a retirement fund (superannuation). When you depart Australia you may be eligible to access this money. To find out more information check the Australian Tax Office (ATO) website or phone the Superannuation Infoline on 13 10 20 (within Australia) or email supermail@ato.gov.au (outside Australia).

Accommodation

• Inform your landlord/agent that you will be leaving. Depending on your lease, you usually have to give four weeks notice in order to get your bond back
• Arrange a mutually convenient time for you and the landlord/agent to inspect the property together
• If you are staying at North Flinders International House, inform the warden in writing four weeks in advance that you intend to leave
• Arrange for the disconnection of electricity, gas, telephone, cable TV, Internet, etc.

Other

• If you have children in school - inform the principal and their teachers of the date that your children will be leaving school
• Close all bank accounts after receiving all outstanding cheque payments
• Ask lecturers/employers for references
• Start to collect personal and work references for your resume, and information about organizations you have worked for (either paid or unpaid) will also be useful
• Make a list of important phone and fax numbers in Australia to take home with you
• Apply for membership to professional bodies:
  • Find out about requirements and applications procedures for joining associations and bodies relevant to your profession
  • Ask them to send the information to your address overseas
• Australia post offers a redirection service that can redirect your mail from your old address to an address in Australia not overseas. Apply at any Post Office and take identification and proof of current address with you.