pathoff← All countries for move & retire

Move & retire

Australia

Both retirement visas are closed. What is left is a points test.

4/4
ingredients confirmed
Every ingredient this page asks for has a figure and a source.
Living
~$3,600/mo
Couple, all in. Compared at country level, so capital cities and large metros run higher. The price level behind it prices the basket residents buy, and a foreign renter cannot reach the cheap end of local housing — poorer countries may still sit too low here.
Safety
High
Twentieth globally and fifth in the Asia-Pacific region
ResidencyRecently changed
No retirement route at all, and a capped points system
The points test itself is under review with proposals to raise the threshold, and annual planning levels set how many places exist at all. This is a route where the rules and the volume both move.
Healthcare
Excellent, once you are a permanent resident
Out-of-pocket spending is 15.8% of current health expenditure here (World Bank, 2023, CC BY 4.0). Read it with care: the measure counts only what insured people pay — not premiums, and not the uninsured — which is why the United States comes out at 10.9%, ahead of most countries on this site.

More is being checked.

Where these figures came from

One row per ingredient. Open any of them for the source, how far we trust it, and when we last checked.

Living~$3,600/mo

Pathoff judgement directed by evidence, not computed from it: the country’s position comes from the World Bank household consumption price level for 2024 (0.942 of the United States, CC BY 4.0 — the ICP benchmark carried forward annually by the World Bank’s own method); the US reference budget is ours. See the Pathoff method, section 12.

Couple, all in. Compared at country level, so capital cities and large metros run higher. The price level behind it prices the basket residents buy, and a foreign renter cannot reach the cheap end of local housing — poorer countries may still sit too low here.

Confidence
made by us from the source
SafetyHigh

Global Peace Index 2026: rank 20 of 163, score 1.602. Converted by the Pathoff GPI formula (GPI in lib/scoring.ts)

Twentieth globally and fifth in the Asia-Pacific region

Confidence
made by us from the source
ResidencyNo retirement route at all, and a capped points system

Pathoff outcome rubric (the Pathoff method, section 10-4), residency band "Work, family or business only": Both the investor retirement and retirement visas have been repealed and are closed to new applicants, so nothing exists for someone arriving on means. What remains is skilled migration selected on points through invitation rounds against annual planning levels, or employer sponsorship. At the foot of the band because meeting the criteria does not entitle you to an invitation.

The points test itself is under review with proposals to raise the threshold, and annual planning levels set how many places exist at all. This is a route where the rules and the volume both move.

Confidence
made by us from the source
Rule
Changed recently — older guidance elsewhere is out of date
Last checked
2026-09
HealthcareExcellent, once you are a permanent resident

Pathoff healthcare rubric (the Pathoff method, section 13-2), band "Covered, with a private top-up in practice": Medicare covers permanent residents comprehensively and serious treatment is done in the country. Held mid-band because eligibility follows permanent residence rather than living here — temporary visa holders are excluded unless their country has a reciprocal agreement — and the tax system actively pushes residents towards buying private cover alongside it.

Out-of-pocket spending is 15.8% of current health expenditure here (World Bank, 2023, CC BY 4.0). Read it with care: the measure counts only what insured people pay — not premiums, and not the uninsured — which is why the United States comes out at 10.9%, ahead of most countries on this site.

Confidence
made by us from the source
Rule
No change known to us
Last checked
2026-09

What it is like here

Australia repealed both of its retirement visas, so there is no longer any route for someone arriving with means — the investor retirement and retirement visas are shut to new applicants. What remains is skilled migration on points, allocated through capped invitation rounds, or an employer. Medicare is excellent once you have permanent residence, and it is tied to that rather than to living here.

How the process works

1

Get a skills assessment and a language test

Neither the points test nor employer sponsorship works without them.

⏱ 3–6 months
2

Submit an expression of interest and wait to be invited

Invitation rounds are competitive and the pass mark in practice is far above the minimum.

⏱ 6–24 months
3

Enrol in Medicare once permanent residence is granted

Before that, private cover is required and is a visa condition.

⏱ 1 week

Where people settle

Melbourne
The cheapest of the big cities, and the most temperate
Brisbane / Gold Coast
Warm, growing fast, and where many retirees actually go
Adelaide
Affordable, and points-favoured as a regional destination

Open any ingredient above to see where its figure came from, how far we trust it and when we last checked. Nothing here is a substitute for the official source. Last reviewed 2026-09-04.

Photograph of Australia by Benh LIEU SONG (Flickr), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.