We build free tools to help everyone navigate life in Australia - whether you just arrived on a visa or you've been here your whole life.
Government websites are confusing. Centrelink rules are complicated. Visa pathways are hard to understand. We believe everyone deserves clear explanations and planning tools that help you identify the official next step. A quick estimate cannot replace an individual eligibility or professional assessment.
The following is the publisher’s account of the site’s origins.
SettleAU started, like most useful things, because I got sick of repeating myself.
I'm an Australian citizen, born and raised here, but over the last decade I've watched friends from all over the world try to make the same move I never had to think about. A mate from Manila came over on a 482 to work in hospitality. A uni friend from Mumbai chased a skilled visa for years before finally landing PR through a regional pathway. A colleague from Ireland did the working holiday, the partner visa, the citizenship application, the whole journey. And then my own partner came here when we got married, navigating their way through the partner visa process while I tried to be useful from the inside.
Every single one of them asked me the same questions. How much tax am I going to pay? When does my waiting period end? Can I get Medicare yet? What's the deal with HECS for international students? Will Centrelink help if I lose my job? Each time I'd go hunting through Services Australia, the ATO, and the Department of Home Affairs to try to give them a real answer, and each time I'd come away thinking the same thing: this information shouldn't be this hard to find.
Different agencies answer different parts of an arrival question. A visa grant, a tax-residency decision and Medicare or payment eligibility are separate matters. SettleAU brings those routes together while linking back to the organisation responsible for each decision.
After helping my partner through their visa journey, I sat down one weekend and started building a tax-planning calculator. Then a Centrelink eligibility tool. Then a NARWP countdown to help people examine payment-specific waiting-period assumptions. Then a cost-of-living comparison, a rent affordability calculator, a child care subsidy estimator. Before I knew it I had a folder full of tools that I'd been emailing to friends one at a time, and it occurred to me that there was no good reason to keep doing it that way.
SettleAU is the result. It brings common arrival questions together with free planning tools, guides and links to official sources. If you're planning a move to Australia, in the middle of a visa application, or just trying to figure out what comes next, this is the site I wish I'd been able to point my friends to a decade ago.
SettleAU is organised into five pillars, each built around a real decision you need to make when you live in Australia:
We also publish long-form guides and articles on topics that need more than a calculator - like the difference between the 309 and 820 partner visas, how Reciprocal Health Care Agreements actually work, or what to expect in your first 30 days in Australia.
Check the page’s source-review date, financial year and stated scope. A review date records a check at that time; it is not a promise of continuous monitoring or that every rule will remain unchanged. Follow the direct government, regulator or provider link before making a consequential decision.
SettleAU publishes general information under the SettleAU name. The site does not claim that these articles have been approved by a government agency or professionally certified. A named specialist review, if one is ever provided, needs its own clear attribution and scope; no credentials are implied by the publisher name.
The September–October 2026 review corrected specific factual and modelling issues and added clearer source links and limitations. Examples of published corrections include:
These examples are a correction record, not a claim that a website can replace official advice or guarantee every result. Readers should still check the relevant source and report discrepancies.
SettleAU’s tools and guides are free to access. The project aims to support its operation through advertising. Advertisements, when displayed, are separate from the official sources linked in a guide; their presence does not mean a government agency or SettleAU has verified an advertiser’s claims.
Do not treat a product mention or external link as personal financial, insurance or migration advice. Check the provider’s current eligibility, price and terms. This page does not claim active affiliate partnerships, donation income or any particular advertising approval.
SettleAU is an independent, one-person project. I'm an Australian citizen with a background in software, and I built this site after years of fielding the same questions from friends, colleagues, and family members trying to make their lives here. Helping my partner through the partner visa process was the moment it really sunk in just how impenetrable the system can be from the outside, and how few of the resources out there actually answer the questions people have.
I write under the SettleAU name rather than my own because the goal is the content, not the person. The information here is either accurate and useful or it isn't, and that's the only thing that should matter. If you spot a mistake, the contact form is below and correction reports help identify pages that need another check. Any future contribution describing professional expertise would need an identified author, verified credentials and a clear review scope.
SettleAU provides general information only. Our tools are not a substitute for professional financial, medical, legal, or migration advice. No individual tax, financial, legal, medical or migration service is offered through these general guides.
We are not affiliated with the Australian Government, Services Australia, the Department of Home Affairs, the Australian Taxation Office, or any government agency.
While we do our best to keep information accurate and up to date, rates and rules change. Always verify important decisions with the relevant government agency or a qualified professional.
We'd love to hear from you. The fastest way to reach us is via the feedback form, or you can email hello@settleau.com.au. Response times are not guaranteed. For an urgent account, health, legal or payment matter, contact the responsible service directly.
If you've found an error in a calculator or guide, please include the specific page URL and what should be corrected - we prioritise accuracy fixes ahead of everything else.