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An Australian permanent resident can live, work and study without restriction in Australia. They can avail most of the benefits offered to an Australian citizen, like free healthcare and education. The main difference is they cannot vote in the federal and state elections. However, they can apply for Australian citizenship in 4 years, provided they meet certain criteria. They Below are few benefits they can avail:
- You can freely live and work in Australia same as the citizens, except few federal government jobs.
- Unrestricted rights to live, work and study in New Zealand.
- Eligibility for social security benefits and associated services. Few examples are child care benefit, health care benefit (after 2 years), unemployment benefit (after 2 years) etc. A detail can be found in here and Department of Human Services websites.
- Free medicare - Government bear the cost of general consultation and pathological test. However, you have to pay for specialized cases, unless you have a health insurance.
- Education is free up to tertiary level. The schools in your living area are bound to take your children by law. Each state government manages the school system within their state. This means that they provide funds and regulation for their schools. The national government provides the funding for universities in all the states. A detail can be found in Studying in Australia page.
- Australian citizens and permanent humanitarian visa holders can access the Higher Education Loans Program (HELP) and the associated discount for up-front payments. More information is available at Study Assist.
- Sponsor the family members to be permanent residents. Your partner and children can directly get permanent residency as your dependent, whereas you can sponsor certain relatives to get temporary residency which leads to a permanent residency in 2 years.
- You can enjoy visa-free travel to New Zealand.
- The support during pregnancy & childbirth