Relocation timeline
Complete field guideKeep current facts separate from relocation plans
Show what is already true, what is scheduled and what still depends on another event when applying from elsewhere.
- Market
- AU
- Jurisdiction
- Australia
- Updated
Short answer
Build a timeline with a date, event, status, source and dependency for each relevant change. Label a preferred move date as a preference and a future employment start as future. Update a dependent event only when its underlying fact changes.
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Guide map
In this guide
Jump to the part that matches the decision in front of you.
Key points
Send a dated snapshot
Put an “as of” date on your explanation and check it against the application form before sending. Keep a record of the version provided to each property. A personal profile can accompany the required process, but a PDF already emailed does not change when you edit your working draft. If an important date changes, confirm how the recipient wants the correction supplied.
Useful context
Use dates to explain the transition
Start with the facts as they stand today. A current home, a planned trip and a proposed tenancy can all have different dates. Writing them on one timeline makes that distinction visible without forcing them to match. Include only events relevant to the application; a complete travel itinerary is usually unnecessary for explaining your situation.
Action plan
Build the timeline from the source outward
Record the original date before summarising it. If a source describes a start date, do not call that role current employment before it begins. If an employer changes the start date, review the timeline and the introduction that mentions it rather than silently replacing only one file.
- Add the event date and the date you checked it; they answer different questions.
- Name the dependency in plain language, such as travel booking awaiting viewing confirmation.
- Keep actual recipient deadlines separate from your preferred moving schedule.
- When a plan changes, mark which next steps need a fresh decision rather than shifting every row automatically.
Working checklist
Give each event a status and dependency
The timeline is an editorial planning resource. These labels describe your own certainty, not whether a recipient accepts the information.
- Current: true as of the date you last checked it, with a source you can identify.
- Confirmed future event: scheduled or agreed, but not yet underway.
- Planned: an intention or preference that has not been confirmed.
- Dependent: a step that can happen only after another named event.
- Unknown: a date or arrangement that still needs clarification.
Keep in view
Explain the dates without oversharing
The OAIC explains that, where the Privacy Act covers a real estate agent, collection of personal information must be reasonably necessary for its functions or activities.
Provide information relevant to the recipient's application process and handle identity or financial material carefully.
Describe the relevant transition without attaching unrelated booking, identity or financial material. If a recipient asks for evidence of a future event, confirm the purpose and acceptable source. This timeline cannot establish a national document requirement or decide whether proposed arrangements meet a particular recipient’s criteria.
Practical example
A worked relocation sequence
Fictional example: Aisha Malik plans to move from Adelaide to Melbourne. The dates below are illustrative and do not describe a required application period or a secured tenancy.
- 11 October 2026: current address remains Adelaide; checked by Aisha; no relocation completed.
- 20 October: viewing trip is planned; travel booking depends on confirmation of inspection arrangements.
- 2 November: future employment start is confirmed in Aisha’s employment record; role has not started on 11 October.
- 26 October: preferred move date; depends on finding accommodation and agreeing its start date.
- Next check: after the viewing arrangements are confirmed; update the travel row and any introduction that refers to it.
Keep building
Continue with a related guide
Questions
Common questions
Clear answers for the decisions people usually pause on.
How do I describe a job that starts after the viewing?
State the future start date and whether it is confirmed, using the source you actually have. Keep it separate from current work and avoid reporting future earnings as amounts already received.
Do my viewing, employment and move dates need to match?
They describe different events. Explain their sequence and any dependency instead of changing truthful dates to make the timeline appear simpler. A preferred move date remains a preference until agreed.
Your next step
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Present your current situation and clearly labelled plans in a personal profile. The agent or landlord decides the application outcome.
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