Moving to Brisbane from Melbourne
Melbourne households usually move to Brisbane for the weather and the outdoor life, not for cheaper housing — the price gap between the two cities is far narrower than it was, and in some inner suburbs Brisbane is now dearer. What you gain is winter you can live outside in, a shorter commute, and a river city built around being outdoors.
What you give up is harder to price: the density of Melbourne's food, arts and sport, the tram network, and the sheer number of good suburbs to choose from. Brisbane has fewer options and they move quickly.
What the move from Melbourne costs
Removalists, Melbourne to Brisbane
$5,500 – $13,000
Three or four bedroom house, door to door. It's 1,700km, so the freight component is higher than from Sydney. Backloading saves money if your dates are flexible.
Transit insurance
$500 – $1,000
Longer run, more handling. Declare the real replacement value, not what you paid.
Temporary accommodation
$1,400 – $2,000 a week
Two to six weeks while you inspect. Book before you know your exact suburb — you can always shorten it.
Bond and rent in advance
6 weeks' rent
Four weeks bond lodged with the Residential Tenancies Authority, two weeks in advance. Queensland leases and forms differ from Victoria's.
Vehicle re-registration
$700 – $1,100 a car
Safety certificate plus transfer within 14 days of becoming a Queensland resident. Your Victorian plates go back.
Setting up the household
$1,500 – $4,000
Air conditioning, fans, insect screens, outdoor furniture, uniforms. Most Melbourne households under-budget the cooling side.
Don't assume a windfall. Melbourne sale prices and Brisbane purchase prices are close enough now that the move can be roughly cost-neutral, and Queensland transfer duty — around $38,000 on a $1.4m home without a concession — eats into whatever gap there is. Model it properly before you commit.
Build your own budgetMelbourne suburbs and their Brisbane equivalents
Rough translations, not matches. They line up on feel, housing type and who lives there.
Inner north — Windsor, Wooloowin, Newmarket
Character housing on a train line, small bars and coffee, the same renovate-and-stay crowd.
West — Chelmer, Graceville, Indooroopilly
Established, leafy, quietly moneyed and driven by the same handful of private schools.
Inner east — Teneriffe, New Farm, Bulimba
Warehouse conversions, an eat street, the river doing the work the laneways do in Melbourne.
Bayside — Manly, Wynnum, or inner-south riverside
Manly is a working marina village rather than a beach strip. Calmer water, warmer year, less polish.
North — Bridgeman Downs, Albany Creek; south — Mansfield, Wishart
Big blocks, strong state schools, established family streets and a car-based routine.
Six suburbs to start with
Windsor
The closest thing to Brunswick: trains, terrace-ish density, coffee and renovators.
New Farm
Walkable, dense, cafes and the powerhouse — Fitzroy with a river.
Graceville
Wide leafy streets, a village strip and easy reach of the western schools.
Camp Hill
Family streets on ridges, good state schools, sensible value close in.
Wynnum
Bay, jetty and a slower pace for households leaving Melbourne's bayside.
Paddington
Antique shops, hills and character housing — the most Melbourne-feeling street life in Brisbane.
What to pack, what to sell
Bring it
- Good timber and anything you'd hate to replace — freight is cheaper than replacement.
- Outdoor furniture, the barbecue, bikes and anything for the water.
- School reports, immunisation records and any learning support documentation.
- One good winter jacket and a couple of jumpers. That's the whole winter wardrobe.
Leave it behind
- Hydronic and oil heaters, electric blankets, the whole cold-weather apparatus.
- Thick rugs and heavy drapes — they hold humidity and hide the light.
- Bulky dark furniture that suits a Victorian terrace and fights a Queenslander.
- Anything you're keeping out of habit. 1,700km is charged by the cubic metre.
Melbourne's second-hand market is deep — sell early and locally rather than paying to freight furniture you'll replace within a year.
Schools: what changes when you cross the border
Queensland state schools enrol by catchment, tied to where you actually live. An agreement to lease is generally accepted as proof of address, so confirm the catchment before you sign anything.
Independent and Catholic schools take enrolments from anywhere, but the well-known ones have long waiting lists. Register interest as soon as the move is real.
Year levels line up more closely than they used to: Queensland Prep matches Victorian Prep, and Year 7 is the first year of high school in both states. The cut-off date differs (30 June in Queensland), so confirm placement in writing.
There is no equivalent of the Victorian select-entry system at the same scale. Academic demand here concentrates in the grammar schools and a handful of state high schools with academic programs.
Four things Melbourne households consistently get wrong
Summer, not winter, shapes the house
Look for cross-breezes, ceiling fans, air conditioning in the bedrooms, insect screens and covered outdoor space. Northerly aspect matters less than shade and airflow. Ignore how the heating works.
Flood overlays are a standard check
Anything near the river or a creek gets checked on Brisbane City Council's flood awareness map before you offer. Elevation changes street by street, and it changes the insurance premium.
No tram network to lean on
Brisbane runs trains, buses, busways and CityCats. It's good along the corridors and thin between them, so household car use tends to go up, not down.
The city is smaller in every sense
Shorter commutes and easier weekends, but fewer employers, fewer restaurants and a quieter cultural calendar. Melbourne households who love the density feel this within the first year — go in with clear eyes.
Melbourne to Brisbane checklist
- Model the numbers honestly — Melbourne sale against Brisbane purchase plus duty.
- Narrow to three or four suburbs, using the shortlist tool rather than hearsay.
- Register interest at any independent school you're serious about.
- Get three quotes, and ask each about backloading dates.
- Lock in the truck and short-stay accommodation.
- Fly up for a weekend of inspections and a weekday commute test.
- Check the state school catchment for each address on your list.
- Give notice or list the Melbourne home.
- Sell the heaters, the rugs and the cold-weather gear.
- Redirect mail, move utilities, update the electoral roll.
- Request school records and immunisation history.
- Arrange pet transport and vet records.
- Safety certificate and Queensland rego for each car within 14 days.
- Swap your Victorian licence for a Queensland one.
- Enrol the children in person with proof of address.
- Sort out air conditioning servicing before the first storm season.
Common questions
How much does it cost to move from Melbourne to Brisbane?
Expect $5,500 to $13,000 for a three or four bedroom house door to door, plus transit insurance. All in — accommodation, bond or transfer duty, vehicles and setup — most households land between $12,000 and $28,000. Our cost planner builds the figure for your circumstances.
Is Brisbane cheaper than Melbourne?
Not reliably any more. Inner Brisbane house prices now sit close to, and sometimes above, comparable Melbourne suburbs. Rents are similar. You save on heating and on time; you don't automatically save on housing.
How long does the truck take?
Three to seven days for 1,700km, and most removalists quote a window rather than a date. Backloading is cheaper and slower — fine if you're in temporary accommodation anyway.
Which Brisbane suburb feels most like inner Melbourne?
Windsor and Paddington for character housing and hills, New Farm and Teneriffe for density and food. None of them are Fitzroy, but they're the closest Brisbane gets.
Buying in Brisbane after the move?
Home Scouts are Brisbane buyer's agents who work with relocating families every week — inspections on your behalf, honest reads on suburbs and flood risk, and negotiation once you've found the right home.
Talk to Home ScoutsCosts, rents, travel times and school details on this page are indicative drafts for planning only, not live market data. Confirm figures with your removalist, agent, solicitor and lender, and confirm year levels, catchments and enrolment with each school directly.