I moved my entire family to Australia and now earn £400-a-month extra while working fewer hours: British policeman says his children love life Down Under so much they don’t even want to come back to UK on holiday

A British policeman moved his whole family to Australia for work and now works fewer hours but earns £400 a month more than in the UK.

And he says his family loves their new digs so much they won’t even come home for the holidays.

John MacDonald, 35, worked for Staffordshire Police for nine years before taking the plunge and moving to Australia – moving his entire family to Redcliffe, near Perth in August.

Earlier this year, authorities Down Under stepped up their efforts to recruit officers in the UK – vowing not to drag them through years of hell if they shoot someone in connection with outrage over a Met policeman charged with the murder of Chris Kaba, who was shot dead in south London last year.

John was fed up with staff shortages in the UK, which meant he was always working alone – and overtime demands saw him work shifts of up to 19 hours.

Along with the benefits of sun and sea, his family have fallen in love with their new lifestyle in the six weeks since they moved.

John, who previously lived in Tean, Staffordshire, said: “I absolutely loved my job in the UK and have never wanted to do anything else since I was 16.

“But the police in the UK have been gradually hit by cuts over the years – fewer staff meant I was working alone and doing a lot of overtime.

“Not only is it tiring, but it affects your family life – I was missing things at home that I shouldn’t have because I was at work.

“My wife and I have always said that if we had the opportunity to move to Australia or New Zealand, we would.

“When it happened last October, we were the first to knock on the door.

“We’ve only been here six weeks, but I get better pay, extra time with my family and I get to live here.

“I can now see that policing in the UK is in need of a total overhaul – and it was time for me to move on.

“As a family we all love it here – it’s the best decision we’ve ever made and I can’t see us ever going back to the UK.”

John joined Staffordshire Police aged 25 and loved the job.

But John, father of Neil, nine, Felicity, eight, and Noel, five, found himself working overtime every week and missing out on time with his family.

He recalled that he was once on duty for 19.5 hours straight to cover staff shortages.

John said he would also often end up working alone, which ‘created a lonely experience’ as well as being ‘potentially dangerous’.

Six years ago, John and wife Debbie, 41, who also worked in the police, first had the idea of ​​immigrating to Australia or New Zealand.

‘The opportunities weren’t there’ at the time, but they vowed that if there was ever a system in place for them to move and keep the same roles, they would move the family Down Under.

So when the Western Australian Police opened up a scheme for UK officers to transfer, they jumped at the chance.

They sold their house in Lower Tean and headed to Perth in August this year to start their long-awaited Aussie dream.

They bought a car and rented a shiny new three-bed house, as well as getting their three children enrolled in a local school.

They also joined many sports clubs so they could make friends and get outside in the mid-30s degree sun.

Constable John started his new role with the Western Australian Police on September 25 – and within two weeks they had concluded they had made the right call.

He said: ‘The staff here is double that in the UK, so there are fewer long shifts and more people to share the workload.

I never work on my own here either, because they don’t let me, so it’s a real comfort blanket.

“In terms of attitudes, I would describe the police in the UK as a bit demoralized – and I certainly don’t see that when I look at the faces around the Western Australian Police.

“My take home pay last year in the UK police force was £52,000 including overtime.

“To put that into perspective, I earn £60,000 here – working fewer hours than in the UK.”

It also works on a staying power system, so it will have the ability to move to a new area so it never feels ‘stuck’.

Not only is work better for John, but his family is thriving in their new home.

He said: ‘The best thing is the lifestyle, the weather and the outdoor opportunities.

“Sport too – the eldest and I have got season tickets for the next cricket season. Where better to be if you like cricket?

“We haven’t done any surfing yet, but we’ve been to the beach – and the beaches here can’t be compared to anywhere else.

“Christmas will be very hot – I wouldn’t mind a barbie on the beach. Maybe not in a Santa suit!’

The family love it so much that they see Australia as a ‘one-way trip’ and have no plans to return to the UK – not even to visit.

John said they don’t have a big family and their family will visit them in Australia instead of the family coming back to the UK.

They have already planned for John’s father, another keen cricket fan, to fly over when the Ashes are lit in November 2025.

John has also floated the idea to his retired parents of moving to Australia permanently to join them one day.

He added: “My only regret is that we didn’t move sooner.

“Being here is a dream – it really is a dream come true.”