Every guide to moving house, in one place

Start the long-lead items about six weeks out and work backwards from move day. The tasks that need the most notice are booking a removalist (peak slots at month end and on weekends fill up first), ordering your internet and energy connections (an NBN order can take several business days), and giving notice on your lease (most periodic tenancies need 14 to 28 days written notice). Leave those three to the last week and you risk paying a peak removalist rate or missing a slot, sitting days without power or internet, and being caught for rent on two places. Address changes, packing and mail redirection can happen closer to the day.

Book several weeks ahead and aim for a mid-month weekday if your dates are flexible. Removalists are busiest at the end of the month, when most leases turn over, and on weekends, so those slots carry the highest demand and the least negotiating room. Booking early gives you the pick of dates and crews; leaving it late on a popular date can mean a higher rate or no availability at all. Our moving season and removalist guides break down how the price is set.

Energy connections to an existing, already-connected property are often same-day or next-business-day if you arrange them a few days ahead, but a new connection or a meter that needs work takes longer. Internet is the slower one: an NBN connection at an address that is already serviceable usually takes a few business days, and a brand-new development can take weeks. That is why ordering internet at the four-week mark, not move week, is the single best way to avoid moving into a home with no connection. Sort your utilities early so they are live from day one.

It depends on your state and your lease type, so check your tenancy agreement and your state regulator. As a guide, ending a periodic (rolling) tenancy generally needs 14 to 28 days written notice, while leaving a fixed-term lease early usually means a break-lease arrangement, which can carry costs. Rules and forms differ between NSW Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs Victoria, the Residential Tenancies Authority in Queensland and the other state bodies, and disputes are heard by tribunals such as NCAT, VCAT and QCAT. Missing your notice period is a classic timing mistake that leaves you paying rent on two homes.

Fix your move date, then immediately plan backwards from it. Knowing the date lets you check your lease notice period so you give notice in time, book a removalist while good slots are still open, and schedule your utility connections to land on move day. Everything else, packing, address changes and mail redirection, hangs off those long-lead anchors. Working backwards from the date, rather than forwards from today, is what stops the dear tasks from being left too late.

Treat the bond as a timing and evidence task, not a cleaning task you do on the last morning. A bond is typically four weeks rent, so it is worth protecting properly: compare the property against the condition report you signed at the start, complete a thorough exit clean (or book one early so it is not rushed), repair any damage you caused, and photograph every room once it is empty. Bonds are held by a state authority such as NSW Rental Bonds Online, Victoria's RTBA or the RTA in Queensland, and the return is claimed through them, so follow your state's process and keep your evidence. Leaving the clean and inspection to move day is how partial bond losses happen.