A migrant who set up a furniture removals business now making $10,000 a week says it’s unfair to blame people like him for Australia’s housing crisis.
Francisco Bonifaz, 32, moved to Australia from Chile in early 2022 and established a furniture removal business in Sydney before relocating to the Gold Coast and employing people.
The university graduate was drawn to the Aussie lifestyle, having worked in marketing and sales with global food giant Unilever in Chile.
The Gold Coast reminded him of his coastal home city of Vina del Mar, north-west of the capital Santiago.
‘It’s similar – regular sunny days, good summer, good waves, good beaches, very beautiful,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
Mr Bonifaz was attracted to Australia’s laidback lifestyle, and he decided to take the plunge and get a working holiday visa affter Covid restrictions were lifted.
‘Chile’s very traditional and conservative so I always wanted to travel,’ he said.
‘I heard a lot of good things about Australia and I took a decision to come and see how it was, not with an idea what to do here.
‘It was fantastic and I’m really happy here – I started looking more opportunities.’
A working holiday visa holder who set up a furniture removals business making $10,000 a week says it’s unfair to blame migrants like him for Australia’s housing crisis
Francisco Bonifaz, 32, moved to Australia from Chile in 2021 and established a furniture removal business in Sydney before relocating to the Gold Coast
He initially rented a Ford Transit van in January 2023 and established a furniture removals business at Bondi in Sydney’s east, doing that for 11 months, before relocating to the Gold Coast earlier this year.
In between, he worked as a coffee barista as hospitality businesses struggled to recruit staff with unemployment still at low levels.
The Goat Removals Services now focuses on south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales, moving furniture from the Sunshine Coast down to Byron Bay.
After getting good reviews on Airtasker and Google, his business is now able to charge $150 an hour plus GST, making $7,000 to $10,000 a week in revenue.
The business became so successful he was able to buy a Hino and a Mitsubishi Fuso truck, and employ six people; four full-time.
While high immigration has been identified as causing a severe shortage of rental properties and increased competition for real estate – pushing the prices of both to sky-high levels – Mr Bonifaz said long-term migrants like him also contributed to the economy.
‘A lot of immigrants, being good for the country because they have their knowledge and they can show here they are prepared to make Australia grow,’ he said.
While high immigration has been linked to Australia’s rental crisis, Mr Bonifaz (left with business partner Sergio Arze) said long-term migrants like him contributed to the economy
Mr Bonifaz did a degree in business administration at the Adolfo Ibáñez University, where he met Sergio Arze, 33, who now also runs the removals business with him, taking care to wrap big items properly with blankets and straps
‘They want to come here and do a good thing.
‘The good thing in Australia is it’s a country with opportunities – if you can see that, you can do something good.’
Mr Bonifaz did a degree in business administration at the Adolfo Ibáñez University in Santiago, where he met Sergio Arze, 33, who now also runs the removals business with him.
‘We know the importance of taking care of your clients,’ Mr Bonifaz said.
‘We know the business of removals is very, very, very stressing when it’s about moving your stuff.’
The business partners are hoping their good work will lead them to eventually becoming permanent residents.
‘I’d love to but the thing with the visa is it’s not so easy,’ he said.
Long-term arrivals make up the bulk of Australia’s immigration intake with the permanent component now capped at 185,000.
In the year to July, 432,150 migrants on a net basis moved to Australia, with international students and working holidaymakers classified as long-term arrivals of at least 12 months.
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