Lot's of good feedback in here!
Sibley: Yes I have been saying I am ready to start in 4 weeks time, which given the four week notice period at my current employer (reasonably standard for accounting, although some companies are 2 weeks) will make for a highly interesting move.
I'll use air bnb to stay in a granny flat so I can hit the ground running. My dad is going to come over with me and choose my apartment, wait for removalists, pick up my ikea orders and get my car registration switched over etc... all the things I won't have time for as I will be needed to impress in my probation period. Yay for early retiree parents!
I am worried about taking "a job, any job" as my understanding is recruiters put most weight on your current position and your ability to negotiate depends primarily on your current salary, but I wouldn't hesitate to move jobs if the fit wasn't good. But I haven't even managed to get to the point of being offered a poorly fitting job.
HappierAtHome: thanks for the feeback - yes, maybe I should set myself an end date for this, for both my own mental health and that way I can confidently say to a recruiters, I'm moving in "month" although I'd love to move sooner if a suitable role came up.
Cathy: Yes, I have primarily been dealing with the big end of town, but even the big end of town isn't paying relocation packages right now... while 6% might not look like a bad employment rate it's looser than it's been for many years and employers know they can find a good candidate locally. I did consider no address, but worried it could make it look like I'm currently working overseas (my company has no Melbourne office, but does have international offices) which would be even worse. But maybe it warrants further consideration.
alsoknownasDean: Temp/contract work seems to be primarily in Financial Accounting which I don't have very much experience in. Again I'm also worried it hurts my negotiating position in regards to salary as temp roles seem to pay quite poorly. But if a longer term temp role (12months) came up with one of my target companies I'd still give it serious consideration as a way to network internaly. But so far most temp work has been Financial Accounting.
ShoulderThingThatGoesUp - good idea, although not as easy as it sounds. Australia is small (22million people) so many companies make do with only one or two offices, and the Perth/Melbourne combination isn't as common as you might think. It also means a minimum 12 month commitment in Perth (most large companies here will only provide an internal transfer after 12 months) possibly longer if it takes a while for a good role to come up. But still it's worth investigating...