Hey all, me and definatly one mate are coming over on May 2nd, starting in Cairns and going to work down the coast to Sydney, get the travelling done, then we are going to settle down for the remaining 9 or so months in the city we like the most, i was wondering how difficult would it be to rent a flat for this long as it would only be short term (9 or so months )? Would this be a problem? What would be the best situation to go for?

Thanks

Standard rental agreements are usually a minimum three month lease before it goes on to a month by month basis, either party - landlord or tenant having a right to give a months notice to the other after the end of the three months.
Sydney will not be cheap on living including rental for something decent closer in to CBD or beachside.
If you want something that is not so bad a deal for travellers and can allow you to check Sydney out at a reasonable cost initially, have a look at Sleeping With The Enemy or Backpacker accommodation Sydney, Sydney Terraces, budget, cheap, hostel .

I still reckon you're making the travelling harder for yourselves as three months on from May, Sydney through July August and September and even into October can be pretty miserable weatherwise and it is the ideal time to be doing the top end - I'll be up that way in July myself actually, and there's far more to Australia than Cairns to Sydney.
Probably a better chance of finding work as you move about too, maybe even the pearling industry at Broome is not out of the question.

Anyway, if Sydney attracts and you get stuck there like a few thousand more, also check out Sydney Classifieds - jobs in Sydney, flats to rent, Sydney dating as they have share ads and there's actually a web site called Flatmates and housemates share accommodation in Australia as well.

We signed up for 6 months on a semi-furnished place in Perth no problem - most Aussie flats are unfurnished so you might need to pay to avoid buying a whole lot of junk!

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Lis Moving to Australia