Rory,

Where would you be staying if you came to the East Coast?
There are plenty of spots and you will get plenty of sailing in but it depends on where you are. Unlike WA which gets predominantly the same wind direction, you will get both over here. So let me know where you would be based and I'll tell you great sailing spots for both tacks. And if you surf too then you'll get excellent surf.
If you have the choice to go back to WA then lucky you, but if you stayed here then you will still sail a lot if you have the time.
Also what gear do you have?

Rory,

That's a good plan if you are able to travel around.

As for the best spots, we'll start with Sydney if you end up living there.
As a guide, go to this link:
http://www.nswwavesailing.org/news_story.asp?newsID=36

It tells you all about the Sydney spots, on the North and South sides.
In Summer from about Sept/Oct onwards, the typical seebreeze is a Nor-easter and they tend to be stronger on the South side. But southerlies are pretty much the same both sides.
You'll also see on there a guide for the Coffs Harbour area which is about 6 hours up the coast. Ok, but not really worth basing your trip around.

Newcastle, about 2 hours drive north of Sydney, has some good spots and quite a big local crew. Nobbies Beach is where they go in NE.
There are some great southerly spots between Newcastle and Sydney along the Central Coast. Towoon Bay is great in a southerly when the swell is up. Also, Blacksmiths Beach (SE wind), Red Head (SW wind), and a few others which I'm sure they would show you.

As for Westerlies, which blow a lot through Winter, there are not a lot of wave spots. If you go to Birubi Point which is about 30/40 mins north of Newcastle on the way to Nelson Bay, then it is epic down the line wave sailing in a westerly. It blows very strong and the waves can get very evil.

The south coast (south of Sydney) is awesome. From Wollongong down there are heaps of great spots. Gerroa, at Seven Mile Beach which is about 40 mins south of Wollongong (and about 2 hours south of Sydney), is probably the best and most reliable NE wave spot on the east coast. When it blows it really blows. It's just one of those freaky places that absolutely cranks in when it's not even windy a few minutes up the coast. Needs a south swell to get big but even the small waves are perfect. In summer you would use you 4.3 and small wave board a lot.
In the south of Wollongong, is Windang Beach at the mouth of Lake Illawarra. An awesome southerly wave spot. One of the best I've seen. And 1st class surf when it's not windy.

Further south, is such a great part of the coast. More awesome surf spots than you can think of. Not as many known sailing spots (expect for Merimbula about 6 hours south of Sydney) but if it's windy I'm sure it'd be good.

If you've got slalom gear too then you've got so many places to choose.
Sydney:
Botany Bay (very big, works in any direction, lots of sailors during the winter westerlies)
Palm Beach
Narrabeen Lake
And some parts of Sydney Harbour

Newcastle/Central Coast:
Lake Macquarie (enormous lake, very windy, lots of locals)
Nelson Bay (40 mins nth of Newcastle. Very windy)

Wollongong:
Lake Illawarra

I'm guessing your best chance for work would be in either Sydney, Newcastle or Wollongong. There's plenty of local sailors in each of them.
You should turn up to one of the NSW wave sailing comps or one of the slalom comps. Good crew, good weekends, good pubs if there's no wind. Plus you'll know all the spots.
The calendar for the wave comps hasn't been updated but the next one is going to be in August at Birubi Point.

Hopefully see you out on the water.

its also really old

I LIKE WATER

Hi Rory.

Central Eastcoast + Winter = crap

You may get one reasonable day for sailing (true 15 - 20knts) per fortnight, but this only last for about 3 hours of the day. We start to get offshore westerlies which are gusty and crappy, and are only really strong in the mornings when it is 12 degrees outside. By the time the temp reaches 23 or so, the sea breeze cancels out the westerly so we end up with about 10 knots of wind. It will remain like this until August. September onward will be the good stuff here on the central east coast.

Yamba in northern NSW can be ok for flat water sailing in winter.

Wellington point Brisbane QLD (moreton Bay) can be great in winter. Sailable in any wind direction and has good jumping chop/swell.

In winter, you really want to go far north queensland. Cairns etc. Very good sea breezes in winter. They will be averaging 15-20knot winds at the moment, right up north east coast. Warm water 24 - 26 degrees, and warm weather. Not much surf up there though. Green Island off Cairns is very popular for surf. It is out past the barrier reef.

If you have pommy blood, victoria is amazing for wind just about all year round (except for late april - mid may). Water reaches about 20 in summer and drops to 14-15 in winter. Lots 0 wind though. Be aware that in winter the max air temp is anything from 6 to 17 degrees, and only for about an hour. Hottest part of the day is 1 to 3 pm. In winter it is usually cold and foggy until about 10-11 am, then it very slowly starts to warm up till 2pm where it will reach the days max temperature, then it's down hill again. In summer it is great because it is very long days. Sun sets at about 8.45pm in mid summer, and if it has been hot, it usually remains hot till midnight, so the wind keeps blowing even after sun sets. Knock off work at 5.30, and still get 3 hours of good sailing in. I used to do alot of waterskiing and fishing in summer when I lived in victoria, and I would get agro all the time becasue the wind was always strong and chopping up the water. Now that I have got back into sailing, I kick myslef for wasting all those windy days sitting on the bank waiting for the wind to drop.

Justan