Moving to Australia
Moving to a new country can be daunting, especially if it is so far away. A lot of the time you won’t know anyone there and you won’t know what to do. I myself flew with a one-way ticket to Sydney and a hostel for 4 nights. I didn’t know what I needed and spent a lot of time on google. So here I leave you a list of everything you will need to know and do once you arrive.
Goverment website account
TFN
Bank account
Super account
Medicare
Phone number
Buying a vehicle
Tax return
Certificates
Sign up to MyGov
You will need to make an account for the Australian government website. Using the following link:
https://my.gov.au/en/create-account/
Applying for a TFN
You need to apply for a tax file number in order to work and get paid. Even though it is online, you can only do it once you have arrived in Australia. You will need a copy of your visa to hand/downloaded on your laptop or phone. It doesn’t take long for your TFN to arrive, it normally says it can take up to 3 weeks. It does get posted, so I would recommend putting an address that you are going to be able to collect it from. If this is not the case though, do not stress, I never picked mine up, instead I rang ATO and after going through security questions they were able to tell me my number. I just made a note on my phone.
This is the link where you apply for your TFN.
https://www.ato.gov.au/single-page-applications/iar#beforeStart
Opening a bank account
You will need to put an address down, but you may put down the accommodation you are staying at. I opened my bank account in Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast and put down the address of the hostel I was staying in. Of course, I would recommend changing the address once/if you live somewhere more permanently. You can normally change the address online, so it is super simple and easy. I changed my address multiple times with no issues.
You will also need your passport. Different banks may ask for more or less information. I opened my account with CommonWealth and it was quick and easy.
A list of common bank accounts are Commbank, NAB, Westpac, ANZ. I choose Commbank because I believe it is the most popular.
Opening a Super account
In Australia, your work automatically pay into a pension fund, this is called superannuation, or super for short, This is not taken out of your pay, rather extra. Depending on the company, this may be paid in monthly or quarterly. When signing a contract for an employer, you will be asked to provide the details of your super account. If you haven’t opened one prior to this, your work will most likely choose one for you. If you want to do some proper research into which one is best, I recommend doing this before you start work. I just went for whichever one came up first, mine ended up being Aware Super. Are there better ones? Maybe. I honestly do not know the difference between them.
Medicare
Medicare covers half of your healthcare. If you need to go to the doctors or the hospital or you’re paying a prescription, Medicare will cover half the cost. You will be able to apply for a Medicare card if you are a resident of one of the following countries: Belgium, Finland, Italy, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Republic of Ireland, Slovenia, Sweden or the UK.
You will need to be able to prove you are a resident of one of the above countries. As I am a resident of Spain, I was not eligible for Medicare cover and cannot provide more information on the matter.
More information on enrolling at the following link:
https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/enrolling-medicare?context=60092
Obviously, I would suggest getting travel insurance which also covers medical costs up to a certain degree. If you want to go through the process of receiving compensation from your insurance company if you are not covered by Medicare, you may do so, just ask the doctors for the correct paperwork.
Phone number
There are a few phone companies to go with. Telstra, Optus and Vodafone are the most common. You may not know what you will be doing or where you will be going when you first arrive, but bear in mind that there are a lot of remote places with no coverage. Telstra is the company that has the most coverage in Aus, but there are also companies like Belong and Aldi that use Telstra towers.
I got Vodafone at the beginning, and regretted it deeply. I went to live on an Island for the first 4 months and there was no service on the island, only up by the bistro. Even though I ended up liking not being connected, it can be inconvenient and not for everybody.
You will need to have opened a bank account first before applying for a phone contract.
Buying a vehicle
Depending on the state you buy from, the process will be slightly different. Each state has their own Department of transport website and rules. I can only comment on Queensland and Western Australia, as I have bought and sold from both.
Western Australia is the easiest state to buy and sell, as you don’t need a Roadworthy inspection. You may see this as good or bad, as a roadworthy is an inspection sheet proving it has passed, it gives you more piece of mind when buying a vehicle. This doesn’t mean you can’t request one or get one yourself, it just means you do not need it to buy one. Whereas in Queensland for instance you need to show the roadworthy at the department of transport, along with your passport, providing an address and a “garage address” meaning where it will be stored/parked most of the time. I lived on yet another island at the time and didn’t have an address, so I just said the port where I would get the ferry.
I found QLD is more paperwork whereas WA was one sheet of paper, half filled out by the seller and half by the buyer, and then you just need ID.
Once you pay for the registration (Rego), you can renew it online. However, if you let the Rego run out, or buy an unregistered car, it will need to go over the pits and pass a roadworthy to reregister it.
Tax return
Some people will opt to pay someone, but the process is quite simple and easy enough to do yourself.
You can lodge your tax return from here:
You will need your MyGov and ATO account. Follow the steps, the details of your income will already be prefilled out for you from your employers. It can take up to a few weeks for your employers to provide the relative information to the government, so I wouldn’t bank on doing your tax return the first available day.
The tax year runs from 1st July – 30th Jun. Meaning you will be able to start your tax return after the 30th June. The due date for this is the 31st October.
Certificates
If you plan on working in a restaurant where alcohol is served or in a bar, you will need an RSA (responsible service of alcohol) certificate. It is an online course, and every state is different. I myself applied for one valid for QLD (Queensland), WA (Western Australia), SA (South Australia) and NT (Northern Territory). If you plan on working in NSW (New South Wales) or VIC (Victoria), you will require a different one, specific to that state, which will cost a lot more.
If you are hired without an RSA, you are allowed to work for 1 month before providing the certificate. Bear in mind that not only your employer but yourself can receive a hefty fine if you do not have an RSA. If you will be working where there is gambling involved you will need an RSG (responsible gabling service).
Sometimes you may be required to hold a food handling certificate. Or if you have one you may get hired over someone that doesn’t.
To be a manager you will need to hold an approved manager’s card.
If going into the construction industry/mine work, you will need a white card and/or a blue card.
I used this website: https://www.eot.edu.au/
