YAAAAS TIME TO PUT ON YOUR SUNNIES AND KICK OFF YOUR SHOES, YOU’VE ARRIVED TO THE LAND DOWN UNDA’. Here are some tips for when you arrive in Australia to make things go smoothly.
1. As soon as you can, apply for your TFN (Tax File Number). You need this number for any job you have. When I applied, I needed an address for them to send it to, as they won’t send it through email (but this may have changed since then). It typically takes about a week to get your TFN. Depending on where you’re staying, ask the hostel if you can have it sent there. Click HERE for the official website to get your TFN. You’ll need your passport and visa number.
2. If you’ve already opened up a bank account online before you left, don’t forget to go to the bank and pick up your bank card! (Bring your passport).
Haven’t opened a bank account yet? No worries, read Step 4 in my previous post to learn about the different banks in Australia and the best way to transfer your money over.
3. Just bring your passport with you everywhere the first few days, including when you go looking for a phone plan. DO NOT get any sort of plan with a contract. If you decide to jet off to Bali for a month you don’t want to be stuck paying a plan. Buy a prepaid SIM card for $2 with the provider you’ve decided has the best prepaid plan for you. Go to a shopping centre and see what each store has to offer, the most popular providers are Telstra, Optus and Vodafone.
We paid $30 a month for unlimited calls and texting, and 3 GB of data (including an extra GB on weekends) with Boost which we LOVED. They use Telstra’s towers, which has Australia’s largest coverage, but Boost offers cheaper plans than Telstra. We started with Optus, another popular provider, but once you leave the cities, coverage is spotty or non-existent. When we did our farm work on the west coast, the whole town was only covered by Telstra/Boost and we never went back after we made the switch. Boost does not have an actual store to go into, but you can buy their SIM cards at many locations including grocery stores (Woolsworth or Coles).
4. Once your bank account is open and you’ve received your TFN, you can apply for a Superannuation account. No idea what that is? Don’t worry, neither did I at first. Basically all your employers legally have to put 9.5% of your salary into your Super account. This money is meant for when Australians have retired, so you can’t withdraw any of it until after you have left the country, and your Working Holiday Visa has expired. You can choose where to open your account, I decided to do it through my bank (Commonwealth) so I could have all of my money in one spot and easily see it from my app.
5. Ready to explore the city you’re in? Right on! Public transport is probably the easiest and cheapest way to do so. Each state has a different public transport card that you can use by tapping on and off on buses and trains, and can easily be topped off online or at train stations.
- Melbourne: Myki card costs $6.
- Sydney: Opal card is free! Tip: On Sundays the daily cap limit is $2.50 instead of $15! This would be a great day for a long train ride to the Blue Mountains or Royal National Park.
- Brisbane: Go card costs a refundable deposit of $10.
- Cairns: No transport card here! Cairns is old school and requires cash for the buses. There isn’t even a machine to deposit the money into, you give it straight to the bus driver so try to have as close to exact change as possible. Click here to take a look at the zones around Cairns to know how much your fare will be.
- Perth: Transperth card costs $10.
That’s enough work for the day, you can go hit up the beach now!
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