Moving to Australia might feel a little overwhelming, but it was surprisingly easy. It took us less than three days to get completely set up here in Australia. It all went surprisingly smooth and the only things that we needed to set up was a bank account, tax file number, medicare card and a Australian phone number.
The first step is to get a Australian phone number since you’ll need it to be able to apply for the other bits. We decided to get a one month rolling contract from Amaysim, but there’s lots of other options depending on your own needs. The main issue with Australian mobile providers are the network coverage- or to be more precise- the lack of coverage. Telstra has the best network coverage in Australia and are good choice if you’re travelling/living somewhere in the outback, but it’s also a lot more expensive so it’s not a very cost-effective option if you’re living in one of the cities. We (and a lot of others) have their ordinary mobile provider and a spare PAYG Telsta sim card for when they are travelling to places where it’s needed. Another disadvantage is that most of Australia network providers doesn’t even offer a 4G connection since the technology are still being built.. Yup, the internet is pretty slow.
Some of the biggest mobile providers in Australia is: Telsta, Optus, Vodafone, Virgin Mobile, Amaysim, dodo & boost.
The next step to get set up in Australia is to get a bank account. It was so easy and only required some basic information (passport, visa number etc.). We even managed to set up a bank account with NAB (National Australian Bank) before entering Australia that we could immediately transfer our funds to. However, it’s not possible to withdraw any money from the account until the last few bits are completed in one of NAB’s branches. The only thing that we had to do In Australia to get complete access to our new Australian bank accounts was to prove our identity in person and to sign the last bits of paperwork. Other people seems to have a similar experience with the other banks, so it shouldn’t be any problems. Some of the biggest banks in Australia is: Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, ANZ & NAB.
Applying for the Tax file number and medicare card is a little harder since you’ll need to provide a address on the form. It’s a little stupid because they are only mailing out a piece of paper with the tax file number which they could easily have e-mailed instead. It will take up to 28 days to get the papers in the mail, but we’re only staying in our current hostel for a week and don’t know where we’ll be after that. We could thankfully use the address of one of V’s friends address that already live in Australia, so it’s all sorted out. The actual application process is really easy though.
You’ll need a tax file number if you are planning to work in Australia or will have some sort of taxable income. It’s just a individual identification number so you’ll pay the right amount of tax and it’s something that you need to provide to your employer within 28 days of starting a new job. I would recommend you to apply for it straight away since it might take a few weeks to arrive. You can apply for it online through the Australia Taxation Office (www.ato.gov.au)
The last step to get set up in Australia is to register for a Medicare card if you can. Having a medicare card will prove to the health care facilities (bulk billing doctors, hospital or other medical needs) to you are eligible for free health care in Australia. However, not everyone is eligible to register for a medicare card since it depends on what agreements Australia have with your home country. For example is everyone from Sweden and Britain entitled to free health care, but not if you’re from Germany. The entitlements is slowly changing over time and I would therefore recommend you to look it up at the Department of Humans Services (http://www.humanservices.gov.au).
Our last step is to find specified regional work that will count toward our second year visa, but even that is going really good! I have found a few good leads and we have more or less been offered a job at a the same farm for both of us.
We’re going to Brisbane tomorrow morning for a birthday dinner and to have a look around the city. Our plan A is to travel to the farm on Sunday or Monday if everything goes according to plans. Otherwise we’ll most likely head to Brisbane for 2-3 days before heading up to Bundaberg to look for work.