Hello Murphies,
Today we’d like to talk about the most important things you MUST do to ensure your arrival in Australia goes smoothly and you can settle in.
When we arrived here a few months ago, we didn’t really consider what we needed to plan to make our arrival in the country stress-free and thought we could just improvise. But the truth is that, without having gathered some information in advance, we wasted a lot of time looking for answers on the Internet and our first week was a bit of a mess. So we wondered, why not share with Murphies some tips on what to prepare to make their first week in Australia the best it can be ?
- Phone Plan
The first thing to do when you land in Australia is to get a phone number. Australia is famous for offering a lot of cheap plans, so depending on your needs, you can decide which option is best for you. In our case, we wanted to get quite a large amount of data while trying to spend as little money as possible. That’s why we decided to choose Optus. Our plan costs 35$ for 20GB, which isn’t too bad (check out their offers every month as it might change). The strong point of this phone company is that you can easily recharge your plan online with their app and most of the time they offer deals, so don’t hesitate to do it.
However, be aware that you may need to change your phone company if you move to a remote area. When we had to renew our Working Holiday Visa (click here for more information), we had to live in a small town far from a city and it didn’t cover the Optus network so we had to switch to Telstra. In our opinion, their offers are less favourable… We paid 39$ for 15GB.
We advise our Murphies to take a good look at where they are planning to go and compare the different options for themselves.
2. Bank Accounts
Opening a bank account quickly is essential as exchange fees can be quite high in Australia. It took us just 30 minutes to open a bank account at an agency. Be sure to come prepare with some documents including :
- A copy of your passport
- A copy of your valid VISA
- A copy of your flight tickets (go and return)
We were able to activate our accounts immediately, but it usually takes around 4 working days to get your card. In the meantime you can already make payments and transactions using the app.
3. Public transport’s card
Australia is a big country and I would not advise you to try to reach your destination on foot. That’s why you need to find out about Australian transport.
Brisbane : Go Card is the electronic card used in Brisbane to travel fast and easily through the city and South East Queensland in general. We definitely recommend that you get this card as soon as possible, since it’s way more easy to go around the city with it.
The system is very simple to use : you need to find a Kiosk (generally in a big station) where they sell the Go Card. You will have to pay a deposit of 10$ for the card so make sure to not lose it, then charge on their machine the amount of money you need for your travel. For your future travel, we advise you to download their app which allows you to quickly recharge you Go Card with your phone.
One of our favorite points about this system is that it’s available for trains, buses, and BOATS ! That’s right, in Brisbane you have boats that can drag you around the city just by paying with your Go Card and the price is similar. It’s a good way to enjoy the landscapes that the city has to offer.
Melbourne : Myki Card is the transport card used in the city of Melbourne and some areas of the state of Victoria. The system is basically the same as in Brisbane, the only difference is that the deposit for the card is 6$.
Our favourite thing about Melbourne’s transport system is the FREE TRAM ZONE. This means that you can travel around the city for free without even buying a Myki Card (as long as you stay within the free zone ofc..). It covers the city center and extends to few areas around it (click here to check the map). It’s a strong point that Melbourne’s transport has compared to Brisbane, as it’s easy to reduce the cost of transport.
Thank you for reading us Murphies and we hope that this article could help you ! Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments section your experience and share with others your tips.
