Newcomer guides
Guides for settling in Australia
Clear, friendly guides for your first weeks in Australia. Money, housing, meeting people, and finding your feet in a new city, written by people who made the same move.
Guides
Opening a bank account in Australia
What ID you need, which banks to look at, and how to open your first account after you arrive.
Read the guideGetting a Tax File Number (TFN)
What a TFN is, who needs one, and how to apply online for free once you arrive.
Read the guideRenting your first home in Australia
Inspections, applications, bond and leases, plus how to apply with no local rental history.
Read the guideMaking friends after moving to Australia
Practical ways to meet people and build a social life when you are new to the country.
Read the guideGetting a Medicare card in Australia
Who can enrol, what you need to bring, and what Medicare does and does not cover.
Read the guideGetting an Australian phone number
Prepaid or plan, which network covers where you live, and what ID you need to activate.
Read the guideFinding your first job in Australia
How Australian resumes differ, where jobs are actually advertised, and what you are owed at work.
Read the guideFinding your community in Australia
Facebook groups, WhatsApp, Meetup, local organisations and Nyvo compared, with honest pros, limits and safety tips.
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By city
New in Sydney
Rent, transport, suburbs, healthcare and community life, plus a checklist for your first week.
Read the guideNew in Melbourne
Trams and fares, rent and suburbs, healthcare and community life, plus a first-week checklist.
Read the guideNew in Brisbane
Fares, rent and suburbs, the subtropical weather, healthcare and community life, plus a first-week checklist.
Read the guideNew in Perth
Fares, rent and suburbs, jobs, healthcare and community life in Australia's sunniest capital, plus a first-week checklist.
Read the guideNew in Adelaide
Fares, rent and suburbs, jobs, healthcare and festival life in Australia's most affordable capital, plus a first-week checklist.
Read the guideNew on the Gold Coast
Costs, suburbs, transport, healthcare, work and community life along the surf coast.
Read the guideNew in Canberra
Costs, suburbs, transport, healthcare, work and community life in Australia's capital.
Read the guideNew in Hobart
Costs, suburbs, transport, healthcare, work and community life in Australia's smallest capital.
Read the guideNew in Darwin
Costs, the two seasons, suburbs, healthcare, work and community life in Australia's tropical north.
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