Moving to Australia? Here’s what to do before you leave

The checklist

If the visa is not sorted yet, that comes before any of this. Most people moving for a year or two are on a working holiday visa (subclass 417 or 462), a student visa (subclass 500), or a skilled work visa. The skilled visas have been renamed since this was first written. Use the Home Affairs visa finder for the current list. If you are only visiting, the tourist visa guide covers subclass 600, 601 and 651.

Visa sorted, flights sorted. Then get busy.

1. Get health insurance

What you can buy depends on your passport and your visa. I have used Chapka, which is available to people from just about anywhere, for working holiday cover.

I paid for it in two six-month blocks. The first was bought in Spain, about two weeks before I flew, in August 2023. With an agency discount it was €214.83 for six months. Five months later I bought another six months online from Australia. Chapka already had my details, so it was simple. The year came to €439.

This is the certificate Chapka sends after you pay. Personal details are covered.

I had one mishap in that first year. The claim was processed and approved within two weeks. It was straightforward, which is why I recommend Chapka when people on a working holiday ask me about insurance.

A student visa is a different rule. You need Overseas Student Health Cover from an approved Australian provider. Ordinary travel insurance, including a working holiday policy, does not replace it.

Do not risk the flight without cover. Buy it before you leave.

2. Book somewhere for the first weeks

If you do not have friends or family to stay with, book temporary accommodation in the city you are flying into. For a lot of new arrivals, including me, that city is Sydney.

In most cities the choice is the budget:

• Hostel, the cheap option
• Airbnb, mid-range to expensive
• Hotel, expensive

Permanent housing is hard to find in just about every Australian city. Expect a minimum of two weeks to get a room in a share house, or any rental, on a working holiday or student visa. Booking those two weeks up front removes a lot of stress on the day you land.

The first time I arrived in Sydney I stayed two weeks at Nomads, on Kent Street in the CBD. It was a single-sex room shared with four other girls. I paid around AU$500 for the fortnight.

I did not find a share-house room in those two weeks. Nomads was then booked out, so I moved to The Village hostel in Surry Hills, just outside the CBD. That room was six girls in total, and slightly cheaper than Nomads.

Both were clean, and both were fun. Any longer than a month and I would have gone mad. That is step three.

3. Start looking for a room before you fly

This is the thing I wish someone had told me. Once the hostel or hotel is booked, start the search for a longer stay. You will spend less time living out of a bunk.

Most people on a working holiday or student visa end up in a share house. Flatmates and the Facebook groups for newcomers in your city are where the rooms are. Sign up, look at what is available, and introduce yourself to people advertising a room. You cannot sign a lease from overseas in most cases, but you can stop starting from zero on day one.

Again, it depends what you can pay:

• Share a room with someone else, usually two beds, the cheap option
• Your own room in a share house, mid-range to expensive
• Your own apartment, expensive

If you want a place in your own name, expect to be asked for income documents and proof you can pay the rent. That is hard to show in the first month.

4. Prepare your resume and start looking

If you plan to work, write the resume before you fly and learn the sites people actually use. These three are free:

• Seek’s free resume template
• Australian Government resume templates
• Canva’s free resume templates

Finish it, then print about ten copies. Finding a print shop in the first days is harder and dearer than you expect.

For the search itself, use the guide to finding work in Australia fast. It covers Seek, walking into businesses, hospitality, retail and construction.

5. Consider an International Driving Permit

Australia is huge, and a road trip is how you see a lot of it. A permit also helps with some jobs. What you need is usually an International Driving Permit, which some countries still call an international driving licence. The process depends on where you live. Sort it at home if your country issues one. You cannot always get it after you have left.

6. Print your documents

Paper copies have saved people when a phone dies or a bag goes missing. Print:

• The visa grant letter
• Your passport
• The health insurance certificate
• Your International Driving Permit
• Flight bookings
• Accommodation bookings

Then go and enjoy it.

Questions about moving

If you have done this move and something on the list should change, email enquire@aussietalk.com.