Moving to Australia — your first 30 days, in the right order
Six things unlock everything else: an address, a phone number, a bank account, a tax file number, Medicare if eligible, and myGov. Do them in the wrong order and each one blocks the next. This is the sequence that works.
Short answer
In order: get an Australian address (even temporary), buy a SIM, open a bank account, apply for a tax file number, enrol in Medicare if eligible, and set up myGov. Each step unlocks the next — a bank account needs an address, employment needs a bank account and TFN, and myGov links everything.
Arriving in Australia is a dependency graph, and almost everyone discovers it the hard way. You cannot be paid without a bank account. Most banks want an Australian address. Rental agents want proof of income, which needs a job, which needs a bank account. Medicare wants proof of residence. myGov links to services you have not yet created records with.
There is a sequence that works, and following it turns a fortnight of circular frustration into about a week of straightforward errands.
Before you fly
Two things are much easier from abroad than from here. First, open an Australian bank account. Every major bank allows new migrants to open an account online before arrival — usually up to twelve months ahead — and to transfer funds in. You then collect the card and complete identity checks at a branch after you land. This removes the worst dependency in the whole chain.
Second, gather documents. Bring originals of your passport, birth certificate, marriage or name-change certificates, driver licence, academic transcripts and qualification certificates, employment references, and medical and vaccination records. Certified copies and apostilles are far harder to obtain once you have left.
If you hold a driver licence in a language other than English, obtain an International Driving Permit or an official translation before you leave — Australian states require one or the other alongside the foreign licence.
Finally, check your visa conditions on VEVO. Work rights, study limits and travel conditions vary between subclasses, and assumptions about them cause real problems.
Week one: address, SIM, bank
An address, even a temporary one, unblocks everything. A short-term rental, a serviced apartment or a friend's place will do for the initial paperwork. What you generally cannot use is a PO box alone.
Get an Australian SIM on day one. All Australian SIMs require identity registration, so bring your passport. Prepaid SIMs are available at the airport, at supermarkets and at post offices; the three network operators are Telstra, Optus and TPG/Vodafone, and dozens of resellers run on their networks at lower prices. Telstra has the broadest regional coverage, which matters if you will travel outside the cities.
Finish the bank account. If you opened one before arrival, visit a branch with your passport to complete verification and collect a card. If not, open one now — you will need your passport, visa and Australian address, and most banks will open an account for a new arrival with fewer identity points than they require of an established resident, within a limited window after arrival.
Ask specifically about fee waivers for new migrants and students; several banks waive monthly account fees for a period.
Week one to two: tax file number and Medicare
Apply for a tax file number as soon as you are in the country with your visa in effect. It is free, it comes from the ATO, and nothing else issues one. Foreign passport holders apply through the ATO's online form; Australian passport holders can often get it instantly through Digital ID. Allow up to 28 days.
Apply before you start work rather than after. Your employer gives you 28 days from your first day before they must withhold at 47 per cent, and that clock runs regardless of when you applied.
Enrol in Medicare if you are eligible — Australian citizens, permanent residents, New Zealand citizens, people who have applied for permanent residency, and visitors from the eleven Reciprocal Health Care Agreement countries. Bring your passport, visa and proof of address to a Services Australia centre. You get your number on the spot and can use it immediately.
If you are not eligible, arrange health insurance. Student visas require Overseas Student Health Cover as a visa condition, and several temporary skilled visas require adequate cover.
Week two to four: myGov, licence, work
Set up myGov and link the ATO and Medicare once you have records with each. Setting up a verified Digital ID first makes this substantially faster and saves phone queues later.
Deal with your driver licence. You can generally drive on a valid overseas licence as a temporary visitor, but once you become a resident of a state — which happens quickly, and is not the same as becoming a permanent resident of Australia — you must transfer within a deadline, usually three months. Requirements differ: licences from some countries transfer without testing, others require a knowledge test, a practical test, or both.
Start the rental search properly. Agents want identity, proof of income, rental references and often a rental ledger from your previous country. Assemble that pack once and reuse it; applications are competitive and the fastest complete application usually wins.
Understand your pay before your first payslip: check your award or agreement rate on the Fair Work Ombudsman's Pay and Conditions Tool, confirm superannuation is being paid into a fund you chose, and check that penalty rates for weekends and public holidays are applied.
Practical things nobody tells you
Australia drives on the left, uses 230-volt power with a Type I plug found in almost no other country, and has strict biosecurity rules — undeclared food, seeds, wooden items and plant material attract substantial fines at the border.
Sun protection is a genuine health matter, not fussiness. The ultraviolet index in an Australian summer regularly reaches levels where unprotected skin burns within minutes, and Australia has among the world's highest skin cancer rates.
Tipping is not expected anywhere. Hospitality staff are paid an award wage with penalty rates, and there is no social cost to not tipping.
Ambulance transport is not covered by Medicare and is charged in most states — Queensland and Tasmania are the exceptions. Ambulance cover or membership is cheap and is one of the few insurance products worth buying immediately.
Register to vote once you are an Australian citizen. Enrolment and voting are both compulsory, and enrolling is done through the Australian Electoral Commission.
Key takeaways
- Open an Australian bank account before you fly — most major banks allow it up to twelve months ahead, and it breaks the address-income-identity deadlock.
- Apply for a tax file number before your first day of work: the 28-day grace period runs from when you start, not from when you apply.
- Enrol in Medicare if eligible and use your number immediately — you do not need to wait for the physical card.
- Transfer your driver licence within the state's deadline, usually three months from becoming a resident of that state.
- Ambulance is not covered by Medicare in most states — ambulance cover is cheap and worth arranging in week one.
Who to contact
Visa conditions, work rights, VEVO checks and citizenship enquiries.
Medicare enrolment and Centrelink registration in person.
Tax file numbers and anything about your tax record.
Translating and Interpreting Service
Free interpreter for government agencies in over 150 languages.
At a glance
- Order that works
- Address → SIM → bank → TFN → Medicare → myGov
- Bank account
- Often openable before arrivalMost major banks allow this up to 12 months ahead
- TFN
- Free, up to 28 daysApply once you are in Australia with a visa in effect
- Identity standard
- 100 pointsThe common threshold for banks, licences and many services
- Driver licence transfer
- Usually 3 monthsFrom when you become a resident of a state
- Emergency number
- 000
Moving to Australia — FAQ
What should I do first when I move to Australia?
Get an address, a SIM card and a bank account, in that order, then apply for a tax file number and enrol in Medicare if eligible. Each step unlocks the next. If you can open the bank account before you fly — most major banks allow it — do that, because it removes the hardest dependency.
Can I open an Australian bank account before I arrive?
Yes. All the major Australian banks let new migrants open an everyday account online from overseas, generally up to twelve months before arrival, and transfer money in. You complete identity verification and collect your card at a branch after you land, with your passport.
How long can I drive in Australia on a foreign licence?
As a temporary visitor, generally for as long as your licence remains valid, provided you carry an English translation or International Driving Permit if it is not in English. Once you become a resident of a state or territory you must transfer to that state's licence, usually within three months. Rules differ by state.
Do I need private health insurance in Australia?
If you are not eligible for Medicare, yes — and for student visas it is a mandatory visa condition. If you are eligible for Medicare, private cover is optional, though higher earners without private hospital cover pay the Medicare Levy Surcharge, and the Lifetime Health Cover loading increases premiums for people who first take out hospital cover after 31 years of age.
How much money do I need to move to Australia?
There is no single figure, but the standard advice is to budget for a rental bond of four weeks' rent plus two weeks in advance, a month or more of living costs before your first pay, and setup costs for furniture, a phone and possibly a car. Some visas also carry their own evidence-of-funds requirements — check your subclass.
Read next
Sources & provenance
Facts verified
- 1.Life in Australia — settling in OfficialDepartment of Home AffairsUsed for: Official settlement guidance and visa condition checking
- 2.Apply for a TFN OfficialAustralian Taxation OfficeUsed for: Application routes and 28-day processing
- 3.Enrolling in Medicare OfficialServices AustraliaUsed for: Eligibility and documents required
- 4.Identity checks for opening an account RegulatorAUSTRACUsed for: Why banks require identity verification and what standard applies
- 5.Pay and Conditions Tool OfficialFair Work OmbudsmanUsed for: Checking your correct award rate, penalty rates and entitlements
- 6.Bringing goods into Australia OfficialDepartment of Agriculture, Fisheries and ForestryUsed for: Biosecurity declaration requirements and penalties
- 7.Enrol to vote OfficialAustralian Electoral CommissionUsed for: Compulsory enrolment for Australian citizens
Not a source — AI-assisted analysis on this page
- AI-assisted analysis — the ordering of the first thirty days — The sequence recommended here, and the identification of pre-arrival bank account opening as the step that breaks the circular dependency between address, income and identity, is our analysis of how these requirements interlock. No government agency publishes a recommended order, and individual circumstances will change what works.
The individual requirements — TFN application, Medicare enrolment, identity verification standards, licence transfer, biosecurity and voting enrolment — are taken from the government sources cited above. The sequencing advice, and the recommendation to open a bank account before arrival, are AI-assisted analysis of how those requirements interact, and are marked as such. Visa conditions differ substantially between subclasses; always check your own grant notice and VEVO rather than relying on general guidance. Bank policies on pre-arrival accounts and fee waivers change and vary by institution.
Facts on this page are taken from the sources listed above — Australian government departments, regulators, statutory bodies and official statistical releases. Comparisons, judgements and "which option suits whom" conclusions are AI-assisted analysis written over those sources; they are marked in the text and listed as an AI-analysis entry in the sources, not attributed to any authority. Rates, thresholds, fees and processing times change, often at the start of a financial year; figures are current as at the review date shown and should be confirmed with the responsible agency before you rely on them for money or legal decisions.