<b class="Bold">Pre-move:</b>
Money - Open a migrant bank account with one of the big 4 - then I did wire transfer from BPI to NAB. This is the cheapest wire option I could find without additional conversions (like PHP - USD - AUD). It's easy to transfer to a better bank when you're in AU.
BPI outward wire transfer rates (early 2018) = P600 + P0.60 per P200 doc stamps
NAB inward wire transfer costs: $15 and 0.2% doc stamps
Credit cards - Kept PH credit cards active just in case for the first few months before getting a job
HDMF/PAG-IBIG - Takes up to 8 weeks to process claim. You must consolidate it first (took 4 weeks for mine) before you can claim.
Documents - 300dpi colour scans of important docs (passport, birth cert) in A4. Upload to Google Drive.
Luggage - brought nothing but clothes, shoes, documents and money, sold everything else. One length lahat ng bottoms here if you're less than 6ft mahal mag pa tailor so bring as much jeans/pants as you can or DIY. Stuff like towels or panyo are no problem, they're dirt cheap at a Kmart or a Target.
Phone - if you don't have one yet and you still have enough funds to buy, get a phone that supports modern LTE bands. Any flagship from the past 3 years will do (Note 5+ or iPhone 8+). Australia doesn't have 2G anymore so the second slot on most dual-sim phones are useless and you won't need it.
Food - Learn to prep and cook. Life will be very very very expensive if you never knew how to cook. Most locals bring their lunch to work everyday that's not sushi or a sandwich, that's a hint. If you are able to open cans, brown meat and fry eggs you're already 80% there. My manager earns over 150k per year and still brings lunch everyday. Again, learn to cook. Don't always expect convenient Asian stores in your suburb or easy to get ingredients in PH so learn to sub ingredients as well (like spinach/bok choy for kangkong/pechay)
Before you leave, drink all the fresh buko juice you can there. You'll know why after a few months in AU.
<b class="Bold">Post-move:</b>
Buy a transport card (Opal/myki/go card) and register/bind it to an account. If you don't bind it and you lose the card the balance is gone forever.
Go to your nominated branch to activate your account and get your ATM and access to your savings.
myGov - link Medicare and ATO to this. Never ever ever forget your password here or it will be a painful process to setup everything again. Sign in at least once every 6 months to keep the account active.
Phone plan:
For prepaids, Aldi Mobile no question.
Roaming, voicemail, benefits of Telstra network (lots of coverage) without dealing with crappy Telstra support, lots of data for the price, data rollover up to 30 GB, 30-day pack expiry instead of 28 days (the biggest benefit). Best bang for the buck right now for prepaid plans.
Education:
If you're a PR, get your degree assessed. Find your state's "Overseas Qualifications Unit". In QLD it's free and I get an official govt paper saying my degree is equivalent to an AU bachelors. Useful for proving to employers that you have a real proper bachelors.
https://internationaleducation.gov.au/services-and-resources/pages/qualifications-recognition.aspx
Food # 2 - Be flexible with your food if you don't have hard diet/religious requirements. You can eat adobo and sinigang until you grow old, but you'll be missing out on a lot of delicious and easy to make recipes. Groceries stock a lot of Thai, Japanese, Mexican, Indian and Western ingredients. There's at least beef, pork, lamb, turkey, veal, rabbit and kangaroo for meats. There's salads, soups, stews, casseroles, and everything else for recipes. Get creative and start exploring.
Rental:
Find something near a train station. Locals don't like these because of the noise, so there's always a place near one of these. IMO the trains here are more quiet than tricycles.
Stay in your first place for a month or two. It takes a while for things like the TFN/Medicare cards/driver licence to get delivered by post and you need a fixed address (not a PO box) to get these.
Finances:
Keep a record of EVERYTHING bank/tax/pay related. You'll need these for next year's tax time and for applying rentals/credit cards/bank accounts. Google Drive and multiple backups are your friends.
Pay advices (payslips) and payment summaries, bank statements (all bank accounts you have open), every bill you get (water, energy, gas, council rates, rental receipts, phone), all official rental documents. If you've went through a skills assessment process like ACS, EA or VETASSESS, you'll know how easier it is to have these kinds of records in the future.
Beliefs/culture:
There are things you can freely say/do in PH that you just can't do in AU or are big social blunders. If you're not sure how the other party would react, don't do things like ask about someone's age.
Note that 30% of Australia has no religion and most are very open minded that they may occasionally challenge your long-held beliefs. Be nice, be thoughtful, remember that healthy debate and critical thinking is good.
Mind your personal space on public transport (buses/trains) and don't stick too close to people like you're riding the MRT. Ride in the front seat of the taxi and thank the bus driver.