Hi guys, we have just landed in Sydney last Feb22 Sunday 1:05PM (Sydney time) via Scoot flight TZ2.
Mabilis lng customs clearing namen gawa ng hindi kami nagdala ng mga items na bawal at to be declared.
Upon exit sa customs, nagpapalit kami konteng USD to AUD para may pambili ng sim at pambayad sa taxi.
Magkatabi lng booth ng Vodafone at Optus pero nilalangaw ang Vodafone -ito rin feedback dito sa forum and some other forums na mas maganda ang service ng Optus kesa sa Vodafone.
Pumila ako sa Optus and hinanapan ako ng passport sa attendant at nagbayad ako ng $30 for my prepaid sim which is kasama na dun ang load at 1.5GB data for 1 month.
Pumila din kami sa taxi stand just near the airport exit doors and it only took us around 5 minutes to board a taxi. Malaki po ang space ng taxi nila.. nagkasya ang 2pcs 30Kg luggages, 2pcs 20Kg luggages, 1 20Kg carton box at 1pc stroller sa likuran ng taxi.
Parang 10-12mins or more lng po ang travel namen at $31 ang naging final fare namen sa taxi.
Chika2x konte sa main tenant ng house tapos pahinga na.
=====End of Day 1=====
First stop is Centrelink office kaagad together with my family hehe.. although pwede naman daw online gawin based sa mga nababasa ko sa forum.. I opted na gawin ito over-the-counter para kasama na rin pasyal2x sa govt offices.
Wala pang queue when we arrived there at around 9AM.. tinanong ako ng attendant (medyo masungit na matandang aussie) kung ano purpose ng visit ko at sinabi ko na 'I am a new migrant and I want to process my Centrelink benefits.'
Ang sabi ng attendant was.. 'Sorry sir, you are not eligible for any Centrelink benefits. You are only eligible after 2 years of stay in Australia'.
Parang nashock ako bakit ganun ang naging reply ng attendant.
Merong corner sa office na andun naka lagay lahat na brochures ng Centrelink regarding types of claims. Kumuha ako ng isa at binasa ko ang brochure baka merong recent changes sa benefits but as is pa rin sa nabasa ko before I landed in Sydney.
Meron akong nakitang asian-looking na attendant na pumalit kay original attendant at nilapitan ko stating same purpose.. 'I am a new migrant and I want to process my Centrelink benefits.' Sinagot ako ni attendant ng tanong.. 'Do you have a family with you? Are they here in Australia?'
Doon ko na-realize na dapit clear at specific talaga yung purpose mo at dapat upfront sabihan mo sila like 'Me,my wife and kids are new migrants that had just landed in Australia and we would like to process our Centrelink benefits'.
After I answered 'YES' to both questions asked by the attendant I was asked to sit down and wait for my name to be called.
====to be continued (it's almost 1AM already here in Sydney hehe)====