Hello hello~
Medyo nakapagsettle na ako kahit papaano sa Sydney (as student, not PR po). The first things I did were to apply for the NSW Photo Card, tax file number (even though wala pa rin akong work till now haha), open bank accounts, and activate OSHC (Medibank). I'd like to share my personal experiences and thoughts about them.
Everything was a painless process, at least to me. For all of these, ang usually hinahanap ay Australian address; some may take up to 2 weeks (10 business days) to receive in the mail, so it's ideal that you have a place to "crash" if you haven't found a place to stay permanently, maybe for at least 3 weeks.
<b class="Bold">Banking</b>
I applied for Commbank and Westpac accounts while overseas, and apparently those were the transaction accounts. Sa Westpac I think I nominated the one in Sydney CBD (Martin Place), so I went there, bringing only my passport, visa, eCoE. They were able to verify my identity using my passport and eCoE (wala na silang hiningi na iba).
The bank officer will usually offer to open a savings account for you (no minimum deposit required, unlike sa Pinas), and they'll print out like a bank letter indicating your bank account number/details. They'll ask for your address, since they'll send your ATM card to that address (I received Westpac card 4 business days after activating my account).
For Commbank, I just went to the one on uni campus and just showed passport and eCoE din. Commbank card took longer, I believe (not sure which day it arrived, but definitely within 10 business days).
The banks would also ask for your Australian mobile number, but since I told them I didn't have one yet, they said I can just update my contact details later.
<b class="Bold">NSW Photo Card</b>
The NSW Photo Card is pretty handy for international students, so apply for one as soon as you arrive (if you're not applying for a driver's license). If PR, I'm not sure if you have a different kind of identity card or ito rin yung kailangan niyo hehe. You can simply go to any Services NSW centre; bring along your passport and bank statement showing your Australian address. I asked if the welcome letter from the bank was permissible, despite it showing my PH address, but surprisingly they said it was fine.
One of the staff gave me an application form and helped me photocopy my documents, and then they gave me a ticket for the queue. At the counter, you just need to submit your application form, photocopy and original passport and bank statement/letter. Then they'll take a photo of you on the spot (my pic turned out ok despite feeling so haggard that time hahaha), and then you'll have to pay the processing fee (I paid AUD 54, for a 3-year validity).
My NSW Photo Card arrived 3 business days after application. Since they're pretty strict here in Australia about drinking alcohol when underage, you can simply show your Photo Card when entering bars (Asians like us look very young on this side of the world).
<b class="Bold">Tax File Number (TFN)</b>
I applied for this the same day I arrived in Sydney. You can just apply online at <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/tax-file-number/apply-for-a-tfn/foreign-passport-holders,-permanent-migrants-and-temporary-visitors---tfn-application/">ATO website</a>. They will ask you for Australian address, because they will send a letter with your TFN details (they won't issue this TFN over the web, like the TIN in Pinas). The letter from ATO with my TFN details arrived 5 working days after application.
<b class="Bold">OSHC (Medibank)</b>
This may not be relevant for PRs reading this, but I figured I might as well share this in case may mga fellow students na napadpad dito hehe.
I received an email from Medibank reminding me to activate my OSHC upon arrival in Australia, and I did it online on Medibank's website. If your OSHC provider is not Medibank, check your provider's website if they have a menu or page that allows you to activate it (if necessary to activate lang ha, sa Medibank kasi kailangan). Once I activated my OSHC, I applied for a physical card, since I preferred that to a (downloadable) "digital card." Please note that it is NOT necessary to apply for a physical card, but I thought it might be handier than having to rummage through my phone for that "digital card."
The physical card arrived in the mail about 5 business days after online application.
<b class="Bold">Australian Mobile Number</b>
I only picked up a prepaid sim card maybe 4-5 days after I arrived; I just got the cheap Amaysim AUD 10 sim card from Coles. You'll find these sim cards near the cashier/counter, usually outside the store pa. You can grab which one you want and pay for it sa counter. The Amaysim sim card pack did not have that small pin to release the sim tray (and I assume ganun din sa iba).
<b class="Bold">SUPER TIP: </b>I discovered later on that at Central Station, the tourism/visitor centre there has tons of free brochures. And they have free Vodaphone sim pack (AUD 2 worth daw, but you have to recharge/load it up to be able to use it), that includes the small pin for the sim tray! May free sim card ka na, may pin pa hehehe!
Anyway, for the prepaid sim card, you have to activate it online and to be able to select your mobile plan and number (I just chose a memorable one from the offered options). If you don't like your current mobile provider, you can change to a new one (if you're not on a contract) and transfer your existing number (they call it porting).
Since I wanted a cheap prepaid plan, I transferred to Jeenee Mobile. I had to wait several days to receive the new sim card from Jeenee; again, you have to activate the new sim and apply for porting. Porting took maybe 3 normal days before the sim was fully functional (I applied for porting on Friday night, and the sim was usable around Monday afternoon).
So there~ I hope my tips would help you figure out how to get started in settling in Australia~ 🙂