Migrating to Australia with high hopes

rcbconopio · December 2018

Hello everyone. I recently received my PR Visa last week and have been skimming the forum ever since. Dami ko natutunan maraming salamat! I'd like to know if advisable ba na diretso na ako BM? Planning to do it on March 2019. I'm eyeing Melbourne for my entry. I got no relatives or friends in OZ so looking for a place to stay is difficult for me. Could anyone recommend a decent sharing accomodation i can look into? Thanks!

fruitys · December 2018

@rcbconopio You can go as late as you want as long as you enter before the date specified in your visa. As for sharing accommodation, look up https://flatmates.com.au/

You'll need to put more details on how you'll do the move. How many people moving? Family going along as well? How much funds do you have?

rcbconopio · December 2018

@fruitys thank you! I'll be flying to Melbourne on my own this March 2019. How is commuting in Australia? What should i take note of?

fruitys · December 2018

@rcbconopio If you're used to SG/HK style transport then lower your expectations. It's good enough and can take you when you're in the inner suburbs/CBD but once you're outside into the suburbs that's when you need a car since buses can't reach everything.

If you're heading to Melbourne then register your myki card once you have one to protect its balance: https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/tickets/register/

If you lose that card but it's registered, just buy a new one, top it off a bit (say $20), register new one, then do a balance transfer from your lost card to your new one ezpz.

Sydney IMO has the best public transport system out of all the AU cities. Double-decker trains and they go all the way to the west. You can get up to the Blue Mountains in 2 hours with just your Opal card.

Brisbane has the best bus network, with busways (dedicated highways exclusively for buses) running north and south of the city. It has good regional train lines but the city trains suck. You can ride a train from Central and reach the Gold Coast in 1 hour.

Gold Coast trams have surfboard stands!

Haven't used much of transport in Melbourne but I know they have a free zone around the CBD.

As for public transport:
- Read up on the fare rates on using your transport card. There's peak/off-peak rates, fare zones, transfer discounts between bus/train/tram/ferries, and free/discounted weekend rates. Australian government websites are very good and informative, 99% of any question you have about a public service is on a government website somewhere.
- Always tap off, or else you'll get charged the maximum fare rate
- The seating priority is generally seniors/pwd/pregnant -> adults -> students. Not sure about how other cities do it but in Brisbane a student on concession fares has to stand up and give their seat to an adult
- On bus stops, you must signal the driver. Just sitting there won't make the bus slow down for you.
- As for which bus/train/tram to use to get somewhere, Google Maps is your friend. Google Maps is the quintessential transport app. In Sydney, Google Maps will tell you how full the next bus/train is.
- Always confirm the bus/train/tram timetables. Not every train line runs up to 11pm. Some trains or bus lines will shut down over a few days for maintenance. Your state transport (PTV for Melbourne) will have a Facebook page or Twitter account where they will announce things. Follow it.
- Always thank the driver and don't be a stuck up city prick

rcbconopio · January 2019

@fruitys this is very informative thank you! I'm trying to wrap my head around the circumstances i have to face when looking for work in Melbourne. I'm certain that I will have to submit hardcopies of my résumé/CVs to hiring managers. However I don't have a printer with me when i fly to OZ. Do they have printings services there? I don't want to assume they have computer shops/printing services similar to what we have here in the Philippines.

fruitys · January 2019

@rcbconopio Everything is online so don't worry about hard copies. The only forms I've printed are the job offer, the TFN declaration form, and the super standard choice form. You'll eventually know what those two are when you get here, so don't worry about it yet.

If you ever need to print, hit up your local public library or find an Officeworks. If you're staying at a hotel, they should have a business centre with a printer/scanner.

You apply for work with the job site trifecta: LinkedIn, Seek and Indeed.

It took me around 2 months from the plane to get a job. It's like being a fresh grad: the hardest part is the first one. Some people aren't so lucky so be prepared for that and make sure you have enough savings.

My notes on the finance/pay side:

- The first item you get in AU is generally the tax file number (TFN). This is applied online and hard-mailed to you, so stay in a place for a month or so until it arrives. Same with Medicare and some bank debit cards. Do not give your TFN until you signed a job offer. Other than an employer, only banks, super funds and some government departments can request it. This number is like your passport or your birth cert. Protect it with your life since this number can be used to assume/steal identities.
- While job hunting, research the various superannuation funds. You'll need to pick one and stick to it across jobs, don't just use the one the employer wants. If you move to another super fund, move all your balances over to the new one.
- Keep all your pay advices (aka payslips) and pay summaries (aka group certificates or basically a payslip for the whole year). Keep all bank statements that the bank gives you. You'll need it for tax time and will make your life infinitely easier. I'm OC about anything money-related and have every single payslip since 2012.
- Rule of thumb for rentals is that it shouldn't exceed 30-35% of your after-tax pay if you want to actually save money. Find places near bus stops and train stations. 5-10min commute to work = bliss.
- Once you get a job, open a HISA (high interest savings account) with your bank and link your everyday/transaction account to it for a start.
- Tax rule of thumb: if it's needed for your job and employer didn't reimburse you, it's generally tax deductible. If you're ultra-lazy like me get an accountant, their fees are tax-deductible too (plus any transport/phone costs to meet them lol)
- Again, two words of wisdom from the tax man/ATO: keep records. Ask for banks to send you statements online/email and it makes things really easy. I keep records of payslips, bank statements, super contributions, and anything insurance-related.

Job hunt:

- You'll need a cover letter. This is not just a paragraph form of your resume, it's more an introduction and a "why should we hire you" speech. You're selling yourself. It's your brochure/sales pitch.
- AU is big on "local experience". Even if you worked with big Fortune 500 clients for years, it seems they "don't count" over the mom-and-pop business you interned for a few months here. That's why the first job is the hardest.
- Keep your visa/passport details handy. Jobs ask if you have working rights here. Your PR visa will let you work without any conditions/restrictions if it's a 189, double check the visa to be sure. Let them know you're good for immediate start to sweeten the deal, you can do vacations later once you get a year of employment and earn your 4 weeks.
- Resume: name, phone number, and email. Ditch the picture, ditch the "hobbies", ditch the "references on request". Do not give employers a reason to discriminate. I like to put my suburb in so they know I'm a "local" and can show up to interviews but not the full address.
- Get at least 2 work references (preferably managers) from your most recent job with email and phone numbers. I had to go to a website, fill in their contact details and my references get asked to fill in a survey/questionnaire. Yes, they do check so make sure your references are legit.
- Especially on the white collar jobs, the market in Sydney and Melbourne is very tight due to the high immigration rate and everyone wants to go there. You'll need your unique edge compared to all the other people here. One of my former college professors who now lives in Melbourne told me "expect 50 people being interviewed, all qualified".
- Aussies don't know everything. They're still people like you and me. Culture wise they seem to be really laid back (and get stressed easily) and our advantage is we can compromise on things that they won't (they need their car, the thought of living in a share house and commuting as a working adult is unthinkable for a lot of them).
- Even if it sucks in this summer heat and whatever the job is, dress up for interviews. Note that you're coming to Australia with a significant disadvantage over someone who grew up here. Be nice, get the job, bust your butt off and show your employer they didn't regret picking you over the other locals.

Good luck!

rcbconopio · January 2019

@fruitys I really love this forum, I have learned a lot. Thank you for the pointers. Would you recommend applying work on gumtree? Do people on gumtree issue rental agreement documentation for shared house rentals? You mentioned that it took you 2 months before getting a job, was it related to your previous line of work in the Philippines before moving to OZ?

se29m · January 2019

@rcbconopio realestate.com.au or ibang real estate sites, pede maghanap ng house. Even sa gumtree they appear na din. May job postings sa gum tree pero ams madami sa mga job sites like seek or indeed etc. Yung worknko dito hindi related sa profession ko pero more than enough to support sa everyday expenses pati na leisure

rcbconopio · January 2019

@se29m ive seen ads on rentals at gumtree and the rent most of the time includes wifi and utilities. Is this the same case with Realestate.com.au posted rentals? Or rent lang talaga ng place un?

se29m · January 2019

@rcbconopio rent lang po yun..

Davidx23 · January 2019

I've seen instances of units with free wifi and utilities, some had a promo of 1 month free rent sa realestate.com.au site. So depende yan sa unit owner, kung mahina ang demand kanya kanya ang gimik to entice.

fruitys · January 2019

@rcbconopio Same line of work. The stuff I need to learn is harder than any job I had in PH but it feels like being a fresh grad again.

Gumtree = Sulit/OLX. It's like a non-crappy version of Facebook Marketplace. Good for buy and selling stuff or occasionally hiring people for temp work (think cleaners), but not much else. I find the dedicated sites for jobs/property better.

Anything property-related: domain.com.au and realestate.com.au are the two places to go property-hunting. They're integrated with the agent's systems so you can hit enquire in there and you'll get text/email reminders for scheduling inspections.

And a rough AU to PH property lingo translation:
Room = shared housing/student/rooming accommodation. You get a bedroom and use/maintain common areas.
House = a full single detached house, with a shiny lawn, picket fence and stereotypical suburbia life
Unit = think townhouses/compounds. More common in inner suburbs close to the capital city.
Apartment = condo. If there's an elevator and it's in a building, yep it's usually an apartment.

Technically apartments are units, but this is how they're generally used in listings.

Generally if it says free utilities then it's usually a share house/rooming accommodation. The listing will say if it's a room or not. If it's too cheap to be true for the median rent in the area then assume it's a share house. You'll get a general feel for how much rents will be in an area after a few months of looking.

Also rentals asking to be paid in cash = dodging taxes.