The first week checklist
- Open a bank account. Most major banks let you start the process online before you land, and finish in branch with your passport.
- Apply for a Tax File Number. Needed before your first pay run, apply as soon as you have an Australian address.
- Get a SIM. Prepaid plans from the major networks are simplest for the first few months.
- Confirm your first two weeks of accommodation. Hostel, share house, or a soft landing package booking.
- Start the job search. Hospitality and retail move fast, walk-in applications still work in both Sydney and the Gold Coast.
Sydney or the Gold Coast
| Sydney | Gold Coast | |
|---|---|---|
| Job market | Deepest hospitality & retail market in Australia | Tourism, hospitality, theme parks, year-round |
| Cost of living | Higher rent, higher earning ceiling | Generally below Sydney |
| English study | Fluency Hub is based here | Not currently based here |
| Second-year farm work | Further away | Regional farm towns within reach |
Plenty of people do a stretch in each across a year: earn hard in Sydney, unwind and save on the Gold Coast, or the reverse. Neither choice locks you in.
Accommodation types
- Hostel from roughly A$90 to $160 a week, easiest first landing, most social [VERIFY]
- Share house from roughly A$150 to $300 a week, the most common medium-term setup [VERIFY]
- Homestay from roughly A$180 to $290 a week, useful in the first weeks if English is still developing [VERIFY]
- Renting your own place from roughly A$300 a week, usually once a job and a longer-term plan are settled [VERIFY]
A hostel or share house is the normal first stop before settling somewhere longer term.
Health cover
Working holiday makers are not covered by Medicare. Private health insurance covering unforeseen medical treatment is strongly recommended before you land, since you are personally liable for the full cost of any care otherwise. Some countries have a reciprocal healthcare arrangement with Australia that covers limited essential treatment, check whether your home country is one of them.
Can you actually fund a year? Yes, and most people come home with savings. On a full-time casual week the minimum works out to roughly A$4,350 a month gross, before tips and before awards that pay above minimum. Rent and food take a real chunk, but the maths generally works. [VERIFY current figures]
Meeting people
You arrive alone and do not stay that way for long. Hostels, share houses, English classes and casual work put you in contact with the whole world within the first few weeks. It is one of the most reliable upsides of the visa, independent of which city you choose.