Clyde

I'm back in the UK.

Personal checklist I used to successfully set myself up in Sydney admin-wise. Checklist in chronological order - follow them sequentially. Prices attached for anything not free. Questions and feedback welcome. Before entering Sydney -Post Office Credit Card for 0% foreign transaction fees -ImmiAccount creation for visa -Visa subclass 417 "WHV" online application (£220) -NAB/banking online application -Cheap dualband Nokia (£15) or unlock your phone -Student number "USI" creation for RSA & other -RSA (£54) only if you want to wait/bartend + Australia Post appt for the photo card -Print outs: resumés x20, visa approval email x2, Medicare form -iOS app downloads: Opal Travel, Opalapp (£0.79), NAB, My Optus, Clipp After entering Sydney -Prepaid SIM w/ $30 from Optus @SYD✈ (£10) -Opal card w/ $20 from WHS @SYD✈ (£10), then register on here -Tax Number "TFN" creation for employment -Visit NAB branch for debit card collection -Visit myGov for Medicare submission Terminology Opal = Oyster Resumé = CV Prepaid = Payg RSA = A license to serve alcohol E.g. CommBank has a hidden $4/month fee in the small print, so I am advocating fee-free NAB. Feel free to experiment with different companies mentioned above if your philosophy in life is to make mistakes on purpose, or get it right the first time and make your life easier!

As someone that has worked hospitality and seen what happens to walk ins ("we'll call you later!", CV in the bin, no trial), all I can say is good luck to future backpackers who buy into this thread's replies :') 300 backpackers failed and never talked about it again, don't let the lucky 1 backpacker that probably had some advantage or connection they fail to mention to sound "anything is achievable".

Those talking about asking in person uninvited, you are worse than the misleading hype. That never works. Regarding the niece anecdote, I've noticed girls have a much higher chance of employment. Lots of female preference here asking for 'hostess' or 'barmaid'. Regardless, the nieces are a case study representative of >0.01% of backpacker employment. If anyone is reading this thread, please dear god keep your £1000+ for Europe you are 10000x better off, or go ahead and make the same mistake as me.

You cannot apply for a Tax File Number until you actually enter Australia.

I've sent my "resume" to over 30 places that recently advertised bar staff vacancies, via gmail or gumtree, and I have not received ANY responses. Where they've asked for a cover letter or availability I've written it, and of course my CV statement mentions I have NSW RSA. I'm desperate for a rejection at this point rather than radio silence. In some cases I've even sent my CV ten minutes before the advert posting, so it's not like I'm too late or anything. I also have a year of a bartending experience. I guess this happens to many people, but you only ever hear of the success stories which give an extremely skewed perspective. Therefore I'm writing this to let others know failure can be a reality. SAVE YOUR MONEY AND GO TO EUROPE, POMS

Sydney's airport isn't affected according to the link, luckily for me.

How embarrassing. :wacko:

Before I make contact with the USI Office, please can somebody confirm UK is not on the list? It's on the first page of USI creation so you do not have to commit to anything (just click on accept T&Cs) - link. I have evaluated each country in the list and there is nothing even synonymous with UK i.e. Great Britain or England. They have Northern Ireland which is no good to me.

We should've applied for NAB in hindsight. Commonwealth charge a monthly $4 fee after twelve months if you read the small print. Luckily I won't be staying there that long, but it'll be a pain to cancel the account before I leave...

Thanks. This is a fantastic recommendation and exactly what I'm looking for. Very innovative app too. There's nothing like it for London - I can imagine it being the next Hailo.

Please do not make recommendations which are universal, such as Google Maps or Uber. As a Londoner I'm looking for the best equivalents of Tube Map and Citymapper, and also any other apps which are specifically useful to Sydneysiders. Secondly, is Airport - Central by train really $15‽ This is the quote from the Opal Travel app. Airport - Central by train is $7 (off-peak) / $10 (peak) and 20km longer in London...

Account now setup and ready - thank you Coxy, I really really appreciate this link. It really needs to be made more visible in a sticky or something, and speaking of stickies, as a new member I think the current one here's an unreadable myriad of essays which is helpful to no one. TSR's one isn't perfect, but far better. Have you decided whether you're leaving late June like me? Would be great to have your company there.

£650 return w/ Etihad - booked 2 months in advance. I saw some for £600 with Emirates, but I wasn't flexible with my dates.

What should I put for the Australian mobile and address? I don't have neither...