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If you’re moving to Australia to study, it’s a good idea to be prepared for your first week in the country. It’s natural that you’re going to be a little disoriented in a brand-new city not knowing what you need to do or worse, how to do it.

That’s why we’ve put together a student checklist to get you started and organised during your first week in Australia. And whilst you’ve probably organised a lot of your move, like your accommodation and OSHC (Overseas Student Health Cover) before you get on your flight, there are some things you won’t be able to do until you land.

After you’ve gone through immigration and customs at the airport, there will be some things you need to organise, and it’s better to get them done in your first week so you’re ready and settle in before university starts. 

Not everything in this guide might apply to you, however we hope it helps if you’re feeling overwhelmed and anxious about moving to study in Australia. 

Check into your accommodation

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First things first, it’s time to stop carrying your luggage around!

If you’re not staying with family or friends then ideally, you’ll have booked your accommodation prior to landing in Australia, so all you need to do is check into your new home. 

If you’ve booked privately, you’ll likely have been in contact with your student accommodation provider who will know when you’re arriving. So all you need to do is turn up with a form of identification (ideally your passport) to check in and be shown to your new room. 

Tip: It’s a good idea to have the address of your accommodation written down in case you don’t have any phone signal or cannot remember its exact location. You can then give it to your driver or transport officer in case you get lost.  

Haven’t booked your student accommodation?

If you haven’t booked your accommodation prior to entering Australia, it’s often easy to find a hotel or hostel for a few days. Or you can contact private student accommodation providers, like The Switch, who take short term bookings. You can then easily extend your stay if they have a room available. 

Ensure your visa details are correct (VEVO)

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A lot of students who have just arrived in Australia feel anxious about their student visa and its validity. But with the Government app VEVO, you don’t need to worry. 

Once you get through immigration and customs, simply download the VEVO app on your phone. It’ll ask you for your visa grant number and once entered will let you know that you’ve activated your student visa and are onshore. 

Ticking this off your student checklist isn’t a must, but it definitely provides peace of mind for a lot of international students!

Purchase a transport card

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One of the most important things to do in your first week in Australia is to get yourself a transport card so you can use public transport with ease. 

In Australia, each city has a different system, so which card you get depends on where you live and study. Take a look below to find out which card you need and where to top yours up:

Sydney

If you’re moving to Australia to study in Sydney, and you wish to use public transport, you’ll need to get an Opal card. You’ll find these at local newsagents or Woolworths supermarkets and can top up there and then. 

Once you’ve got your card, you can also download the Opal app which can be used to top up your card, plan your trips and track any transport cancellations. 

Although in Sydney you can also tap on and off with your bank card using paywave, a lot of Sydneysiders still use their Opal card to track their travel and get perks such as the $50 weekly cap and student prices. 

Perth

In Perth, you’ll be looking out for a SmartRider card. Using much the same concept, you need a SmartRider card to ‘tag’ on and off when you use trains, buses and other public transport. 

To get a SmartRider card, simply visit a Transperth Infocentre or most small Newsagents. Here you can get your card and top up. 

Much the same as in Sydney, you can top up online or at the machines located at most stops. 

Adelaide

In Adelaide, you’ll travel on public transport using a metroCARD. Alternatively you can also use your debit or credit card to tap on and off the city’s trams. 

You can purchase and top up your card online or through retailers located around the city. 

Melbourne

Any ideas of the name of Melbourne’s transport card?

It’s myki. 

With your myki card, you’ll be able to travel on Melbourne’s trams, buses and trains using either your physical or digital card. If you want to buy a physical myki card, you can do so at all 7-Eleven stores or some station ticket offices. But really, the best way to start hopping on and off public transport is getting a digital card using your phone. 

Tip: Follow the relevant pages to find out if you’re eligible for a student card in your city. This will make your trips on public transport around Australia cheaper. Score!

Set up your bank account (or pick up your bank card)

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Depending on what bank you’ve chosen to set up your account with, you may have already set up your bank account whilst outside Australia. In which case, all you’ll need to do in your first week is pick it up from your nominated bank. 

If you aren’t quite that organised, it’s likely that you’ll have to set up your bank account in your first week in Australia. 

Your first decision is which bank to go with. Lots of people go with Australia’s big banks such as ANZ, Commonwealth or Westpac, however there are many options, so do your research and pick the one that fits your situation best. Believe it or not, there’s also a great selection of ethical banks if you’re keen on keeping your money a little cleaner. 

In the meantime, make sure you bring some cash or an international credit card with you until you receive your new one. 

What do I need to set up a bank account?

• 70 points worth of identification. This usually consists of your birth certificate, passport, another card with your name on it and your driver’s licence if you have one. However it’s best to check with your bank. 
• Your postal address
• Tax File Number (if you’ve got one – if not, read on!)

Set up your phone

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This might be of high priority if your phone provider doesn’t allow international roaming. Whilst there’s a lot of free wifi on offer at the airport and across Australia, buying a new sim card for use in Australia is a must do when you land. 

There are so many options when it comes to mobile providers, but Telstra and Optus are two of the most popular that allow for the most coverage across Australia. 

The most important things to explore when searching for a new phone plan are:

• Choosing a pre-paid vs post-paid plan
• Which provider to choose
• Price
• Inclusions (data, calls, texts)

Purchasing a sim card is the easy bit. You can either order your sim card online, head to a local phone store or pop into your local Coles, Woolworths, Officeworks or Post Office branch to pick one up. You’ll then be able to follow the instructions to activate and top up monthly. 

Apply for a Tax File Number

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What’s a TFN? 

A TFN, or Tax File Number, is a number you legally need to work in Australia. So if you’re looking to work part-time whilst on your student visa, you’ll need to apply before you can get a job and get paid. 

Your TFN helps the Australian Government determine how much you should be taxed. If you’re on a student visa you’ll pay an average of 15.5% tax on your earnings which you’ll see when you do your tax return, however this is subject to change. 

Setting it up is easy. Simply visit the ATO website and fill out the form. Your TFN will then be sent via post to you and should arrive within a week or two. 

Get ready for O Week

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Once all the admin is out of the way, it’s time to prepare for what you came for! It’s likely that you’ll have received communication from your university regarding Orientation Day and the rest of the activities happening during ‘O Week’. A week of markets, parties, games, tours and activities that occur the week before university officially starts. 

This is a great way to meet people on your course, make new friends and get to know your campus and city before you start the semester. 

Make sure you know when orientation day is, you’ve signed up for activities you want to take part in, research university societies you’d like to be a part of and organise your timetable for the week. This way, you won’t be overwhelmed when you’re being pulled in all directions!

Decorate your room

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This is the fun bit! During your first week, make yourself feel at home by decorating your room to make it a little more ‘you’. 

Before you leave, print some photos out, collect some keepsakes or your favourite pieces from your own bedroom to bring along. By decorating your room, it’ll feel cosy from the moment you move in.

Stuck for decoration ideas? Head to your local Kmart or Target for cheap homewares that fit perfectly with any student’s budget. 

Explore your new home

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Aaaand breathe. All the hard stuff is done. All you need to do now is get out there and explore all that your new city has to offer!

Take public transport, hire a bike or simply get your walking shoes on and take a look around at where you’ll be sipping coffee before your 9am lecture, where you’ll be hanging out with your new friends, your route to university and places you’d love to explore in the coming months. 

By getting to know your surroundings, your next few weeks in Australia will be much easier and you’ll feel much more at home.

As the Australian borders remain closed for the time being, many international students are considering their options for studying in Australia and one of the key thing they have to consider is whether they want to defer a course or to start studying online.

So in this article we are going to discuss about some of the pros and cons of deferring a course

Pros or benefits of deferring a course

1. Study in Australia

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One of the first and most important benefit is that when you defer course, most likely you might be able to come back to Australia and start your study when the borders reopen. So deferring a semester or two does make a perfect sense if you can come to Australia and start studying in Australia.

Studying in your home country online to studying in Australia will be a completely different experience, so that is an obvious benefit of deferring a course.

2. Face-to-Face study

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While online study can be good for some students, other students might struggle when they are studying online and study experience is completely different in class and online.

So you really can’t compare those two study options and that is another benefit if you defer a course there is a possibility that when you come back to Australia you can complete your study in class.

3. Access to campus facilities

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When you do come back to Australia and start studying here, you will have access to the campus facilities and other facilities offered by your university or college. Lots of universities have got great campus facilities including gyms, swimming pools, libraries, computer labs and many other.

So deferring a semester or two could mean that you will have access to these facilities when you come back in Australia.

4. Australian lifestyle

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Australia is a multicultural country. So when you start study in Australia, you will have a chance to meet new people, make new friends, mix up with other cultures and understand the lifestyle in Australia.

Lifestyle in your home country could be really different to the lifestyle in Australia and that can be a great learning curve as an international student for you. It is one of the most important element of studying abroad, so consider this factor for deferring your course.

5. Work in Australia

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As an international student you are allowed to work 40 hours per fortnight and unlimited hours during your school holidays.

If you defer your course and when you come back to Australia, you can start working as per your visa requirements along with your studies. It can be great for your career to get some work experience and some cash to meet some of your expenses.

6. Time to reconsider your options

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Last but not the least, it gives you time to reconsider your options for studies. So obviously, you will have time to rethink regarding your goals, your institution, course or even your country you have chosen to study.

The deferment of the course certainly gives you time to rethink all these options and consider what’s the best option for you as student as you are investing time, money and efforts.

Cons or drawbacks of deferring a course

1. Extension of a visa

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One of the key concern for many international students is that once they defer a course, there is a possibility that they may have to extend their visas at the end of their course.

Usually, when your visa is granted by the Department of Home Affairs, it will end on a specifc date. So if you do end up deferring a semester or two, it could mean that your study could end up after the expiry of your visa which means you may need to apply for a new student visa.

For more information on this, please consult with your educational consultant or registered migration agent.

2. Impact on career Progression

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Now, deferring a course could mean that there is an issue with your career progression. It could directly impact your long-term plans and career goals.

So for example, after your studies, if you become eligible to apply for a skilled migration visa and deferring a course means that you could lose some points based on your age, then it could impact your career goals and progression.

Please note that the primary aim of the student visa is to come and study in Australia and not only seeking a migration benefit. But you still need to keep in mind that deferring a course could impact your career.

3. Deferral fees

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Some universities or colleges can charge a deferral fee for deferring a course.

While some universities or colleges might wave it off but there is a possibility that your university or college will charge that fees. So consider that fees as well when you are making a decision whether to defer or not defer the course.

4. Condition of the course

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Some courses or universities may have a very specific entry requirements to the course, which includes english testing, entry requirements, age or some other specific requirements.

If that’s the case, then you may have to reconsider your options for differing as the deferral here could mean that you may have to meet those requirements again or you have to do some specific things again in order to get entry into the course.

There could be issues regarding intakes as well because some universities have a specific intake during the year for a particular courses.

If you miss that intake or you defer that intake that could mean you may have to wait longer in order to get entry to that course again.

5. Conditions of the scholarship

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Last but not the least, if you have got a scholarship for your course, some universities will have a condition as a part of your scholarship that if you defer a course it could mean no grant of the scholarship.

So it’s very important to read the terms and conditions of your scholarship to understand what does a deferral of the course means for your scholarship.

Summary

Obviously, it is a huge decision to defer a course for any international student and there are many factors you will need to consider whether to defer or not defer a course.

Apart from the pros and cons we discussed above, every individual may have their own personal circumstances to consider as well.

So we certainly can’t give you an answer whether you should defer or not defer a course as it depends on lot of factors and your personal circumstances but hopefully this information has given you some ideas on what factors you should consider when deferring a course.

We would love to hear from you regarding what options are you considering for deferring or not deferring a course. Please leave your thoughts in the comment section.

How does getting the full tuition fee, living expenses and even getting money to study in Australia sounds? Great, right.

Well, Australia Awards Scholarship can make this dream come true.

In this article, we are covering everything you need to know about the Australia Awards Scholarship 2024.

What is an Australia Awards Scholarship?

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Australia Awards is an Australian Government’s prestigious scholarship offered to students from developing nations to study in Australia.

This scholarship covers not only tuition fees but airfares, living costs, OSHC and provides students stipends also.

In 2023, Australian government awarded 1,141 scholarships worth $250 million to students from 55 developing nations.

The purpose of this scholarship is to help Australia’s partner countries to develop and promote growth and stability in the region.

Opening Date and Closing Date

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The application for Australia Awards Scholarships usually opens around from Feb till April every year. The actual dates can vary based each year.

Applications for the year 2024 are open from 1 February 2024 to 30 April 2024 11:59pm AEST. If you are planning to get this scholarship, then you must apply between this timeframe.

Benefits

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If you are awarded with Australia Awards scholarship, you can be receive the following benefits:

• Full Tuition Fee
• Return airfare expenses
• Establishment expenses
• Health Cover (Overseas Students Health Cover)
• Introductory Academic Program
• Living expenses contribution
• Additional academic support
• Pre-course English fees
• Fieldwork costs (for research students)

Documents Required to Apply

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You might be required to submit these documents when applying for an Australia Award scholarship:

• Passport
• Birth Certificate
• CV or Resume
• Reference letters
• Academic transcripts
• Copy of certificates
• IELTS results (if available)
• Plan to return home

Additional documents might be required by the Australian government in order to assess your application. The documents required can also vary for the each eligible country.

Selection process

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The selection process for Australia Award scholarships is very competitive. Only eligible and shortlisted are contacted for this scholarship.

You will need to go through an interview as well if you get shortlisted.

The selection criteria are based on the three main aspects:

• Your academic competence
• Potential outcome for your home country after your studies
• Professional and personal leadership attributes, including relevant work experience.

How to Apply

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Before you start applying for Australia Awards Scholarship, you will need to read the Australia Awards Scholarships Policy Handbook.

This handbook gives you all the information you need to apply this scholarship including participating institutions, the selection process, your entitlements, responsibilities and general ideas about the eligibility requirements.

After that, you will need to apply for this scholarship via OASIS portal (Online Australia Scholarships Information System) except for Indonesian and Philippines Students.

If you are a student from Indonesia, you need to apply here and if you are student from Philippines, you need to apply here.

Let’s talk about the students applying via the OASIS portal.

First, you will need to register online via the portal.

After registration, you will be issued a unique registration number, username and password in your email. It can take a few minutes for this email to arrive.

Once you log in after changing your temporary password, there will be a few questions to ascertain your eligibility for this scholarship.

Then you need to start a new application for this scholarship and complete the details for all the parts of the application.

The sections of the application you will need to complete include:

• Personal Details
• Contact Details
• Spouse Details (if applicable)
• Children Details (if applicable)
• Emergency Contact Details
• Previous Scholarships
• Proposed Study Program
• Qualifications
• English Language Details
• Computer Literacy Details
• Computer Training Details
• Current Employment
• Previous Employment
• Supporting Statement
• Professional Memberships
• Communication
• Documentary Evidence
• Declaration

You will be required to submit all the supporting documents for your application via OASIS portal.

Note: You don’t need to complete the application immediately. You can save the draft and complete the application at a later stage. Although you must submit the application before the closing date.

Tips for the application

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Here are some tips that might help you in preparing your application:

• As the selection process is very competitive, Ideally you should be spending time and efforts preparing your application.
• Explain your motivation to study in Australia and your course selection.
• Highlight your English language skills
• Provide any relevant information for work experience
• Show any leadership qualities
• Challenges faced by your home country and how the study can help you make an impact in your professional area in your home country

Participating countries for this scholarship

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Please note that each year the Australian government decides to choose various developing countries for this scholarship. The list of countries can vary each year.

If your home country is not on the list this year, please check back next year for that.

Alternatively, you can check other fully funded scholarships for international students here.

For the year 2023, students from these countries are eligible to apply for this scholarship:

Asia

• Bangladesh
• Bhutan
• Cambodia
• Indonesia
• Laos
• Maldives
• Mongolia
• Myanmar
• Nepal
• Pakistan
• Philippines
• Sri Lanka
• Timor-Leste
• Vietnam

Pacific

• Federated States of Micronesia
• Fiji
• French Polynesia
• Kiribati
• Marshall Islands
• Nauru
• New Caledonia
• Niue
• Palau
• Papua New Guinea
• Samoa
• Solomon Islands
• Tonga
• Tuvalu
• Vanuatu
• Wallis and Futuna

Middle East

• Occupied Palestinian Territories

Africa

• Africa

List of countries in Africa include:

• Algeria
• Benin
• Botswana
• Côte d’Ivoire
• Democratic Republic of Congo
• Egypt
• Ethiopia
• Ghana
• Kenya
• Madagascar
• Malawi
• Mauritius
• Morocco
• Mozambique
• Namibia
• Nigeria
• Rwanda
• Senegal
• Sierra Leone
• South Africa
• Tanzania
• Uganda
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe

Important Conditions

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If you wish to apply and receive this scholarship, then you need to meet these important conditons:

• You will need to sign a contract with the Commonwealth of Australia that you will meet the conditions of the scholarship.
• You will be required to leave Australia for a minimum of 2 years after completing this scholarship.

If you fail to meet these conditions, then you will need to pay back the total cost of the scholarship back to the Australian government.

In order to get the complete picture of the scholarship, please check the policy handbook for the Australia Awards Scholarship here.

Are there any courses that I can’t study under this scholarship?

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Yes, there are certain courses and areas that you can’t study under this scholarship, including:

• Flying aircraft
• Nuclear technology
• Military training

Importantly, the study program you choose must be related to your country’s priority areas for development. Check the links above (in the participating countries) for your country.

Want to prepare a good application for your scholarship?

Check all the 6 steps to make your application stand out by clicking here.