Life in Australia

Since the news arrived that Australia could be starting the international travel before the end of the year, everyone is talking about vaccine passports.

So in this article, we are going to cover everything we know so far about these vaccination passports and how they might work in Australia.

What is a Vaccine Passport?

---

Vaccine passport is basically a proof that you have been vaccinated against COVID-19 with approved vaccinations.

You can carry around this vaccine passport with you and if required you can show it around to the places you might visit that could include your workplace, a restaurant, a gym, a bar or could be when catching a flight

From October onwards Australian government will be rolling out these vaccination passports in Australia.

It will be available both in a digital format and in a physical printed format as well.

Benefits of Vaccine Passport

---

• Traveling without restrictions: One of the benefit is traveling without much restrictions. At the moment if you are coming to Australia you need to do a 2 week hotel quarantine which obviously is done in order to control the spread of COVID-19. So those quarantine arrangements could change with vaccine passports as there might be an option for home quarantining instead of doing it in a hotel.
• Visiting local venues: If you have been issued a vaccine passport you could visit different places like pubs restaurants bars and obviously
• Work related travel: Vaccinated people will be able to travel around easily for work purposes.

Concerns of Vaccine Passport

---

• Discrimination: One of the biggest concern is regarding discrimination especially against the people who are not vaccinated yet. Unvaccinated people might feel that they are getting discriminated because they can’t visit some of these premises or businesses.
• Privacy: People feel that they will have to show these vaccine passport every place they visit that intrudes into their privacy
• Scams: Lots of scammers are obviously watching out this as an opportunity to make money and to scam people.

How will they work in Australia?

---

To understand how these vaccines passports might work in Australia, we will divide this section into 2 parts:

• For local travel and life in Australia
• For international travel

For local travel and life in Australia

---

Australia is considering the use of vaccine passports within Australia.

New south wales government will be the first in the country to trial the vaccination passports especially when visiting local venues like bars, restaurants and pubs.

The trial will run for a couple of weeks in October and if it’s successful more freedoms will be given to the people who are already vaccinated and could be rolled out to other parts of Australia.

For international Travel

---

At the moment Australian government is in talk with other countries to work out which vaccines will be recognised for international travel once they start opening up their borders.

Obviously, there are lots of vaccinations available at the moment against COVID-19 and some of these ones are already been recognised and approved for use in Australia.

There is no official update on which vaccines will be approved apart from the ones that are already been approved in Australia

The TGA has approved 3 vaccines for use in Australia:

1. Pfizer
2. AstraZeneca
3. Moderna

Australia is also trialling a home quarantine system as well this is being trialled at the moment in South Australia and if successful, this could be implemented for local and international traveller in Australia.

There is a lot of talk about opening up their international borders and allowing some international travel with countries like UK, USA, Canada, Singapore, European countries and Fiji before the end of the year.

With vaccine passports, Australians could soon be able to travel overseas and Australians who are stuck overseas can come in larger numbers.

What does this means for international students?

---

Although the introduction of vaccine passports might be a great news for international travel especially for Australians but it obviously brings us hope that there is a possibility that international students and other visa holders could start coming back to Australia.

Tourism minister Dan Tehan has mentioned that once Australia reached that 70 and 80 percent vaccination rate, Australians will be able to travel overseas again and Australians will be able to return home in larger numbers and he also added that “We will also be able to start welcoming international students and those who want to come to work and ultimately tourists as well”.

With more Australian coming back home quicker and doing home quarantine will also free up space for quarantine facilities for other economic visa holders like international students as well.

When is Australia officially opening its border for international students?

---

It is important to remember at the moment there are no fixed dates for international travel in Australia as yet.

And as soon as we hear any update we’ll make sure we keep you posted with that so make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and our email newsletter.

Covid-19 has brought many challenges in our lives. But for some people it has brought opportunities as well. One of those groups are scammers.

The scam artists are using various techniques to take advantage of various vulnerable people in Australia.

As per ACCC, more than 6100 scams has been reported with more than $8,400,000 lost since the outbreak of Covid-19 (coronavirus).

So in this article, we are going to give you a information on some common international students scams in Australia and how to avoid them.

Types of International Students Scams in Australia

---

Thes are some of the common types of scams that international students could face in Australia:

• Covid-19 vaccination scams – Some scammers are calling people and asking them to pay money if they want to get the vaccination ahead of other people.
• Getting a transcript from Australian university – Some people who pretended to be an education agent promise students they can get them an Australian transcript from an Australian university.
• Offering huge university scholarships – Some pretending agents also get students to pay them in exchange for getting a extra university discounts.
• Offering amazing discount on accommodation – Similar story like university scholarship, students get offers for unbelievable accommodation rates in exchange of money.
• Promise to book ticket – While borders remain closed to foreigners, some scammers ask students to pay them to book a flight to Australia.
• Fake property scams – It does happen on gumtree and some other real estate websites where property shown on the websites either does not exist or look significantly different than advertised.
• Asking for payment of Taxes – Some group of scammers pretending to be an ATO (Australian Taxation Office) calling people in Australia to pay the taxes to them.
• Fake jobs offers – Offering jobs to international students after paying for a course or promise to get a job after payment to these scammers.
• Virtual Kidnapping – Some students from Chinese backgrounds were targeted in this scam where they were asked to kidnap themselves in exchange of ransom from their parents. Pretty bizarre but real scam.

Most of these scammer will try to use threats, make your fearful and then ask you for either money or personal details which can be used for scams by these people.

How to do avoid getting scammed

---

Calls related scams

If you are getting calls from the scammers, then we suggest you take the following actions:

• Disconnect the call. Avoid calls if they call back
• Do not give any personal or sensitive information
• Check with Scamwatch website. You can check different types of scams going in Australia
• Check with organisation/business directly by calling them

We also suggest you register your number with Do not call register. Registering your number can help to reduce the number of unsolicited marketing calls from Australian businesses.

Although, please be mindful that scammers can still try to reach out to you as some of them could be based overseas.

Emails related scams

If you are getting emails for

• Don’t click on hyperlinks in the suspected emails
• Don’t reply back to these emails
• Always check the email address of the sender.
• Contact the business directly via email or call
• Go to the website through the browser rather than link from a website

Agency related scams

Some pretending agents will lure international students for scams as well. You can avoid them by:

• Doing a proper research
• Confirm with at least 2 to 3 other agents in your area
• Contacting university college directly
• Contacting Department of Home Affiars
• Searching on migration agent details on Mara Website

You can lodge a complaint against a migration agent on Mara website

We hope you find this information useful and if this can help someone else avoid getting scammed then please share this article with them.

You can also watch a video on this on our YouTube Channel

Australia’s biggest sales day is here.

The Boxing Day.

Like Black Friday Deals, we are giving you a quick guide on what is Boxing Day and our Top 10 Boxing Day Deals you might want to snap.

What is Boxing Day in Australia?

---

First of all, let’s be clear, Boxing Day does not mean something like this:

It is actually celebrated on a day after Christmas Day, 26th December each year in Australia and across many other countries around the world.

The tradition came in around 1800s when wealthy people started giving their servants a day off after Christmas Day and a boxed gifts (usually leftovers from Christmas Day).

And hence, a Boxing Day. (See the connection, Boxing = Boxes 🙂

While that tradition has long gone, now a days, it is a public holiday in Australia and is one of the biggest sales event of the year.

In 2020, it is expected that shoppers will spend around $2.75 billion on a Boxing Day.

Boxing Day is also famous for a cricket test match between Australian cricket team & a visiting nation team and a Sydney Hobart yatch race.

Here are our top 10 Boxing Day Deals for 2020

---

So here are our hand picked deals for you for Boxing Day 2020 (prices in AUD):

1. Google Pixel 4a with 5G for $658 at Amazon
2. Realme 6 for $319.20 at Amazon
3. Apple iPhone XR for $699 at JB Hi-Fi
4. GoPro Hero 8 Black for $364.19 + shipping at Amazon
5. Samsung Galaxy S20+ 128GB Smartphone $969 Delivered at Amazon
6. EKO 65-inch UHD Android TV with Google Assistant for $649 at Big W
7. Lenovo Tab E10 10″ Tablet for $97 at Amazon
8. Fitbit charge 4 for $149 (was $250) at Amazon
9. 60% off shoes and accessories at Adidas eBay store
10. Apple AirPods with Charging Case (2nd gen) for $199 at Catch (Don’t forget to get 10% further off with discount code for students from here).

You can also check other fashion, tech, travel related deals on our student deals page as well.

List of Top Boxing Day Sales Retailers in Australia

---

• Amazon
• Big W
• Bing Lee
• Catch
• David Jones
• eBay
• JB Hi-fi
• Harvey Norman
• Myer
• Officeworks
• Target
• The Good Guys

DISCLAIMER: This list may contain links from our affiliates like Amazon and others, sponsors, and partners. If you use these products, we will get compensated – but there’s no additional cost to you.

Please note that as the Black Friday and Cyber Monday comes to an end for the year 2020, some of the deals mentioned might not be available anymore.

Finally, the day has come.

The biggest sale of the year has arrived “Black Friday and Cyber Monday”.

In this article, we are going to look at what is Black Friday and Cyber Monday and some of the most popular Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals for the students in Australia in 2020.

What is Black Friday?

---

Black Friday is a day after Thanksgiving Day, which is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November each year in the United States. This year Black Friday will be celebrated on 27th November 2020.

It is considered to be the start of the shopping season for Christmas in United States and many retailers start the season with exclusive deals on this day with huge discounts.

It is a day when consumers can save big money on appliances, fashion and other accessories.

While it is an American tradition, it has gained more popularity in Australia since 2013.. Many retailers like JB HI-FI, Harvey Norman, The Good Guys along with their American counterparts like Amazon and eBay launch exclusive deals for Australian consumers on Black Friday for last few years now.

Most of the retailers open their stores early on Black Friday and close them late as well to make it easier for the shoppers. These days you can score many deals online so you don’t necessarily need to go to the store to get a bargain.

What is Cyber Monday?

---

Cyber Monday is celebrated on Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States as well. This was primarily designed to encourage people to shop online rather than Brick and Mortar stores.

This day started in 2005 and quickly gained popularity with the increase in number of internet users. This year Cyber Monday will be celebrated on 30th November 2020.

How to use cashback websites to maximise your savings during this Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales?

---

Before you buy anything online, make sure to sign up and check if there is cashback offer available on these websites. This will be additional saving on top of discounts from those brands. Sign up is free and if you sign up using the links below, you can score referral bonus up to $15 as well.

ShopBack – Get $15 bonus when you spend $20 or more through ShopBack using the link here.

Cashrewards – Get $10 referral bonus after spending $20 or more within 90 days and additional savings using the links on the website. Sign up here.

Update: For Today (27/11/2020) only, After sign-up on Cashrewards use the link below to get $10 bonus with every $10 spending on any online store.

Activate this new reward and read the full terms here.

Here is a quick step-by-step guide for using cashback websites:

Step 1: Make a list of things you want to buy during the sale. It helps you to stay focused on the things you need.

Step 2: Join Cashback websites like Cashrewards and Shopback for free (using the link given above). If you are joining for the first time, you can get referral bonus when you sign up using the link above.

Step 3: Look up for the store you would like to shop and click on the link provided in the website.

Step 4: Complete your transaction.

Step 5: Repeat this process if you want to get cashback on your purchases.

List of Best Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals for students in Australia in 2020

---

Here is a list of top Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. Please note that these deals will be updated regularly so please come back to check more deals here. Some deals have an exclusive discount for students so make sure to make advantage of that.

Tech Deals

---

Amazon Deals –

• Amazon Echo Show 8 for $109 – https://amzn.to/33j8MRo
• Echo Show 5 for $49 – https://amzn.to/2VhlwDH
• Echo Dot 4th Gen for $49 – https://amzn.to/2Je18AF
• Echo Dot 4th Gen w/ Clock for $69 – https://amzn.to/3m94LpW
• Echo 4th Gen w/ Premium Sound for $119 – https://amzn.to/33lwFrj
• Echo Dot 3rd Gen for $34 – https://amzn.to/3m955oE

Check all the Amazon Devices Black Friday Sale here

• Samsung Galaxy S20FE 5G Smartphone128GB, Navy for $849 – https://amzn.to/3lclM14
• Fitbit Versa 2 for $196 – https://amzn.to/3o4eheF
• 50% off on video games,
• 33% off on Samsung Note 20 phones,
• 40% off on Panasonic Lumix Camera,

All the Amazon Black Friday Deals

JB Hi – Fi Deals –

• Lenovo Duet Chromebook (128GB) for $374 (was $499).
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 256GB $999 (was $1999)
• Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G for $899,
• Google Nest Hub for $79,
• Nest Mini for $39,
• Echo Dot for $34,
• Echo Dot with Alexa for $49,
• Echo with Alexa/Clock $69.
• Samsung Q60T 75″ QLED Ultra HD 4K Smart TV for $1,888
• Nintendo Switch Console Neon for $399

Check the whole catalogue and other deals here.

eBay Deals –

• Nintendo Switch Console + Mario Kart Game + 3 month free online for $349,
• FIFA 21 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One for $25,
• Apple AirPods (2019) for $99 and Apple AirPods Pro for $249 (Limited Quantity)
• Samsung Galaxy A51 for AU$399
• Thrustmaster T.16000M FCS Space Sim Duo for $179

More details on eBay Black Friday Deals here.

Officeworks –

• GoPro HERO7 Action Camera with 32GB SD Card Silver for $297.
• Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 4G Smartphone 128GB Navy for $748.
• HP 15S-DU1016TU Notebook 15.6″ Core i5/8/256 GB for $688.

Check the complete catalogue here.

Telstra –

• Google Pixel 5 for $749,
• Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G for $849
• OPPO Find X2 Pro 5G for $1199 
• Samsung Galaxy A51 for $399 

Check all the Black Friday deals from Telstra here.

Catch Deals – Catch has reduced Apple AirPods Pro to $319 (a saving of $80). They are also offering Apple AirPods 2nd Gen at $209 (with a saving of $40). Plus don’t miss out on exclusive 10% student discount. Get your exclusive code here.

Dell – Dell 24″ 1080p IPS 75hz AMD FreeSync for $138.93 Delivered (was $249) using the code: LOVEKEANU More details are here. Upto 35% on other products like laptops, monitors etc here.

The Good Guys – Dyson V7 Motorhead Cordless Vacuum for $379 (was $599). Check out this deal here.

Microsoft Store – Up to 20% off on Microsoft Surface from $974 here, Up to 40% off on Gaming and other accessories at Microsoft store here.

Lenovo – Lenovo Thinkpad E595 8GB 512GB SSD for $799 Delivered and up to 55% off Black Friday Sale at Lenovo here.

Becextech – 60% off sitewide + Extra $20 off student discount here.

Dick Smith – Take an Extra 20% Off Top Appliances using code: COOLBF here.

Fashion Deals

---

Boohoo – 60% off everything and 10% student discount when using this link here.

Missguided – 50% off everything + Extra 10% Student Discount here.

The Iconic – 30% off selected styles on Black Friday sales here.

Boohoo Man – 50% off menswear + extra 5% student discount here.

Crocs – 40% off sitewide and free shipping with orders from $50. More here.

Adidas – 30% off storewide here. Early access to the sale for Creators Club members.

Nasty Gal – Massive 60% off on Nasty Gal. Details here.

Cotton On – 30% off everything on the website here.

Bonds – 40% off sitewide on Bonds website from 27th November here.

Nautica – 40% off sitewide on the website here.

Ally Fashion – 50% off Online Exclusives here

Other Deals

---

100% Cashback on 3 years + 3 months plan for Cyber Ghost VPN by Shopback.

Here is how to score this deal:

1. Sign up for Shopback using this link.
2. Go to the Cyber Ghost VPN deal page.
3. Click on the “Shop Now” button, next to ” 3 Year Plan + Bonus 3 Months for $121.29 (83% off) – New CyberGhost VPN Customers”. You will be directed to Cyber Ghost VPN Deal
4. Press “Claim Deal Now” on the Cyber Ghost deal page.
5. Choose the 3 Years + 3 Months Plan and pay for the service.
6. Once paid, check back on the Shopback for the tracked link.
7. Get your cashback for the deal within 60 to 90 days.
8. Enjoy Free VPN for next 3 years and 3 months.
9. Make sure to cancel the plan befoore the expiry to avoid recurring payments in the future.

Amaysim – 1-year Prepaid Plan with Unlimited calls and text with 120 GB data for $100 but use the Shopback to get $60 cashback making it $40 for a whole year. And with sign up bonus of $15, it will be only $25 for the year worth of plan. Use this link to get a $15 sign up bonus now.

Fossil – 30% off storewide (excluding Gen 5 and Hybrid) using Code: “Cyber30” Click here to buy.

UGG Express – Extra 20% off AUD$140+  Sitewide using Code: BLKF20% here.

Chemist Warehouse – 10% off storewide in Store and online on Black Friday. Some exclusions apply. More details here.

Koala Mattresses – Up to 20% off on Koala’s mattresses and other accessories here.

Booktopia – Up to 80% off on millions of books at Booktopia here.

More deals to follow soon.

Last updated: 26 November 2020

DISCLAIMER: This list may contain links from our affiliates like Amazon and others, sponsors, and partners. If you use these products, we will get compensated – but there’s no additional cost to you.

There are many benefits of studying abroad but it also comes with few challenges as an international student.

In this article, we’re going to discuss about the Top 11 challenges you might face as an international student in Australia and strategies on how to overcome them

We divide these challenges into three main categories:

• Study related challenges
• Work related challenges
• Life related challenges

Studies related challenges

When you are planning to study in any other country, it’s common that you will see some differences between the education system of the country and your home country.

This can create some sort of challenges for you as an international student in a new country.

So the challenges could be regarding understanding your homework, your assessment, exams understanding the concepts, the referencing or plagiarism.

Strategies:

If you are facing challenges in regards to your studies there is help available. Most of the universities or institutions in Australia have a really good support system available for those students who are finding it difficult to study the course or having a learning difficulty.

So if you are facing any difficulty in regards to your studies we suggest you to contact the support office from your educational institute. They can arrange additional help like tutorials or one on one sessions with study buddies that can help you to understand the concepts better.

We also suggest you to make sure that you attend all your lectures and tutorials without skipping them, so you understand the concepts better.

2. Understanding lectures or lecturers

---

Sometime it can be very difficult for an international students to understand their lecturers or trainers or tutors because of the language barrier or different accent.

Some students can get frustrated with that they don’t understand the concepts and study well so they plan to change their courses after a while.

Strategies:

After the lecture or the tutorial is over, go and speak to your lecturer or trainer or tutor. You can basically thank them for the lecture or the tutorial that you just attended and then ask them general questions regarding your studies. Usually, lecturers and tutors are very friendly in nature.

It is a good idea to speak to your lecturer or tutor regarding the industry you are studying in and it’s a good starting point for you to start networking with the right people in your industry.

Usually your lecturers or tutors are professionals in the industry in Australia so you can make your first contact in industry by approaching them.

Work related challenges

3 .Finding work

---

Finding work in Australia as an international student is a really difficult task and many international students face the same difficulty regarding finding work.

Strategies:

The best way to find the first work in Australia is through referrals. Referral is way of getting a recommendation by a friend or peer at their current or previous place of employment.

If you have someone who is already working in any industry and if they can refer you to the job, it is much easier to get a job. Our suggestion is to try to reach out to the people you already know in Australia and seek out some help from them.

If you don’t know anyone, then you would need to start networking with other people and try to find a job through referrals.

There are actually plenty of other ways of getting job as well. Check this video on 9 ways of finding work in Australia as an international student

4. Difference between workplace cultures

---

The other challenges you could face in regards to your work life is the difference in the work culture.

Obviously, the work culture in your country could be quite different to the one here in Australia. The way Australians like to work, schedule, etiquette and expectations might be different.

Again, understanding the language of your co-workers of your managers or even customers can be challenging for you at the beginning, especially if you don’t speak English well.

Strategies:

In regards to adjustment to the work culture and language, it will take few weeks and months but you will be able to get hold of the things and start understanding accent and language once you here for a while.

You can take short English course, watch English movies or share a house with native English speakers to improve your English skills.

You can also ask for help from your work colleagues or supervisors if you are not understanding something at work.

5. Exploitation at the workplace

---

Unfortunately, some international students do face exploitation at work in Australia. Although, it is illegal to exploit any worker in Australia but some businesses tend to exploit international students because of their visa limitations.

Strategies:

To deal with this sort of situation, we suggest you to check Fairwork Australia’s website. It is important that you understand your work rights even before you start working.

If you face exploitation at work, make sure to reach out to FairWork Australia as soon as possible as there is help available for international students.

You can read this article on how to avoid exploitation at work in Australia.

Life related challenges

6. Finding Accommodation

---

Like finding a job, finding accommodation can be also bit challenging especially if you are planning to look for a cheaper accommodation.

Strategies:

To save money on rental costs, many international students choose to share accommodation with other people.

You can look for shared accommodation on various platforms like Gumtree, Facebook groups, flatmates etc.

7. Sharing house with others

---

Sometimes sharing a house with other people can be really difficult, especially if they don’t have same understanding like you. Obviously, every human being is different and everyone lives their life differently.

Some of the challenges could be regarding their cleaning style or the cooking style or partying in the house or the common areas usage issues.

Strategies:

To avoid that, we suggest you to communicate effectively and make rules from the beginning, so everyone knows what to do, what not to do from the start.

We also suggest to check this video on how to be a good housemate in a shared accommodation:

8. Australian etiquette and rules

---

Understanding the rules, regulations, systems, general manners, etiquette and Australian way of living life can be challenging to adapt for some students.

You will come across and work or live with local Australians. Dealing with them means you have to understand the accent or slang and sometime it can be a bit challenging to understand that.

Strategies:

We strongly recommend you to understand these rules, regulations and systems because the fines here are phenomenally high. If you breach any sort of law here you could be getting a huge penalty for that.

If you are not sure about the rules and regulations here in Australia, we suggest you to attend orientation that is provided by your educational institute. Usually they cover information regarding life in Australia in those orientation sessions.

If they don’t cover that in the orientation session, then you should also look for some information on their website or government websites or on our website as well.

9. Finding a Work-life balance

---

Another challenge that many international students face is to manage the study work life balance.

As a student, you will not only be studying but you will have to juggle between a part-time work and socialising with other people and managing all these three things at one time can be really really tough.

Strategies:

In order to overcome this situation, we suggest you to make a weekly planner or a to-do list that will help you to keep track of the things.

It will also help you to focus on the things that you need to complete each week. There are many apps available these days for productivity. P.S (We really love Notion.so for managing our time).

So, whether it is regarding meeting friends or your studies or work, you will know all the deadlines and every important thing to keep track and make plans for them. Period!

10. Feeling Home Sick

---

Homesickness is another common issue among international students. You will be away from your family and friends back home and most likely you’re going to miss them which is very common thing for any human being.

Strategies:

To overcome homesickness, we suggest you to make sure you stay in touch with your family and friends back home. Call them regularly and update them about your personal life here, how’s your life going and ask them as well what’s happening in their life.

Send them photos regularly and ask them to do the same. Social media is certainly a great way to keep connected with friends and family back home.

Again, there are plenty of other apps available to keep in touch with your family back home.

11. Settling in Australia

---

Last but not the least, one of the biggest challenge that many international students face in Australia is regarding settling here.

After studying here for a while, many international students love Australia so much that they want to settle here for good and want to call Australia as their home.

Although we know that the primary aim of the student visa is just to study here but some students become eligible to apply their permanent residency after their studies through Australia’s skill select program.

Strategies:

In regards to overcoming this challenge, we suggest you to make sure to choose your course by consulting with a registered migration agent who can help you with your future careers plans in regards to your study and settling in Australia.

We hope you find this information regarding 11 challenges that international students face here in Australia and some strategies on how to overcome them as well.

If you are an international student, we would love to hear from you on what sort of challenges are you facing or faced previously. Looking forward to your comments below.