💡 Ideas from expert travellers in Australia

Do you recommend to get a phone number or sim card in Australia while traveling?
Yes. Even if you are staying only for one month. You can buy a prepaid sim card for less than $5 and recharge it, since you do not need a contract and you can add balance from the app. The three most popular companies are Telstra, Optus and Vodafone. All of them are good. The cheapest will be Vodafone but the best signal is Telstra.
Check Google Voice https://voice.google.com/ as you will be able to keep the texts and calls from your previous number from overseas.

Do you recommend to open a bank account in Australia?
Yes, if you are staying more than one month. Is free and you can do it very quickly with your passport. With a bank account you will be able to exchange currency and use a local debit card and forget about the international fees. The preferred banks are Commonwealth and ANZ, which apps are very easy to use and you can transfer and receive money easily.

Is important to apply for the Tax File Number?
Apply for your Tax File Number (TFN) as soon as you can. The TFN is issued to everyone online and it takes more than four weeks to arrive by physical mail. You can start working without it as long as you can show a screen shot that you already applied. You can give the address of the hostel you are staying. Just make sure you keep track of it by the time it should come. Hostels receive a lot of mail from all the customers and you don’t want the TFN to be forgotten.

What is an ABN?
ABN stands for Australian Business number and it will be useful if you are a contractor or have your own business.

Insurance
If you are staying for one year or more in Australia, one alternative is to cancel your hometown insurance and get a private insurance. Bupa has a wide coverage and has many stores with good customer service that can solve issues immediately.

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