First Weeks in Australia: Arrival Checklist for Indian Students (2026)

Updated August 2026 · Not legal or immigration advice — the Department of Home Affairs and your university's international office are the authority

Your first three weeks in Australia decide how smooth the rest of the year is, and almost every expensive mistake in them comes from doing things in the wrong order — hunting for a job before the tax file number exists, paying a rental bond before seeing a room, or discovering what the health cover does not include at the worst possible moment.

This is the order that actually works, with the traps marked. Everything here is orientation: your visa conditions, the ATO, Services Australia, your OSHC provider and your state transport authority are the authorities on their own subjects, and a few of these details differ by state rather than nationally.

The first fortnight, in order

When	Do	Why this order
Before you fly	Digital copies of passport, visa grant, CoE and OSHC policy; some AUD cash plus a travel card; temporary accommodation booked for 2–4 weeks	Every later step asks for these documents, and nobody should sign a lease from another country
Day 1–2	Australian SIM — major carriers or cheaper MVNOs; a local number is needed for almost every signup	Banks, employers and landlords all want an Australian number
Day 1–3	Transit card for your city — Opal in Sydney, Myki in Melbourne, Go card in Brisbane; several networks also take contactless bank cards	You will be moving around constantly in week one
Day 2–4	Bank account — many banks let you open one online before arrival and collect the card after	Needed before any wage, bond or refund can reach you
Week 1	University enrolment and orientation; student ID; confirm your units	Course commencement is what activates the work condition on a student visa
Week 1	Apply for your TFN online with the ATO once you have an Australian address	It is free and takes minutes; without it, employers withhold tax at the top rate
Week 1–2	Activate the OSHC policy, find a nearby GP clinic, note the nearest hospital	Discovering how cover works during an emergency is the wrong time
Week 2–4	Inspect share houses in person; then apply for jobs with your TFN in hand	Both go faster once you have a number, an address and a bank account

TFN, bank and super — the money setup

The Tax File Number is free from the ATO, applied for online, and nobody needs to "arrange" it for you. Anyone charging a fee for it is charging you for a form you can submit yourself in ten minutes.
Start work without one and tax is withheld at the top marginal rate until you supply it — you get it back at tax time, but months of over-withholding hurts when rent is due now.
Give your TFN only to your employer, your bank and the ATO. It is not a general ID number and no landlord or recruiter needs it.
Superannuation starts with your first job: your employer generally pays it on top of your wages into a fund. Note the fund name and keep the login — when you leave Australia permanently you can claim it back as a departing-Australia payment, and students forget substantial amounts every year.
You are legally entitled to a payslip. Keep every one: they are the evidence for underpayment claims, and rental applications ask for them.

OSHC vs Medicare, decoded

Overseas Student Health Cover is the private health insurance that student visa holders are generally required to hold for the duration of the visa. Medicare — Australia's public system — is generally not available to student visa holders, except where a reciprocal health care agreement applies to the passport you hold. India does not have such an agreement, so for most Indian students OSHC is the cover, full stop.

What that means in practice is worth understanding before you need it. OSHC typically pays a set benefit toward a standard GP consultation, which can leave a gap payment for you at clinics that do not bulk bill for OSHC patients; ambulance cover, dental, optical and physiotherapy are commonly limited or excluded; and some services carry waiting periods. Your own policy document is the authority on all of it — read the two pages that list exclusions and waiting periods in week one, not in an emergency.

Find a GP clinic near where you live and ask whether they bill OSHC directly — it saves paying up front and claiming back.
For anything genuinely urgent, emergency departments treat first. Non-urgent problems belong at a GP, where the wait and the cost are both lower.
Australia's emergency number is 000, for ambulance, fire and police.
If you extend your visa, your OSHC must cover the new period — a gap in cover is a visa condition problem, not just an insurance one.

Finding a share house without losing your money

Never pay a bond or rent for a room you have not seen, in person or on a live video call where the person shows you the actual property. Photos and a plausible story cost a scammer nothing.
Use the established channels — Flatmates.com.au, university accommodation boards, student groups — and keep the same scepticism everywhere. Fraud lives on legitimate platforms too.
Bonds are meant to be lodged with the state tenancy authority, not held in a stranger's account. Ask which authority and get the lodgement receipt.
Fill in the condition report properly and photograph everything on day one. That report is what decides whether you get the bond back.
Understand what you are signing: a lease in your name, a sublease, or an informal room arrangement carry very different protections. Your state tenancy authority publishes plain-language guides.
Book temporary accommodation for the first few weeks and search from inside the city. Students who sign from overseas are the ones who end up in the two-hour commute they did not plan for.

The scams that target new arrivals every intake

"Immigration" or "ATO" calls saying your visa has a problem and demanding payment, especially in gift cards, crypto or wire transfers. Government agencies do not work that way — hang up and, if you are worried, call the agency on a number you looked up yourself.
Job offers that require an upfront payment for training, uniforms, a "police check" or placement. Legitimate employers do not charge you to start.
Anyone offering to arrange a TFN, a bank account or a visa outcome for a fee. All three are things you do yourself, and the last one cannot be sold at all.
Rental listings priced noticeably below everything else, with a landlord conveniently overseas. The deposit disappears with the listing.
Overpayment scams: you are "accidentally" paid too much and asked to transfer the difference back. The original payment reverses later and your money is gone.
Cash-in-hand work below the legal minimum. Underpayment of international students is a documented problem in Australia, being on a student visa does not reduce your entitlements, and the Fair Work Ombudsman publishes what the job should pay.

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Frequently asked questions

Do I need a TFN before my first shift?

You can usually start while the application is processing, but supply the number as soon as it arrives — without it your employer withholds tax at the top marginal rate. Apply online with the ATO once you have an Australian address; it is free, and anyone charging you for it is selling you a form you can file yourself.

Can I use Medicare as an international student?

Generally no. Medicare access for student visa holders depends on a reciprocal health care agreement with your country, and India does not have one — so for most Indian students OSHC is the health cover. Read your policy's exclusions and waiting periods early, because gap payments and excluded services are what surprise people.

Do international students get public transport concessions?

It varies by state rather than nationally, and the differences are significant — some states have historically excluded international students from concession fares while others offer them. Check your own state's transport authority and your university's student services; do not assume a friend's experience in another city applies to yours.

How much money should I have accessible when I land?

Enough for four to eight weeks before any wage arrives: temporary accommodation, a bond plus rent in advance, a phone, transport, groceries and setup. Indicatively that is often in the AUD 3,000–5,000 range depending on the city, with Sydney at the higher end. Keep it accessible rather than locked in a transfer that has not cleared.

When can I start working on a student visa?

The work condition on a student visa generally applies once your course has commenced, within the fortnightly cap that Home Affairs sets — and that cap has changed in recent years. Your own visa grant notice and the official Home Affairs page are the authorities; the part-time work guide covers the rules and realistic pay in detail.

What should I do first if something goes wrong in week one?

Your university's international student services office is the right first call for almost anything — accommodation gone wrong, money trouble, health, or a job that is underpaying you. They have seen every version of it, the conversation is confidential, and universities have emergency support that students routinely do not know exists.

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