Vinsmuft:


What specific info do you want.

1. The different test one needs to do to get Aussie driving licence.

2. Names of good affordable suburbs to ease the research and know the general area to get temporary accommodation

Thanks

Thanks Vinsmuft and Oknee....useful tips for soft landing

Thanks Vinsmuft and oknee,God bless you so much for sharing all this information. Our brothers and sisters in Queensland come out and share your experience.

Thank you so much for the info you guys are dropping... it's getting livelier

@Oknee
@Vinsmuft
@Daddy bellong

please I would like to ask a "Relative" question ...

some of us can't get a PR until we pass our Practice licensing exams but still want to land Aussie with education pathways ...

1) What's the average wage(salary) for Part timers on the student work permit category?

2) Are these Part time jobs easy to come by?

3) Are there specific areas (location and job type) we should target?

4) Any other relevant info

Vinsmuft:
Culture Shocks.

You get to see things like this at work. They expect you to respect yourself and pay for anything you pick up. I see this and shake my head cos I know it's not possible back in naija.

lol

oknee:

We pay exactly 320 dollars a week on rent. Our bond was 1280 dollars which is 4 weeks rent.

That's interesting.

Vinsmuft:


You can get a used car for about $3k to 4k. Na the maintenance be the issue o. I've been driving mine for 3 months and I want to take it for servicing and I'm hearing $400 . Also you must try not to bash anybody's car here. It's not like naija where you can settle with 10k. I know a Nigerian who had to pay $1k just for making a small dent on someone's car!

It's like that in developed countries. The owner of the car you bashed can decide to ring up your insurance company if you decide not to play ball. If he goes ahead to call, your premium would increase...lol

einsteino:


relocating from where?

From where you think before

babylove01:


Also please those in Perth can you drop useful tips on how to search for good suburbs

If you want to see many Nigerians, try canningvale...oh the fish and fruit market . If you don't mind seeing a mix of people from other African countries try Morley

WellEndowed:


From where you think before

it sounds like na from Aussie to Canny but I no wan assume.

einsteino:


it sounds like na from Aussie to Canny but I no wan assume.

You don assume finish come add "but I no wan assume" for the end. Naa, still deciding where though

WellEndowed:


You don assume finish come add "but I no wan assume" for the end. Naa, still deciding where though

hehe na so na..well I was just wondering if there are major cons to living in Aussie that makes you feel the need to relocate. or is it just the love for cheaper plantains

einsteino:


hehe na so na..well I was just wondering if there are major cons to living in Aussie that makes you feel the need to relocate. or is it just the love for cheaper plantains

Australia is beautiful. I studied here, work here, live here, sleep here e.t.c. I wouldn't fault this nation one bit..... well apart from the $25 x 2 fine I received for not voting some few years ago and I was in Asia then but for where, them no gree

I just would like to go somewhere else and work for a year or two or 3 or 4 or 5 and then return

The one thing I love about this country is if you work hard, whether black, yellow, white, blue ...whatever you skin color, you will get to where you want. No racism in that area...I can only speak for myself though. Do you know that some employers who use recruitment agencies are now insisting that applicants remove their name from their CV before submitting their application? they want to assess the CV objectively. A friend of mine was told to remove the names and location of the organizations she had worked for and only have her job title and roles and responsibilities. Pretty cool if you ask me

WellEndowed:


Australia is beautiful. I studied here, work here, live here, sleep here e.t.c. I wouldn't fault this nation one bit..... well apart from the $25 x 2 fine I received for not voting some few years ago and I was in Asia then but for where, them no gree

I just would like to go somewhere else and work for a year or two or 3 or 4 or 5 and then return

The one thing I love about this country is if you work hard, whether black, yellow, white, blue ...whatever you skin color, you will get to where you want to be. No racism in that area...I can only speak for myself though. Do you know that some employers who use recruitment agencies are now insisting that applicants remove their name from their CV before submitting to them? they want to assess the CV objectively. A friend of mine was told to remove the names and location of the organizations she has worked for and only have her job title and roles and responsibilities. Pretty cool if you ask me

you were fined for not voting? hehe well since unlike naija, in Aussie, fishes and cows dont vote, and the votes of humans count, i cant really blame them for inposing a fine.

as for your second paragraph, that isnt cool, it is awesome! mehn i really do love what i read and see of aussie, but seems fate is pulling me to canny.

Vinsmuft:


You can get a used car for about $3k to 4k. Na the maintenance be the issue o. I've been driving mine for 3 months and I want to take it for servicing and I'm hearing $400 . Also you must try not to bash anybody's car here. It's not like naija where you can settle with 10k. I know a Nigerian who had to pay $1k just for making a small dent on someone's car!

thanks.

WellEndowed:


Australia is beautiful. I studied here, work here, live here, sleep here e.t.c. I wouldn't fault this nation one bit..... well apart from the $25 x 2 fine I received for not voting some few years ago and I was in Asia then but for where, them no gree

I just would like to go somewhere else and work for a year or two or 3 or 4 or 5 and then return

Before your last post, you almost got me confused because I know you once said in one of your old posts that you would've loved to move to Oz earlier than you did. Migration has always been part of every individual in one way or the other.
Anyway, thanks for the clarification, it is much appreciated.

babylove01:


1. The different test one needs to do to get Aussie driving licence.


Thanks

I can answer this one. You would need to sit a test(theory) and then the practical-mine was like for 20 minutes. You go to the transport department closest to you, register and sit the test. Once you pass the theory, you can book on that same day to do the practical another day. It is easier to pass if you are in a regional area than a city.

Royal54:


Before your last post, you almost got me confused because I know you once said in one of your old posts that you would've loved to move to Oz earlier than you did. Migration has always been part of every individual in one way or the other.
Anyway, thanks for the clarification, it is much appreciated.

I am glad I was able to clarify things . Some years ago who send Australia, Canada, NZ? All Nigerians knew then was the US or UK. Fast forward to today, '"breeze haff blow and the blokos of the fowl haff been exposed". I met one Naija Gynaecologist(British passport and all) in WA they are now in Melbourne. The man sold his house in the UK and has sworn never to return. Free car, free 4 bedroom house, his own PA/nurse and above all better pay

einsteino:


you were fined for not voting? hehe well since unlike naija, in Aussie, fishes and cows dont vote, and the votes of humans count, i cant really blame them for inposing a fine.

as for your second paragraph, that isnt cool, it is awesome! mehn i really do love what i read and see of aussie, but seems fate is pulling me to canny.

Twice. $25 each time. I knew a guy who hasn't voted for more than 15 years, them no catch am. Na for my case them fall put.

babylove01:


1. The different test one needs to do to get Aussie driving licence.

2. Names of good affordable suburbs to ease the research and know the general area to get temporary accommodation

Thanks

For driving in Victoria, you need to pass three tests.
1. The learner's permit test
2. The hazard perception test
3. The drive test.

Everyone (both foreigner or Australian born) who wants to drive in Victoria must pass these tests. Even if you have driven for 20 years in your country and you want to drive in Victoria you must pass these tests. The first is the knowledge of the road laws in Victoria. The second tests how you would respond to various hazards while driving and the third is the practical drive test. But since you can drive with your naija licence for 6 months in Victoria, you have ample time to prepare for these tests. I've done the first two. E no hard. I can post the materials here if needed

babylove01:


1. The different test one needs to do to get Aussie driving licence.

2. Names of good affordable suburbs to ease the research and know the general area to get temporary accommodation

Thanks

As for affordable suburbs in South East Melbourne (na only that side I sabi. The state of Victoria big die and suburbs plenty), you can look at Cranbourne, Hallam, Hampton Park, Doveton, Langwarrin, Carrum Downs etc. Houses in these areas are old school and so are quite affordable compared to newer, big-boy suburbs like Clyde, Berwick, or Botanic Ridge. The distance to the city is also not too far compared to other places like Pakenham or Mornington. Don't look at Dandenong as its too busy for family life (my opinion though)

Vinsmuft:


For driving in Victoria, you need to pass three tests.
1. The learner's permit test
2. The hazard perception test
3. The drive test.

Everyone (both foreigner or Australian born) who wants to drive in Victoria must pass these tests. Even if you have driven for 20 years in your country and you want to drive in Victoria you must pass these tests. The first is the knowledge of the road laws in Victoria. The second tests how you would respond to various hazards while driving and the third is the practical drive test. But since you can drive with your naija licence for 6 months in Victoria, you have ample time to prepare for these tests. I've done the first two. E no hard. I can post the materials here if needed

Thanks very plenty for taking out time to answer the questions. The materials would be appreciated as well

Cc wellEndowed

babylove01:

Please can you give info on the bolded. Thanks

Also please those in Perth can you drop useful tips on how to search for good suburbs

Homely.com.au is a good place to check for suburb reviews.
Perth is a renter's market though, so getting a place shouldn't be as hard as other cities on the East coast. In fact, you can try to negotiate the rent by $20 per week and still get the place- not to be tried in Sydney sha when you see say na you, and a multitude of others, come for house inspection.

In WA, you can drive for 3 months with your Nigerian drivers licence, after which you take the (i) Road rules theory test and (ii) Practical Driving test. You pass, you get your licence; you fail, you pay to test again. The test is actually easy, just apply the 80/20 rule- 80% on reading and understanding the rules, watching practice videos etc while 20% here is the driving test itself.

Don't come with the 'I've been driving in Lagos for 30 years' mindset; omo! you will just turn yourself to DoT's ATM- all by yourself.

Landing
Like most people, flight was with Emirates via Dubai. Check-in at Lagos was routine; taxmen ask, I tell them "Silver & Gold I have none but may the grace of the Lord be with you"; one lady almost rejected it- before realising say she had better receive the grace than reject it- I bet she was a 'God-fearing' woman .

At Dubai, IOM representative met us at the gate, walked us to the boarding gate and that was it. Flight was a few minutes early arriving Perth.
We had booked a place via flatmates.com.au, so took a taxi from the airport there.

Woke up next morning, did all the Centrelink and Medicare processing. Next, I went to the bank to activate bank account; NAB has a migrant account option which can be opened from overseas- but you can't use it till you activate it (in person) after landing; though you can transfer money into it before landing.

babylove01:


Thanks very plenty for taking out time to answer the questions. The materials would be appreciated as well

Cc wellEndowed

You can get the materials hard copy free of charge from the transport department. I even downloaded mine

.

WellEndowed:


You can get the materials hard copy free of charge from the transport department. I wvwn downloades mine

Thanks

Jukeblam
Thanks. I appreciate the information

[quote author=tyosho post=61275202]It will be nice if this thread is restricted to info about life in australia.Not questions on how to secure visa or gain admission.

My family and I made use of IOM to secure our travel tickets.We went with emirates and had a stopover in Dubai.Nothing special about the travel experience.We were entitled to 40kg per adult,40kg for a child and 23kg for infant.We also paid for 2 extra bags of 32kg each but i hear prices have gone up so cargoing is cheaper.You can cargo through certain airlines like saa,emirates and etihad.
All in all we had like 12 luggages.
I went with ALL kinds of food stuffs except beans(becos of weavils).With my food items,i put them individually in transparent bags and labelled them.Fish,egusi,dry pepper,garri,amala etc.
Got to melbourne,declared i had food items but was not searched and was allowed to go through.

We opened accts with NAB and commonwealth bank but didnt transfer any money from nigera.We went with some cash and left the remaining in a GT dom acct and transferred from there to our OZzy acct when we arrived.We also opened a dom acct in OZ(commonwealth bank was seamless) for ease of transfer.There might be a cheaper way to transfer funds but this is what we did.

We stayed with family in Northern suburbs initially but got our own place in the Eastern suburbs,somewhere not far from Dandenong.We settled for the East because its quite busy,more factories and industries in these areas.If i dont live in the East,I will go for the North and West in that order.West is cheapest but people say it has a history of crime.I however have friends who have lived in the West over 10years and have never had any incidents.Anyhow,wherever you decide to stay is fine.Just get somewhere close to the train station and mall.

In melbourne,you can use your naija license for 6months.My husband passed his victoria drivers test on first attempt,i havnt tried yet for my drivers license.People say though that it can be quite tough cos i know someone who failed 5times!I was able to start driving within 2months of getting here.Just remember,you drive on the left always.

No ideas on how mortgages work but when choosing a neighborhood,also consider ones with good schools if you have kids.If your kids are still of daycare age(below 5),use careforkids.com.au to compare prices,reviews etc.

Settling in was not bad for me cos i had friends and family here already.My kids settled fine as well.

Upon arrival;
Get a mobile sim(i use lebara)
Apply for TFN(tax file no)
Open a bank account or go and activate the one you opened from Nigeria
Go to centerlink and medicare for registration
Get a travel card(MYki card if in melbourne).

Update your linkedin profile and make it very appealing to recruiters.You can also search for recruiters on Linkedin.

With regards to work,there is always something to do.It might not be want you want initially but there is work.Some people start off working at factories,aged care homes,disability and support centres etc until they eventually get what they want.Some people also end up going into nursing,community welfare,policing etc.But like i said,if you dont mind chopping humble pie to start somewhere earning money with these blue collar jobs,you will be okay.I know people who have houses with money earned from these blue collar professions.
There is dignity of labour here so people dont care what job you do to earn money.

For transportation,if you can afford it,pls plan to buy a car asap(carsales.com.au,gumtreee.com.au).please buy cars with roadworthiness and valid registration(at least 6months).If no car,you can use the metro system until you can afford to get a car here.

For housing,a friend referred us to her agent who leased us an apartment even though we didnt have jobs at the time.She accepted our bank statements as proof of income.We pay just a little below 2k monthly as rent.

Then i also just found out about NRAS housing scheme from a colleague days back.Its for families who fall within a certain income threshold.IF your rent was like 350,you would pay like 260 and the govt will pay the balance.I dont have much info as i dont qualify anymore since hubby and I both work now.But im certain most freshbies would qualify.

With furnishing the house,we went across gumtree.com(for people who were selling their furniture due relocation or other reasons),kmart stores( for kitchen items),bestbuy.com(this is a company that sells new electronics at reduced prices because they have scratches or marks on them;there are plenty stores like that but this is the one i patronised) and ikea stores(for kitchen and beddings)

For people that dont mind as well,in order to save costs,you can patronise Salvos stores(its a charity shop that all kinds of household items in great condition).

To get the best energy providers,internet providers,insurance etc,you can make use of iselect.com.au

During cold weather,you wear jacket and use heater(we paid almost 200 a month for heating during this past winter)

I do most of my shopping at Dandenong Market as food stuffs there is cheaper than everyother place I know.There is also Marmara market at Dandenong(all kinds of food items including shaki,cowleg,cow tongue etc) and an African store not far from the market(cant rememeber the name).At noble park is SUR african shop where i get dry fish,palm oil,egusi and stuff like that.

With departmental stores,woolworths is most expensive and aldi is cheapest.Coles is in between.
I know of only one nigerian restaurant that recently opened in the city and i have never been there before.
There is also another popular naija shop in the West called Fatimoh"s shop

With centerlink link claims,we were paid family tax benefit part A and B,family rebate and child care assistance.This all sumed up to $621 forthnightly for the first 4months,it came down to 550 and then now sits at $89 fortnightly.It reduces with every income increase.
Childcare rates was $113 for two kids initially (5days a week) and now is $370 a week.

We also got a concession card which has now been cancelled since we both have jobs.With the concession card,we paid discounted electricity and waterbills,half price for transportation,free ambulance cover,susbsizied fees if we had done any studies at the time and my first kid who is in kinder got 15hours free of daycare weekly .

With jobs,for me,it was just God.I got a job in the Tier 1 team of an IT company with no technical knowledge whatsover.It was my 3rd video interview and i got the job two months after arrival.I commute 54mins by train to the CBD which is quite a distance by OZ standard.But i dont mind really.I got the job through indeed.com which i prefer to seek.com
There a couple of recruitment agencies i know and i will list as i remember.

Strategy one(blue collar)
Adecco
Hoban
Ozstaff(blue collar)
Randstad
Sharp &carter
Hays
Smaart

Thanks for that good job. More grease to your elbow.

Primescope:
Thanks for that good job. More grease to your elbow.

you didnt need to quote the whole thing.

tyosho:


Sending you a mail.kindly respond

Hi Tyosho,

Did not receive an email.

please you guys should help out...

what's the average wage per hour for international students?? abeg nah... we need to plan ahead

Vinsmuft:


For driving in Victoria, you need to pass three tests.
1. The learner's permit test
2. The hazard perception test
3. The drive test.

Everyone (both foreigner or Australian born) who wants to drive in Victoria must pass these tests. Even if you have driven for 20 years in your country and you want to drive in Victoria you must pass these tests . The first is the knowledge of the road laws in Victoria. The second tests how you would respond to various hazards while driving and the third is the practical drive test. But since you can drive with your naija licence for 6 months in Victoria, you have ample time to prepare for these tests. I've done the first two. E no hard. I can post the materials here if needed

The bolded is incorrect. If you have a valid licence from any one of the countries listed under recognised countries and jurisdictions on the Vicroads website and are over 21 or 25 (depending on the country and how long you have had your probationary licence), your licence is recognised in Victoria and you will not need to sit any of these tests. You will be issued a licence based on that.