So you’re thinking of taking up the opportunity afforded to us in the United Kingdom and many other countries of getting a cheeky working holiday visa and seeing what life is like down under. Having made the move myself in January of this year - here are some basics as well as things I wish I knew to ensure your move goes smoothly.
My to-do list before leaving the United Kingdom was a short one. While I did peruse Seek and apply for some roles it became clear to me that any attempt at finding a job before actually being in the country was likely to be futile. Quite reasonably, I believe that most companies would rather wait until the applicant is in the country and has an address so they can guarantee that the applicant would actually start. Again, this was just my experience and someone else may have different luck. I wasn’t sure what career I would be going for and perhaps if I were more targeted and set on a specific goal I may have found it easier.
I also did not make any effort to find a flat, however this was more deliberate. I had no idea where I was going to live when I got to Australia. I had considered Melbourne, the classic place I feel for working holidaymakers from England to end up, and vice-versa. I also had my heart set on Perth, for the weather and also the fact that I lived there as a child and would love to get to know the place that I hold specs of memories of. And then there was Sydney - videos on TikTok of rental crises had put me off, however I knew this would be my first stop on my visit to see my friend so I couldn’t write it off but it was not top of my list.
This left me with three items to do - get my visa and book my flight and initial accomodation. The visa process for getting a 417 Working Holiday Visa was so easy it even surprised me. I filled out the form, which took me no longer than 45 minutes and the approval with my visa was emailed to me within around 10 minutes of completing the form and paying for the visa.
And finally I booked my flight. Flights were expensive, most likely as it was the peak of summer I was trying to go, after Christmas was all wrapped up. However, I found an itinerary that was a good £400 cheaper than any other option (one-way). It was a bit of a long one. Wizz Air - London Luton to Istanbul. A squeaky bum self-transfer which ended up being plenty of time. Sichuan Airlines Istanbul to Chengdu Tianfu. A 20ish hour layover in Chengdu (I will do a future blog post on visiting China using a transit visa). Sichuan Airlines Chengdu Tianfu to Sydney. In the end, I enjoyed the little adventure.
Step Two - When You Arrive
Once you land in Sydney, the first day should be relatively easy. Immigration is super simple, just fill out your landing card on the plane and your visa will be linked to your passport so just breeze through the e-gate. Then go to wherever you have booked to get some well deserved rest. Or if you’ve had a good rest both in China and on the flight, head to the Opera Bar and enjoy landing in this amazing city with a couple of beers and some food taking in the view. The retire to wherever you chose to stay, I was travelling with a friend and we decided to stay at Falcon Lodge in North Sydney. It was the most affordable non-hostel option (he was not keen on a hostel but mainly as he was just coming for a holiday). I would recommend Falcon Lodge as the rooms were decent, the bathrooms were shared but I never seemed to have an issue and there was a good kitchen. Mostly though, I LOVED the area - with the North Sydney Oval Park opposite, some of my favourite coffee shops in Sydney down the road and excellent links with the Metro. The only downside is you have to pay for the WiFi, but Optus gives you so much data on the basic plan I didn’t need the WiFi. I will leave a link below but note there is a 7 day minimum stay. I am aware a lot of people upon arriving in Sydney stay in hostels around King’s Cross and I’ve generally not heard great things from people I have spoke to who stayed in them.
Then you will have some business to take care of. The first place you should go is to get a SIM Card. I did not do this at the Airport as I wanted to go into an actual store and get myself on a rolling contract. I chose Optus and I’ve been very happy with the service (plus for an extra $10/month you can add on Optus Sport to get access to all Premier League games). Remember to take your Passport when signing up, I forgot this and went about 3 days without phone reception. Then you need to get your bank account sorted out. I chose Commonwealth Bank and seemingly most people here use it and again I have been happy with the service. You need to sign up for Optus first as you will need an Australian phone number to get your bank account sorted. Further, for Commonwealth Bank you need an Australian address to send the card to so if you know anyone or are able to deliver post to where you are staying this would be your best bet. Once this has been sorted you are well on your way.
Step Three - Finding Somewhere to Live
By this point in the story, I still did not know where I was going to live in Australia. But the longer I was in Sydney, the more I grew to love it. What turned out to be the deciding factor was the photo below.
Something about this view from Taronga Zoo, completely changed my perspective on Sydney as a potential place to live. Yes it’s expensive and there are lot of people here (particularly other British people) but it is also beautiful. You can go to Gold Coast or WA for the beaches or you can go to Melbourne for the city life, but Sydney has both. And although I planned to leave New South Wales after two weeks, in this moment I decided I was not done with Sydney and so my next step was finding a place to live.
Now, I will admit I cheated a little with this step. My aforementioned mate I was coming to visit over here just so happened to have a flatmate who was moving out. This left a room open for me to jump into (albeit with a few weeks of sleeping on an airbed on my mates floor until the departing flatmate found somewhere for himself). So in short I managed to avoid the Sydney rental crisis and skip the queue for a room in a lovely house in Surrey Hills just five minutes from Central Station.
Step Four - Finding a Job
Then came the final barrier and financially the most crucial one. Finding a job. To this I would say go in with an open mind. When I left the United Kingdom I did not think I would end up as a bartender but sometimes life takes you places you don’t expect and I love my job and where I have ended up. There were some bumps along the way including doing street petitioning and cold calling for a shady digital marketing company.
If you want to work in an industry that involves alcohol in Australia you will need a Responsible Sale of Alcohol (RSA). These are courses that you can either do online or in person and should only take a day of your life. I did mine in person just to get out and I figured I would learn more. It cost me around $200 to get my RSA, apparently most of the cost is for the New South Wales Competency Card - however this is TAX DEDUCTIBLE so just get it done and worry about claiming the money back later. Once you have this industry requirement you are good to go and start handing out your resumes to pubs (they are often called hotels over here). Use common sense when handing your resume out, dress nicely, smile be ready for any questions and go when it’s likely to be quiet (11am - 3pm is normally a good guess).
If you are in New South Wales there may be an additional step you may have to undertake. New South Wales has the second highest number of poker machines (they call them pokies here) in the world, only beaten by Nevada. A vast majority of the hotels here will have ‘pokie rooms’ where patrons are able to sit inside and use the machines as well as smoke and drink. While there are ethical debates over this, the situation is the situation. Hotels and RSL Clubs (look it up) will often expect their staff to be able to work in these rooms which requires an additional certification called an RCG, Responsible Conduct of Gambling. I was warned after my RSA course that I may have to come back for an RCG, so get your RSA and if you’re struggling maybe think about also acquiring an RCG.
While this advice is very catered towards finding bar work, a lot of the principles can be applied to looking for other jobs also. I did try to find an office job and I just found it particularly difficult and I also concluded I will be doing these jobs again in London in the future and while I’m out here I wanted to try something different. So keep an open mind and just know as long as you try your best everything will work out. Almost everyone arrives down under skint and homeless but there’s nowhere in the world I’d rather be right now.
Good luck!
p.s. Australian beer reviews coming soon.