The book lists the wide range of services Government and community organisations provide to Australian residents. The booklet will give you an introduction to the services and assistance that you can access and where you can go for advice.
It is important to note that some permanent migrants and most temporary visa holders may not be eligible for all the services mentioned in this booklet.
Based on the advice in the booklet (and own personal experience), the following are the four priorities, in no particular order, that we recommend you attend to immediately as part of your settlement in Australia.
1) Register with Medicare
Medicare is the Government subsidised assistance for medical expenses. Joining Medicare will enable you to gain immediate access to health care services and programs, such as free public hospital care, assistance with out-of-pocket expenses for hospitalisation and subsidised medicines.
You cannot apply for Medicare online as you will need to present personally at one of the Medicare offices with your passport and visa grant documents.
2) Register with Centrelink
Medicare and Centrelink offices are usually co-located so you should register with Centrelink as soon as you have registered with Medicare. By registering with Centrelink, you can get help with looking for work, have your overseas skills recognised for employment purposes and access relevant courses.
Note that many of the entitlements such as Family Assistance may be subject to waiting periods before you can receive any payments.
| CENTRELINK SERVICES |
CONTACT DETAILS |
| Multilingual Call – for Centrelink and Family Assistance Office enquiries only – help in languages other than English |
13 1202 |
| Self Service |
13 6240 |
| Employment Services |
13 2850 |
| Disability, Sickness and Carers |
13 2717 |
| Youth and Student Services |
13 2490 |
| Online Services Support |
13 2307 |
| Customer Relations |
1800 050 004 |
| Australian Apprenticeships |
13 3633 |
| Family Assistance Office |
13 6150 |
For a complete list of Centrelink telephone numbers go to the Centrelink website.
3) Apply for a tax file number
All employees require a tax file number (TFN) to receive income as well as pay taxes in Australia. The TFN is a unique number issued to individuals for Australian taxation purposes.
You can apply for a TFN in a number of different ways:
4) Open a bank account
If you haven’t already opened an Australian bank account while overseas, you should visit one of the many banks that operate in Australia to open a personal bank account.
AUSTRALIAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION
Bank Account Basics web pages www.bankers.asn.au
The ‘Big Four’ banks of Australia are Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac Banking Corporation, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) and National Australia Bank (NAB).
