Relocating to Melbourne: a guide to your first months

Moving to Melbourne for work, or with your family, brings a short list of things that matter in the first weeks and a longer decision about where to settle. This guide covers the practical steps, naming the official source for each, and how a furnished home from 30 days gives you time to choose your neighbourhood well.

Before you arrive

• Confirm your visa allows you to work. The Department of Home Affairs sets which visas allow work in Australia.
• Keep your passport, visa details and any overseas driver licence together. You will need them for Medicare, a tax file number and driving.
• Decide on a first address. Several of the steps below send cards or letters by post, so a settled address from your first week makes them simpler.

Your first weeks

• Tax file number. The Australian Taxation Office says it is free, and you should apply before starting work or soon after. Processing can take up to 28 days, and the number is sent to your address. If you start work without one, you have 28 days to provide it, or tax is taken at the highest rate.
• Medicare. According to Services Australia, you need to be in Australia to enrol, with a current passport or ImmiCard and valid visa details. Permanent residents, or those who have applied, can enrol. Visitors from a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement country may also be eligible. Your card is posted to the address you give.

Getting around Melbourne

According to the Victorian Government, tap and go with a bank card, phone or watch has worked on trains, trams and buses across Melbourne since July 2026. Concession, senior and under-18 passengers keep using myki.

The City of Melbourne notes that trams are free within the central city and Docklands free tram zone.

Toorak, Armadale and Malvern each have a train station into the city, and Brighton is on the Sandringham line by the bay.

Driving in Victoria

VicRoads asks drivers with an overseas licence to convert to a Victorian licence within six months of living in Victoria. Its online tool tells you when you need to convert and which licence you will receive.

Schools and school zones

According to the Victorian Department of Education, every government school has a zone. In metropolitan Melbourne, a child’s local school is usually the nearest government school in a straight line from their permanent address. The Find my School website is the official source and shows zones for the current and next school year.

Because enrolment follows a permanent address, ask the school early how it treats families who are still choosing a home. Many families use their first months in a furnished residence to compare school zones before deciding where to settle.

Choosing where to settle

A few months is long enough to know a neighbourhood: the morning commute, the weekend, the school run and the local shops. We are glad to suggest residences near where you will be working or studying, so your first home in Melbourne is also a good place to compare suburbs from.

Where Westprecinct fits

Exquisitely furnished managed serviced residences in Toorak, Armadale, Malvern and Brighton, from 30 days, with an in-person welcome, one dedicated guest manager and itemised invoicing for employers.

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