Relocating to Sydney: a guide to your first three months

Moving to Sydney 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 three months 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 Sydney

Transport for NSW accepts an Opal card or a contactless credit or debit card, phone or watch across trains, buses, ferries and light rail. You tap on at the start and tap off at the end, and contactless payments are charged the adult Opal fare.

Our harbour and Parramatta River residences are chosen for easy links: Barangaroo is a walk to Wynyard and the Barangaroo metro, and the river suburbs are served by ferry and train.

Driving in NSW

Under NSW Government rules, you can drive on a current overseas licence for the first three or six months, depending on your visa. Permanent residents can drive on an overseas licence for up to three months from arrival, and then need a NSW licence to keep driving.

Schools and school zones

The NSW Department of Education explains that most public schools have a designated intake area, and a child’s local school is set by their permanent residential address. Its School Finder tool shows the local school for an address. You can also apply to a school outside your intake area, depending on its places.

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

Three 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 Sydney is also a good place to compare suburbs from.

Where Westprecinct fits

Exquisitely furnished managed serviced residences across Sydney’s harbour and inner west, from three months, with an in-person welcome, one dedicated guest manager and itemised invoicing for employers.

• Relocation accommodation
• Expat accommodation in Sydney
• Corporate accommodation in Sydney
• Extended-stay move checklist
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