Craic » Paddy Chat » useful tips when arriving to Australia


Topic by whos ur paddy 		If you’re from the North of Ireland, if at all possible use a British passport, I know we don’t like to, but it makes life easy when getting Medicare (free health services). You can’t get it with an Irish passport. Also get them at the airport to stamp your passport or try and get a copy of your visa stamped into it, as they don’t do it any more, you need this for applying for a bank account and things like that, they always want to see how long you have been in Australia. But mostly what visa your on.

Jordaniao
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Reply #5 on : Wed July 01, 2009, 19:06:23
Hey - thats a really god tip, if i knew that before i came to Oz it would have saved me a fortune on medical cover

Irish_Rover11
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Reply #4 on : Mon July 06, 2009, 14:20:17
Another good tip I found is when you do food shopping in Woolworths or Coles is to keep your receipt. When you spend over $30 you will get a bar code on the bottom of your recite, this will entitle you to 4cent of each liter of fuel that you buy at the Wollworths or Coles endorsed Filling Station - It doesn’t seem a lot at the time but if you’re doing any sort of long distance driving every little helps! :)

whosurpaddy
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Reply #3 on : Wed July 15, 2009, 06:56:42
Care':
 
Medicare Australia:
 
Medicare Australia is an Australian government agency, which plays an integral role in the Australian health sector.  Its objective is to assist in improving health outcomes in Australia.  It is imperative that once you arrive in Australia that you sort out your medicare card.  This entitles you to cheaper, and in some cases, free health care.  You just don't know what's around the corner, so keep yourself covered by applying for your medicare card ASAP!  Check out the following link www.medicareaustralia.gov.au for more information. 

micko
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Reply #2 on : Mon July 20, 2009, 19:32:39
driving licences

You can use your overseas licence, as long as the information contained on it clearly indicates the types of vehicles you are licensed to drive in your home country.
If your native language is English, then this will not be a problem (generally) as the information on the licence will contain all of the relevant information. Never the less it may be best to obtain an International Driving Permit which are available for a few Euro at AA Ireland.

For those from non-English speaking countries, it is probably best to obtain an International Driving Permit - this will be a translation of what is on the licence, so that Australian police will be able to look at the licence, look at the permit, and see what types of vehicles the person is allowed to drive.

In some states, those with overseas licences are subject to special blood alcohol limits - for example in NSW, this is 0.02 (compared to the normal limit of 0.05).
Those who obtain permanent residency can use their overseas licence for three months from the date of visa issue (may vary between states). After this they swap their licence for an Australian licence. As long their country is on a list.
See International drivers for more info

micko
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Reply #1 on : Mon July 20, 2009, 19:40:07
Toll roads in Australia

Electronic “beeper” or etags are currently used on all major Australian toll roads, including Melbourne’s City Link and Queensland’s Logan and Gateway motorways.

In Sydney the road network includes the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Tunnel, Cross City Tunnel, Lane Cove tunnel, M1 Eastern Distributor, M2 Hills Motorway, M4 Western Motorway, and M5 South Western Motorway and the M7 ringroad

The tag is a small device attached to the front windscreen of the vehicle. As the vehicle passes one of the tolling points of the tunnel, the tag will transmit a signal to the tolling equipment. This will acknowledge and deduct the appropriate toll amount from your toll account.

There are several different beep tags you can sign up for around the country and Motorists can use any of them on all Australian toll roads.

The NSW RTA E-tag is probably the best e-tag to get as it has no fees at all (other than the cost of a toll) and no stupid fees for tag inactivity plus you get statements posted every quarter for free.

Another good option from Queensland Motorways is an E-toll tag that seems to be the good value for people living out of town and only doing occasional trips to cities. There is no joining fee, no inactivity fee, minimum initial payment $25 and then top ups when you get down to $15 to be made in multiples of $25.

Two alternatives im aware of are the “Beep Tag” system setup by Sydney’s Cross City Tunnel, and the E-way™ tag powered by the consortium that runs Sydney’s M5 & M4 motorways as well as the Eastern Distributor

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