What is usually sorted is the phone, the bank account, the TFN (the tax file number), accommodation and the CV. This is the list given by Tourism Australia, the official tourism website, for people arriving on a Working Holiday. We have not found a Government list that sets deadlines for that first week.
This is not a plan for you. Each case changes depending on your country, your visa and your city. Here we say what exists and where to read about it. To tick off what you already have, there is the task list.
What does the source say about each task?
This is what Tourism Australia says, on a page modified in May 2025:
| Task | What it says | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Phone | A prepaid plan, at the provider's shop, with your passport | SIM and eSIM and providers |
| Bank account | At a branch, with passport and proof of address, no appointment. The card arrives in a few days | Opening an account |
| TFN | Requested online, in about 20 minutes. It cannot be requested before you arrive | Free, official TFN |
| Accommodation | Hostels are a simple option at the start. It suggests giving yourself a week or so before committing to something longer | First nights and shared room |
| Work | Job websites or work programmes. It lists Seek, Indeed, Jora and Backpacker Job Board | CV for Australia and how to look for work |
It also says your employer will not be able to pay you until you have a bank account.
Does the order matter?
There is no official order, but some tasks need details from others. This is what we have seen:
- The bank and the phone. ANZ asks for an Australian number and an address in Australia. NAB accepts an international number to start online, and asks for the Australian one and the address when you finish at the branch.
- The bank and the TFN. Westpac says giving the TFN is not essential, although without it tax may be withheld from your interest.
- The TFN and the address. Tourism Australia lists a postal address in Australia among the details requested.
- The CV and the phone. The CV guide for Australia includes the telephone in the contact details.
None of these pages sets an order. If you do not yet have a fixed address, Tourism Australia says the hostel may be able to help with the proof for the bank. The rest about temporary addresses is in the bank guide.
How do you leave the airport?
It depends on the city, and there is a guide for each, with prices and times seen on its official website:
- Sydney, with its city page
- Melbourne, with its page
- Brisbane, with its page
- Perth, with its page
- Adelaide, with its page
- Cairns, with its page
- Gold Coast, with its page
- Darwin, with its page
Before that comes the arrival check: what you declare and what the sources say about food and medicines.
What else may come up soon?
Other things come up depending on your case, and they have their own guide:
- Health: how doctors and emergency services work in seeing a doctor and 000, and which countries have an agreement in Medicare and reciprocal agreements.
- Money: cost of living by city, a budget with your own numbers and what superannuation is.
- Work with its own requirements: hospitality and the RSA course, and construction and the White Card.
- Rights at work: minimum wage and Fair Work.
- Car: driving with a foreign licence.
- Renting: how to spot a scam and bond and rights.
Tourism Australia also mentions regional work for a second year, and says that doing it straight after arriving is something you can consider. This website gives no opinion on whether it suits you: the conditions are in how the visa works.
What have we not been able to confirm?
These details are missing:
- How long the TFN takes to arrive. It is on the ATO website, the tax office, which we could not check.
- How long banks take to open an account or send the card, beyond the "few days" Tourism Australia mentions.
- What is asked for in your country. Many pages do not distinguish by nationality.
- An official source with a fixed order. We have not found one, so the above are dependencies, not a timetable.
Sources
All opened on 5 November 2026.
- How to set up your life in Australia, Tourism Australia (official, tourism; modified in May 2025 according to its metadata)
- Migrant banking, ANZ (company)
- Migrant banking, NAB (company)
- Add your TFN, Westpac (company)