Key takeaways
- Visa condition 8533 requires you to tell your education provider your residential address within seven days of arriving in Australia.
- Your OSHC must start on your arrival date, not your course start date, and you must not enter Australia before it begins.
- Opening a bank account needs three documents: your electronic CoE, your passport and proof of address.
- A Tax File Number is free and needs no documents sent in; apply online through the ATO’s Individual Auto-Registration system if your visa allows work.
- Declaring food and medicines truthfully on the incoming passenger card is compulsory; biosecurity penalties apply to those who do not declare.
- Neither students nor their dependants can work before the course starts, and then only up to 48 hours a fortnight while it is in session.
In this article
- What to carry in hand luggage, not in checked baggage
- What must you declare on arrival?
- Your first seven days: what to do
- Enrolling with your university and the Cultural Mission
- Your first accommodation: arranging it before you land
- What not to do in your first week
- Quick pre-departure checklist
- The takeaway
Your first fortnight in Australia works best in a fixed order: documents in your hand luggage, an honest declaration on arrival, then a SIM card, a bank account and a tax file number — while telling your university your residential address within seven days, which is a condition of your visa (Study Australia). Here is that checklist in the order you will actually need it.
What to carry in hand luggage, not in checked baggage
The Australian Government advises carrying on the plane: "your passport and visa documentation", "the address of your accommodation", a pen for the incoming passenger card, "any prescription medication", and "a list of emergency contact details including a family member, your education provider and education agent" (Study Australia).
Add digital and paper copies of: your visa grant letter, your electronic Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE), your OSHC policy, certified copies of your qualification and transcript, and your scholarship letter if you are a scholarship student. The government also advises that "it is recommended that you have some Australian currency with you when you land in Australia" (Study Australia).
Your health cover must start on your arrival date
The Department of Home Affairs warns that if you travel before your course begins, "the OSHC start date must be the same as the date you arrive, not the date your course starts", and that you must not enter Australia before your cover begins (Department of Home Affairs). Check your policy start date before you book the flight.
What must you declare on arrival?
You "complete an incoming passenger card which is usually given to you on board your flight", and it asks for your accommodation address (Study Australia). The decisive rule: "Australia’s biosecurity laws have been strengthened and penalties will apply if you fail to truthfully declare biosecurity goods at the Australian border" (Study Australia).
Food in particular "needs to be declared on your Incoming Passenger Card if you come by plane", and biosecurity officers may inspect it (Australian Border Force). The practical rule: declare the dates, coffee, spices, medicines and any wool prayer mat. Declaring does not mean confiscation — failing to declare is what gets you fined.
Your first seven days: what to do
- Tell your university your address. "You must inform your education provider of your residential address within seven (7) days of arriving in Australia" under visa condition 8533 (Study Australia).
- Get a mobile SIM. Pre-paid SIM cards and SIM-only plans are sold in shops, supermarkets and provider stores (Study Australia).
- Open a bank account. Bring to the branch: your electronic Confirmation of Enrolment, your passport and proof of address (Study Australia).
- Apply for a Tax File Number (TFN). Give it to your bank to avoid being taxed at a higher rate (Study Australia).
- Create your Unique Student Identifier (USI). "You will need a Unique Student Identifier (USI)" if you study at a university, TAFE or nationally recognised training, created online after you arrive and clear customs (Study Australia, Australian Government).
- Visit campus and attend Orientation Week. Go to campus before classes begin and join O-Week activities (Study Australia).
- Sort out transport. Research public transport in your state or territory and check whether you qualify for student discounts (Study Australia).
More on the bank account
Many students delay this, and everything else then waits on it. Go to a branch near your accommodation with the three documents above and ask for a student account with no monthly fee. Then give the bank your TFN as soon as it issues.
More on the Tax File Number
It is free and applied for online. The Australian Taxation Office states: "It is free to apply for a TFN. You will not need to send documents to us", and if you are in Australia with a valid work rights visa you can apply through the Individual Auto-Registration (IAR) system (Australian Taxation Office). The ATO excludes holders of no-work conditions 8101, 8103 or 8116 from using IAR (Australian Taxation Office). Check your own visa conditions in VEVO before applying (Department of Home Affairs).
Enrolling with your university and the Cultural Mission
After orientation, enrol in your units in the university’s system before enrolment closes, and save your student number and university email — every official message goes there, not to your personal inbox.
On the Saudi side, your reference point is the Saudi Cultural Mission in Australia (الملحقية الثقافية السعودية في أستراليا) (Ministry of Education), which handles scholarship students’ academic and financial affairs and lists among its reimbursements "visa and medical examination costs", "travel tickets" and "medical treatment and health insurance" (Saudi Cultural Mission in Australia, last updated 4 October 2024). Keep your visa, medical and ticket receipts from day one, and ask the Mission directly about opening your file and its deadlines — these change, and should not be taken from word of mouth.
Your first accommodation: arranging it before you land
Do not arrive without an address. The incoming passenger card asks for your accommodation address, and your university needs it within seven days (Study Australia). The practical rule: book two weeks of temporary accommodation before you fly — short-stay student housing, a serviced apartment or a homestay — then find your permanent place once you are there.
What to ask before you sign
Ask four questions about every option: are bills and internet included? How much is the refundable bond and when is it returned? What is the minimum lease term and can you exit early? And how long is the commute to campus at peak hour, not on an empty road? The difference between two answers can be thousands of dollars a year.
Budget on a realistic number
For visa purposes the Department of Home Affairs requires proof of A$29,710 in living costs for twelve months (Department of Home Affairs), but the Australian Government warns that "actual living costs vary throughout Australia and may be much higher than what is needed for the visa" (Study Australia). Price your specific suburb with the official Cost of Living Calculator before committing to a lease.
What to bring and what to buy there
Bring what is hard to replace: certified documents, prescription medicines with their prescriptions, a spare pair of glasses, a power adapter. Leave what is easily bought: bedding, kitchenware, heavy winter clothes. Baggage weight costs more than you think, and second-hand markets around university suburbs cover half the list within a week.
What not to do in your first week
- Do not work before your course starts. "Student visa holders and their family members cannot work in Australia before the student starts their course" (Department of Home Affairs). Once it starts: up to 48 hours a fortnight while the course is in session (Department of Home Affairs).
- Do not sign a long lease before you have seen the suburb. Stay somewhere short-term for a week or two, test the commute to campus at peak hour, then sign.
- Do not neglect updating your details. Home Affairs requires you to tell them about changes to your phone number, email, address or passport (Department of Home Affairs).
Quick pre-departure checklist
| Item | Where it comes from |
|---|---|
| Passport and visa grant letter | In hand luggage (Study Australia) |
| Electronic Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) | From your university |
| OSHC policy valid from your arrival date | From an approved insurer (Department of Home Affairs) |
| Your first address, written down | For the incoming passenger card (Study Australia) |
| Prescription medication and the prescription | From your doctor, and declare it (Study Australia) |
| Some Australian currency | Before you travel (Study Australia) |
| The national emergency number | From the government’s Triple Zero page (Australian Government) |
As a reminder, the student visa charge is A$2,500 for the main applicant since 1 July 2026 (Study Australia); keep the receipt with your reimbursement paperwork.
The takeaway
The first week is not sightseeing, it is setup: an address reported within seven days, a SIM, a bank account, a tax file number, a student identifier and unit enrolment. Finish those six and the rest of the semester runs quietly. KD International can help line up admission and accommodation before you fly.
Frequently asked questions
Study Australia advises your passport and visa documentation, your accommodation address, a pen for the incoming passenger card, prescription medication, and a list of emergency contacts. Add copies of your CoE, OSHC policy and academic transcript.
Within seven days of arriving in Australia, under visa condition 8533. You must also tell Home Affairs about any change to your phone number, email, address or passport.
Go to a branch with your electronic Confirmation of Enrolment, your passport and proof of address, and ask for a student account. Give the bank your Tax File Number as soon as it issues, to avoid being taxed at a higher rate.
Applying is free and online through the ATO’s Individual Auto-Registration system, with no documents to send. IAR is not available to holders of no-work conditions 8101, 8103 or 8116.
An identifier you need if you study at an Australian university, TAFE or nationally recognised training. You create it online after arriving and clearing customs.
You complete an incoming passenger card on the plane and must truthfully declare biosecurity goods, especially food and medicines. Penalties apply for failing to declare; declaring itself does not mean the item is seized.
Only once your course has actually started, not before. Then up to 48 hours a fortnight while the course is in session, and unlimited hours when it is not. Check your conditions in VEVO.
The Saudi Cultural Mission in Australia is the reference point for scholarship students’ academic and financial affairs. Ask through its official channels about opening your file and its deadlines after you arrive, and keep your visa, medical and ticket receipts.
Official sources
- Your first week in Australia — Study Australia (Australian Government)
- Preparing to travel — Study Australia (Australian Government)
- Student Visa Application Charge increase — Study Australia (Australian Government)
- Foreign passport holders, permanent migrants and temporary visitors – TFN application — Australian Taxation Office
- Unique Student Identifier (USI) — Australian Government
- Can you bring it in? – Food — Australian Border Force
- Student visa (subclass 500) – health cover, work conditions, notifying changes — Australian Department of Home Affairs
- Check visa details and conditions (VEVO) — Australian Department of Home Affairs
- Triple Zero — Australian Government
- الملحقية الثقافية السعودية في أستراليا — وزارة التعليم السعودية
- الشؤون المالية – التعويضات المالية للمبتعثين — الملحقية الثقافية السعودية في أستراليا – وزارة التعليم
- Living and education costs — Study Australia (Australian Government)
Ready to start?
KD International helps you choose a university, prepare your admission and visa file, and answers your questions about Saudi scholarships and studying in Australia. Apply now or message us on WhatsApp.
Last updated: 14 September 2026. Fees and requirements change; always confirm with the official source before deciding.
