Checklist for Brisbane

Anthony1993

Im going to Brisbane in June and plan on staying in hostel for a week till i get my TFN and then go do my regional work in another part of Queensland if anyone had any suggestions for that..

, But what should i bring like im bringing short tshirts pants and all the stuff you would bring. Should i bring my laptop, i dont want to be carting it around and worrying it mite get robbed or something. And what else should i bring, any necessary stuff, what should i budget myself pw, i dont fancy all my money going out of the blue.

pete4130

It'll be winter here. Brisbane won't be all that cold relatively speaking. Possibly jeans and hoody weather in the evening and early morning but should generally be warm during the day. Don't overload with heavy goods that much. When you do your regional work it will more than likely be inland.

I work based out of a town called Dalby about 300km west of Brisbane. In winter, the mornings when I get up, and the time you will probably be getting up at it can be as cold as -5c, frost on windscreens, biting cold winds depending on direction its coming from.
I'd recommend those small magic gloves for €1 in Penney's and a beanie for sure.

Laptop is essential. You'll need it for looking for jobs, booking stuff, sending CV's, writing CV's because you'll soon get pi$$ed off using net cafes. Get a backpack that has a laptop section in it, that way you can bring it everywhere with you day to day.
Bring lots of loose comfy, light underwear and ankle socks if your wearing shoes and a decent pair of flip flops if you want cooler feet. Mostly it will be t shirts and shorts you'll be wearing hopefully.
Don't forget your sunblock.

Bring a light, loose light coloured long sleeve shirt for your rural work. IT will keep the sun off you and stop you getting badly burnt. Get a big floppy hat when you start your rural work too. You'll thank me for having both of those in the heat all day.

Australia, unlike Ireland doesn't have as big a problem with petty theft. The Irish mentality that "if it's not nailed down…..lift it" isn't as common. Saying that, never take chances. Hostels are always places to be extra vigilant. See if the hostel has a secure room for you to put valuables into. Keep passport on you at all times. You'll need it for banking, ID, proof of age etc..
Scan all your important documents and email them to yourself so if an employer wants them, you can forward them on. Same goes for your white card for construction, your visa grant number from immigration etc.

Budget per week….say a hostel is about $150 a week, food budget $20 a day. find a good local bakery nearby for bread goods as they ail be far cheaper than supermarkets. Transport say $10+ a day if you have to go for interviews. Bring a reusable sports bottle to fill with water. Cans/bottles of drink in convenience stores are $2.50-$4 each so they will eat your money up that way. Water fountains are common enough in parks etc to refill.

So expect to be spending about $300 a week all in and thats living pretty cheap too. 2 minute noodles cane bought cheap in supermarkets to eat while your in the hostel as well to save money.

If you eat out at MacDonalds expect to pay about $9-10 for a big mac meal as a comparison.

Drinks wise, it's harder to find pints over here, its mostly scooners (about 375ml as opposed to a pint being 568ml). Some places have midi's, pots and scooners but schooners will be the biggest drink you'll come across more than likely. Expect to pay anywhere from $5 a scooner up to $12 in a stupidly priced place in the city. A 6 pack of beer can range from $14ish upwards depending ion the brand and strength of beer.

If you want better value on mobile phone go for Optus. Optus will NOT have coverage in a lot of rural places.
TELSTRA has the best coverage, especially in rural areas but aren't the greatest value compared to Optus.
when I got here I went with Optus and when I started working FIFO rural work I switched to Telstra because I was paying for a phone that never had any coverage while I was on Optus.

tonydude

Leaving Oz in a week or two and everything stated above is bang on the money. Brisbane has the best type of weather in the whole of Oz imo. Bungaburg seems to be a good place to do the regional work but in saying that I didn't it.

bladebrew

Definitely bring a laptop!! I have an iPad and iPhone and they are useless for anything to do with cv's! I e-mailed my cv to myself then had to go to an Internet cafe to attach the cv files to applications! Even applying through seek it not easy without a laptop!

Anthony1993

Ah cool thatnks, that helps alot, ya have iphone and unlocked and all that so will prob go with telestra, and ya may aswel bring my laptop. Stupid quistions but would shirts not be very heavy and warm when working in rural areas? anyone have thoughts on fruit picking? what way does transferring money work? do i just contact Bank or ireland when im over there and transfer money? would ye suggest runners for rural work

Noo

Anthony1993 wrote: »

Stupid quistions but would shirts not be very heavy and warm when working in rural areas?

Doesnt have to be a heavy shirt but I cant agree more with wearing them. Youll see all aussie labourers in long sleeve shirts, Australia has the highest skin cancer rate in the world and if they feel the need to wear them then your bare irish skin doesnt stand a chance. The ozone layer is thinner near Australia (the angle of the sun through the hole in the Antarctic and stuff of that sort, not sure on specifics), the sun really is more dangerous here.

pete4130

There are winter shirts which are regular heavy weight cotton and summer shirts which will be a lighter cotton and have micro fibre on the underarms and on the back usually. Helps with the sweat drying off and keeping you cool. Shirts are a bit warmer than a t shirt but you don't get that feeling after 15 minutes that your arm is getting itchy/burnt/irritated and won't be peeling the next day.

On top of that, it helps keep you getting bitten by mosquitos and trust me, they can get very big here and will destroy you in shorts/short sleeves. Invest in some insect repellent when you get here. Good brands are Aerogaurd or Bushmans (Bushmans is a bit harsh on plastics like watch straps etc and slowly melts it). Brisbane is basically built on a swamp has lots of wetlands and lots of mosquitos to go with it. Apart from the chance of catching a blood borne virus (not meaning to scare you, it isn't that uncommon) from mosquitos, they are just annoying.

Working rural, you will encounter flies like you've never experienced before. They are not like Irish flies that stay away from you, they seek you out, fly up your nose, in your ear, land on your face and don't fly off when you swipe at them. For that, while working rural a head/face net is a blessing. It's much better than spraying insect repellent on your face.

Sunglasses are a must too. You can get cheap ones or if you go to a hardware store you can get safety sunglasses pretty cheap too that wrap around and give you a bit more protection from the sun.

Typically, this is the workwear I'd have on every day. Regardless or not of working on a construction site or an open field in the gas/mining industry hard hat with a sun brim is mandatory on my current job. Obviously for you on a farm a big floppy hat will be fine.
You won't need the high viz stuff on a farm though.

Anthony1993

ah rite cool thatts handy to know, even if i get very hot, ill have something underneath the shirt. ya i heard the mosquitos are very bad over there, there worse than horse flys over here, you hit them and they stay they, they dont die at all.. ya i plan on bringing a good bit with me to save me buying it over there, but some stuff ill wait till i get there, yes thate hat and sunglasses are a must, i have a hat somewhere i think, i actuall saw some of my friends that work on farms wearing something onto them high vizz stuff, would you recomend a hostel or house when doing rural work?

pete4130

Dude, you'll sweat so much with a t shirt under your long sleeve shirt. when it gets hot. You'll know what I mean when it gets hot.

In winter here in the mornings I'll have a t shirt, work shirt, maybe a regular shirt, hoody and work jacket on at 5:30am to layer up for the cold. By 8-9am I'll be stripped off to just my work shirt once the sun comes up.

Mosquitos are only really bad at dawn and dusk unless you are in long grass near water/wetlands area. Just use the repellent regularly during the day on exposed parts to keep them away. It helps with the flies too. The flies are annoying and you kind of get used to them but they are so annoying more than anything.

The high viz stuff isn't that expensive in workwear/hardware stores and even salvation army stores (called the Salvos here) to pick up some 2nd hand ones for $1-$2. Same with hats…like a straw hat, big wide one might be $10 in a garage. Floppy fisherman's hat will do you good too. If its hot when your working, pour water onto your hat and let it keep you cool. I can't iterate how important to keep hydrated is.

Keep an eye on the colour of your pee. Anything looking yellow, drink lots more water. By the time you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated so drink regularly, even if you don't feel thirsty.

With your rural work, you'll probably be too far from the nearest town to walk there and will probably stay on the property. Make sure the type of work is listed on the regional work list so it counts towards your 2nd year, and its in the rural work postcode for your 2nd year visa.

For keeping cool you can get these sort of things http://www.kooltubes.com.au.
they have crystals in them that retain moisture for 2-3 days after you soak them for about 15 minutes and warp them around your neck or head. I've got several from work and have never used them as they are impractical with hard hats.

Generally the rules are:

1) LOTS of water, no matter what.

2) Keep your skin away from the sun (long sleeves, hats & sunblock). Jobs should provide sunblock really.

3) Insect repellant.

You'll be very tired after working in the sun all day, regardless of how hard the work is. It will take you a few weeks to acclimatise.


Now, I don't want you to be panicked by anything I've said. I'm giving you advise form experience and what to expect. Once you are prepared for the heat etc nothing is a big deal other than getting used to it. Thousands of people do it each year so you'll be fine!

Anthony1993

Ah yeah i get ya, im sure ill know what to wear and stuff once im a week or 2 over there, ya i think when i start working ill know what stuff i should be wearing and all that, ya i usually check to make sure the regional work is in the right postcode, have u any ideas where to look for regional work other than gumtree ? ya ill bring a bag with me to work with a bottle of water in it and have it with me during the day, im sure for regional work ill have to piss in a field?

irishmover

Pete what are you doing with a Trimble receiver? (I know what you're doing) but you're not a Surveyor are you?

pete4130

irishmover wrote: »

Pete what are you doing with a Trimble receiver? (I know what you're doing) but you're not a Surveyor are you?

Yeah im a surveyor. We were putting in static control in the photo so lots of waiting around.

irishmover

pete4130 wrote: »

Yeah im a surveyor. We were putting in static control in the photo so lots of waiting around.

Surveyor myself. Few boring jobs as a Surveyor and that's definitely one of them!

pete4130

Surveying is all round pretty boring. The static wok that time wasn't too bad. We were staying in a Motel over a bar so every night for a week we all got very loose. I snoozed while most of the static ons were being shot. It worked out nicely.

irishmover

pete4130 wrote: »

Surveying is all round pretty boring. The static wok that time wasn't too bad. We were staying in a Motel over a bar so every night for a week we all got very loose. I snoozed while most of the static ons were being shot. It worked out nicely.

Monotonous, antagonizing, unappreciated is a few words which come to mind!!

Anyway going off topic here..

Hells Belle

If you are bringing electrical items make sure you don't forget adapter plugs, I brought about 5 and had to get some more sent from home, I scoured Brisbane for Irish to Aus and couldn't find them anywhere. Heatons used to do them for about 5 euro each.

mandrake04

Bring a 4 way gang Power board (4x extension)from back home that way you only need one adapter.

aido79

mandrake04 wrote: »

Bring a 4 way gang Power board (4x extension)from back home that way you only need one adapter.

You can go one step further and put an australian plug on an irish powerboard if you are confident enough to change the plug.

stefan idiot jones

aido79 wrote: »

You can go one step further and put an australian plug on an irish powerboard if you are confident enough to change the plug.

I've changed nearly all the plugs. Bunnings sell them for a couple of dollars each. (Under extension lead plugs)

Anthony1993

Ok ill bring a few adaptors, can i bring the likes of shower gel and deodrant into the country or will it be taken off me in brisbane airport?
and when transferring money i was going to use currency affair, do i just signup and get my bank to send the money to currency affair and then they send it too my australian bank account?

pete4130

Just don't have the liquids in your carry on and you'll be fine. Put them in your checked baggage.

With Currency Fair or Worldwide Currenies you sign up and have to prove who you are, send them some documents etc. and they will explain the rest to you. First transfer can be complicated but after that its plain sailing.

Do you have an Irish credit card? IF so you can put cash onto the credit card and use that to pay for stuff. That way you are using your own money with your credit card, its accepted worldwide and the cheapest way to pay for things when abroad. Avoid cash withdrawals with it though, they are costly.

Anthony1993

Oh ya i know i never usually do, so i should be ok if there in my checked in baggage, ya, like all ill want them to do is transfer the money from my irish account to australian one. Ya ive a visa debit card with bank of ireland

aido79

Anthony1993 wrote: »

Oh ya i know i never usually do, so i should be ok if there in my checked in baggage, ya, like all ill want them to do is transfer the money from my irish account to australian one. Ya ive a visa debit card with bank of ireland

Why would you bother bringing shower gel and deoderant?...you can buy that stuff here. A visa debit card is not the same as a credit card. The fees for using a bank of Ireland debit card here will be a lot higher than using a credit card. Your best option would probably be to get a credit card and transfer most of your money onto it so you get the best exchange rate. Currency fair is a good option but only if you already have an Australian bank account set up.

Anthony1993

Ah i just had a load of it from christmas so i said id just brin a few, handy to have them for the first few weeks. Oh ya i hadnt planned on using my card over there, cause i used it before in different places and got charged a bit. Ah so your saying scrap the visa debit one and get a credit card, and put most of my money on it and then transfer the money when i get a account over there

irishmover

I had an account setup with commonwealth before I went to Australia.

Should do that transfer a bit to that account with currencyfair to keep you going for first couple weeks and then transfer the rest when you're out there. Might be safer to just have some cash on you and a back up card just incase.

Currencyfair takes days to setup and then days to transfer so be prepared for that. Good enough time to be transferring to AUD too.

Saoirse77

Hi guys ye seem to be fairly clued in from your experiences in Oz. Just wondering what the story with proof of funds at the airport? What do they accept? Can money be split between account ie if I transfer over $2000 before hand and have $3000 in my account and some in cash? Also does the proof have to be printed/dated within a certain number of days before travel?

Currency fair definitely seems to be the way to go judging from what everyone is telling me. These is loads of info on where to go out in OZ but piss all about the important stuff. Typical Irish I guess ha!

frankled

Saoirse77 wrote: »

Hi guys ye seem to be fairly clued in from your experiences in Oz. Just wondering what the story with proof of funds at the airport? What do they accept? Can money be split between account ie if I transfer over $2000 before hand and have $3000 in my account and some in cash? Also does the proof have to be printed/dated within a certain number of days before travel?

Currency fair definitely seems to be the way to go judging from what everyone is telling me. These is loads of info on where to go out in OZ but piss all about the important stuff. Typical Irish I guess ha!

Regarding proof of funds- I don't think this is something that is ever examined or checked at all. I have never heard of it checked anyway. I think once your visa is all in order and you're not bringing anything strange in you're good. But maybe somebody else can shed some light. I wouldn't worry about preparing statements etc, in the one-in-a-million chance that you were asked I'm sure internet banking would suffice, but I don't think it is an issue at all.

CurrencyFair is by far the way to go, in my opinion anyway. I came on the WHV last year and the whole thing is seamless. Have a look at the website, how it works, sign yourself up, supply ID (I think that's necessary) and away you go. You can apply for your Aussie bank account now if you haven't already, online. My preference is Commonwealth Bank, personally. All the best for it!

Noo

I concur. I have never heard of anyone being asked for proof of funds. If your visa is in order and youve nothing to declare then you'll be waved through no problem. They get so so many backpackers/whvs coming through they know the story with them, see them everyday. Theyve plenty other things to be looking out for with other people than your proof of funds.