go to the RMIT website and view the entry requirements yourself then decide.

these are called white goods, and usually will be included in the unit/house..........including fridge, washing machine, microwave..........

Hi ppl , I am going to RMIT next year feb. Looking for apartment with two bedrooms .

Wondering should i stay in city or suburb ? As my campus located at Bundoora, 1 hour away from city (by tram)

VW GOLF for only 16k AUD . wtf

Any advice on Blackberry packages? Should I buy set from malaysia, and then sign up in Oz, or there are better pricing (with plans) in oz? thanks in advance

Not necessarily. I have seen houses/units for rent that don't come with fridge and/or washing machine. And more often than not the microwave is BYO.

Re Blackberries: I have no idea how much Blackberries cost in M'sia. However, a cursory glance at the Blackberry plans across the telco's seem to suggest that Blackberry contract plans seem to be around the $49/month mark. Also keep in mind they are 24 month contracts. And to unlock them may incur a extra fee (Optus is most guilty of this).

The websites of major telco's are on the front page.

@Haya, thanks!

Guys, is racism a big problem for international students in Australia ?

Are you officially accepted by RMIT university? What pre-u did you do?
Bundoora would be far from my accommodation in Vic city.

This post has been edited by Invertase: Dec 11 2010, 11:45 PM

Hi guys! Need some urgent help regarding medical check up for visa application to Australia. Can i know which clinic or lab is suitable for the medical check up and it is near Subang Jaya area? What kind of test/examinations do i need? And do i have to bring any form there?

My current situation is that i have not gotten any offer letter from my University (UWA) yet although my place is already confirmed there. So, i can't start any visa application yet and my flight is already booked on the 9th Jan. So, i figured i can do this medical check up now, so that i will have my visa by then, just to be safe. I wont be around Malaysia tomorrow onwards, yea, so it's kind of urgent.

Any help would be deeply appreciated. Thanks in advance.

This post has been edited by AtresiaAni: Dec 12 2010, 08:51 AM

how do you know your place is confirmed if you don't have an offer letter?
Anyway since you don't have an offer letter I will also assume that you don't have an eCoE. Without it you can not lodge a visa application and without lodging a visa application first you can not do a medical examination for an Australian visa. When you are applying for visa you will be able to see a list of places you can perform the checks and x-ray at. Choose from the panel clinics there and go. Life Care Diagnostics in MCIS Zurich near Hilton there is a good place. You can fill in answers online before you go for the check up and they will also submit results to immigration online shortening the processing time.
You have to apply for visa first and only then go for medical examination because you need your referral letter with the application's transaction number so the clinic can send your medical report to immigration. You CAN NOT do the medical examination for visa before lodging a visa application.

My place is already confirmed as long i've passed my finals, in which i had. Apparently, there is a delay of some sorts between my university and UWA, so i have not gotten the offer letter yet.

I see, so, i cant do the checkup without the letter? Cause i was thinking of at least doing the blood test first, cause i know this will take days to process, then i can pass the blood report to the panel doctor for reviewing, is this possible? Or must i definitely go to the panel doctors for the full medical examination, blood test and X-rays?

Btw, thanks for replying. Really appreciate it.

This post has been edited by AtresiaAni: Dec 12 2010, 09:56 AM

As far as DIAC is concerned, your eCoE is the only proof to you being accepted into any Australian educational institution as a student. And to obtain that you will first require a letter of offer from your uni.

Usually a blood test is not needed unless in certain circumstances where you probably have went to same dangerous level countries recently or got certain illness.

Just a physical examination, blood pressure, urine test and x-rays and this just require a few hours of your time.
The offer letter is not important. What immigrations want is the electronic confirmation of enrollment (eCoE) and you only get that after you get your offer letter, returned a signed response of offer to the university and have payed the deposit of tuition fees to the uni. After you do those stuff the university will usually send an acceptance letter and the eCoE within a week or so.

Anything pertaining to the Medical examination for an Australian Visa MUST be done at an Australian immigration panel clinic.

Okay, i see. I guess the only thing i can do now is to wait for the letter of offer from UWA then, hopefully i will get it soon.

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Added on December 12, 2010, 10:35 amOh, i will need a blood test for HepB/HepC cause i will be studying medicine there, it's a requirement for the course i think. But for now, i think i'm just gonna wait for the letter of offer, its basically the only thing i can do..

Thanks so much!

This post has been edited by AtresiaAni: Dec 12 2010, 10:41 AM

My advice - chase up UWA. Call their admission office. You need your letter of offer so that you can accept the offer and organise payment. Once you sort those things out, chase them up again for the eCoE. Do it early (now) or you risk losing 2 weeks due to Christmas and New Year holidays.

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Added on December 12, 2010, 12:55 pmThere's no guarantee, but pack it well and you can mitigate the risk of your box being DOA (damaged on arrival).

This post has been edited by Tony C: Dec 12 2010, 12:55 PM

desktop not so recommended. perhaps laptop will be wiser choice as u can bring hand luggage?

Go and hassle them, seriously on the 24th till 3rd Jan nobody will be working ....
Just call them and ask to speed things up, since you're flying on the 9th Jan.
Almost all my co-workers are already in holiday mood, some are sweating because of KPIs reviews.


Buy casing here, and packed all your components nicely and assemble it in Australia ones you buy your casing.
Now AUD almost on par wit USD, some components here are cheaper than in Malaysia.

I know fellow M'sians who bring along their desktop's with checkin. Some tips:

1) Take out the hard drive, the optical drive and the CPU + fan. Essentially anything that has movable parts. If you are confident, put these in the check-in luggage with padding. Else carry with you in your cabin luggage.

2) Pad the inside of the casing. Even old newspaper would do. The point is to not have things flying around inside the casing while in transit.

3) Ask for a fragile sticker at check-in. Even at KLIA they tend to obey that. If arriving in Brisbane, your desktop computer should come out of the "fragile items" conveyor belt. The same one that serves the surf boards of Aussie's who come to SEA to surf (the waves).

Whether it is cost effective to bring a desktop computer to Australia vs buying/assembling one here, I will leave it to the individual.

This post has been edited by haya: Dec 13 2010, 06:08 PM

hey guys. i was just wondering whether it's possible to apply for the MARA loan after foundation studies at Trinity College. help me out

I thought for MARA loan you have to do at least 1 year of undergradute studies at a recognized institution.