they should be well equipped since it's so expensive >_< do you gym a lot?

I'm actually thinking bout furthering my studies in aus. im studying hospitality. abit hard to look for twinning courses in australia.

im taking diploma now. gonna complete my diploma soon.

heyo ppl, will be heading off the adelaide soon! thanks for most of the info on the thread! it was very helpful!

wanted to ask if its better to open ANZ or HSBC account... does anyone know which one is better? (rates and erm, convenience wise?)

and for foodstuff, is it like, i can bring whatever i want but they may or may not be allowed through? but like some stuff are definite no entry items like stuff containing egg and dairy products? i tried googling here and there and the official sites but can't seem to find a definite answer... ):

sorry and thank you!

hello! i'm a girl, but no worries haha i'm leaving next week! which uni are u heading to? i'm going to UAdel

heard that you can buy everything there but yeah, since i have some extra space... was just wondering if i should bring that extra bottle of dried prawn chillies and anchovies. D:

I heard that BankSA is the main one in UAdel. but my friend told me that HSBC has better rates and on the other hand, my aunt asked me to open ANZ. Was curious if anyone had any experience with these banks

Commonwealth bank all the way. Easy access. Lots of saving privilleges as a student and lots of branch offices.

people would advise you HSBC because you can set up a foreign account (in AUD) back in malaysia and get money from that acc to ur HSBC Aus account.
This sets off inter-bank transaction fees ( usually eats up % of the transferred amount). But do consider whether there's accessibility of HSBC around where you are going. ( like for me, there's no HSBC in Canberra, so its pointless).

My advise is,
when you leave, hold a portion of cash (or traveller's cheque to be safe), then manage ur funds, go through the orientation, seniors will probably
advise you which bank is the best for your campus. Then register an account, only you call your parents up for them to transfer you future funds.

Thats the most efficient way, I believe, rather than holding multiple accounts.

Oh, and just to add on.

basically, the custom office will be strict on soil products, like weird herbs, medicines (traditional), plants ( NEVER TRY), and seeds.

If you have a sporting equipment, (golf club, tennis shoes, Boots)
CLEAN THEM, and make sure there's no dirt, stain, mud. or they may quarantine it for 2hours to do scanning, good luck. haha

In a way, food is usually fine. just try to prevent uncooked food, fresh foods, and foods that are not sealed properly.
Oh, and try to prevent dairy products, NO cheese, eggs, milks. Those items are subject to quarantine as well.

As a student,
PACKED NOODLES are fine ( just make sure(try to) that there's no EGG within the ingredient), Maggi is definitely safe. Hell, I bring
a bag of it last sem. LOL

Panadols, Coughing meds, Flu pills are all fine as long as what u bring comes with a "scientific name/element" of that medicine.

If you happen to smoke(hoep not), the max allowed is 1 carton. More than that, then it will be subject to crazy taxes.

usually try to prevent bringing anything super expensive, (laptops are fine, I mean like... diamand bracers or anythng exceeding 2000AUD), to be safe u will
have to declare it to see whether its subject to taxes. Boys, expensive watch, JUST SAY ITS A BIRTHDAY GIFT. LOL

For the 1st time, always go through the red lane ( saying u have somethng to declare, even if you are not sure), to save ur 1st trip to Aus
from paying 300AUD for not complying with rules. bad experience.
When you are familiar with how the custom works, you know what you can bring, then you can use the green lane, which is much faster.
Red lane queue can go up to 2hrs on Business days ( my experience is with MEL and SYD airports), so be prepared to arrange ur airport pickups accordingly ( an interval of 40mins after landing will be fine, IF YOU HAVE NO TRANSITS) and try
to bring less "prohibited" items to make sure you dont get stuck queueing for quarantine scan, and screw the whole time schedule up.

hehe

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Added on January 10, 2011, 4:28 pm

Traveller's cheque will be proven more convenient, as most of my JPA friends used to carry those over.
Cashier's cheque I am not sure.

yay! thanks a lot RyukA!

lawl: Dentistry! you? seeya there! haha

zeke'stah: yeah missing CNY ;__; course starts earlier than the others for this particular year.

Basically I went through orientation as supposed. Meet up new friends, then pick a day to do this "bank thingy" together. haha
dont worry, I believe the banks will be familiar with such cases.
Just go and " Hi there, I am new international student, and I am wondering can I open a new bank account"
they will teach u, literally EVERYTHING.

hell, they repeat that every year.
If I work there, I may be able to memorise the whole script. hahahahha
But to avoid, the very "crowded" situation and long queues, doing it before orientation will be the best time.
Since in ANU we had International orientation for 1 week and Course orientation for another week, I did it in the 1st week.

lawl, zeke'stah: credit transfer program, so it starts 1 month earlier ;_;

zeke'stah: main adelaide campus... near royal adel hospital haha

From experience, and I'm using Westpac (in Melbourne though) Westpac does not lose out to Commonwealth in terms of customer service and rates etc. Most of their rates matches Commonwealth's.

But I would not recommend HSBC. I'm not sure how its' like in Adelaide but there are very few branches in Melbourne, making it hard for banking transactions. Paying that little extra money for foreign money transaction fees sure beats having to travel around to look for an ATM machine..

aww so many of you heading to adel this year! I asked my education agent how many new students are going to my place, and she said: 0. LOL! btw i'm on ANZ, and I totally love their services and TD rates. =D

Hi, any idea if it's open to non melb uni students? I need to exercise about 4 times a week, and am not looking forward to running outside in the winter.

@zeke'stah Im using BB. =p

Hie everyone!

To those heading to Adelaide, may I know if you guys have arranged your accommodation?

Where have you all chosen and why?

My steps were:
1. Go to a the bank branch and say you want to open a new student account. (make sure you have your student ID ready for proof)
2. Show your passport, student ID, letter/confirmation of enrollment and your tenancy/residence agreement/contract.
3. Deposit your cheque or cash, I just changed USD to AUD to get me started for a month, and ask for a debit card.
4. Ones you get your account number, then ask for your parents to transfer the fund to your account.
5. Make sure you have enough cash to sustain you for a minimum of 1 month while waiting for fund transfer.
6. Request they send your first bank statement ASAP, you will need it if you want to sign a post-paid contract for a phone plan.
7. Your debit card should be posted to you in 5 working days.
If you're new to uni go for the orientation and enroll to some of the workshop they have.
Personally it helps me heaps to prepare for uni life especially for 1st sem.
Don't miss out and I reckon free BBQs during lunch.
Winter = good weather for a jog IMO and it also depends on your jogging trail.
Give it a go.

I think so, but if you're planning to go to uni first day then you can do your student id after you finish your online enrollment.
I go with Three and my account is debited end of the month after service is rendered so that's why I need the bank statement.
Bank statement took 7 days to arrived if you request it, you must request for it because usually/normally will take a month billing cycle.
And letter of introduction is not good. And most of my friends started with pre-paid and eventually went postpaid esp. Three, since you lived in the city Three will suit your well in terms of receptions and value for money.
And for internet landline>3G all the time. So don't rush to go into 3G internet contract, see if you can get landlines that suits your usage and price.

I am not too sure how it goes by now.Just be aware.
Letter of Introduction from the bank is not the same as bank statement just be aware, and you have to pay for that letter of introduction which is stupid.
Bank statement and passport/COE and etc are necessary if you want post-paid.
You're arriving early to Adelaide, lucky you summers have been mild thus far here but none the less protect yourself from the sun and I see the weather forecast because I am cycling, Tour Down Under coming up soon.
A lot of event in Feb @ Adelaide, go to the Fringe.
http://tix.adelaidefringe.com.au/ticketing/home.aspx
BTW iphone 4 plan from Three is not bad.