First off, I agree that there are some other forum topic that already covers working in Australia but I would like to keep this topic to include studying, working, migrating and living in Australia (and the process involved based on my experience and current knowledge)

I was a student in Queensland University of Technology and I am currently a working electrical / telecommunications engineering professional and permanent resident in Brisbane.

One fine day while having nothing to do at work, I had a strong urge to contribute to this forum whom I actually hardly visit since I came to Australia. My main idea was to help future students / future graduates / current graduates to get an idea on what to expect when they get here. It may also help those who are currently studying but still do not have any idea on what will happen after they graduate. I have a sister who will be coming to study here as well so I also have a pretty good idea on current visa and immigration requirements for students to apply for PR.

I will update the topics based on feedback and comments. The topics are written in general, hopefully to cover all bases. Let me know if I miss anything.

The topics is based on a single student with NO family members in Australia and hoping to get permanent residency then stay in Australia and work. The visa involved would be the General Skilled Migration Visa (subclass 885). (check Australian Immigration)

Getting Ready to Study in Australia

Since I am a graduate from a Queensland (QLD for short) University I am more familiar with Queensland rather than New South Wales (NSW) or Victoria (VIC). In case you don't know, Sydney is in NSW and Melbourne is in VIC and the capital of Australia is Canberra.

I am sure you would have done your homework prior to selecting which University to attend before coming to Australia (reputation, fees, living cost, etc). If not, you should shoot yourself in the head. Based on my experience, most companies do not have a preference on which University you graduate from, although graduating from "well known" universities will give you an edge (in a sense that job interviewers will know the university immediately rather than having to search in Google to find out how the university is like). Also, most employers do not worry about your uni results (I have friends who have failed multiple times in uni and still get a good job) but THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOU DON'T HAVE TO STUDY. More on this topic below.

There is a limit on how many times you can fail in Uni and failing too many times will result in you getting kicked out of the degree program. Which means you CANNNOT complete your degree and will have to start all over again.

There are a few things to note if you plan to study THEN get your permanent residency. If you plan to return to Malaysia after your studies, then heck stop reading right now.

To get the maximum amount of points towards your permanent residency application, you must complete at least 2 academic years of study in an Australian University. (2 academic years means 2 years worth of subjects, not the time taken to do the studies. If you are really good your can complete a 2 year program in 1.5 years by taking more subjects each semester, and this will still count as 2 academic year even if you finished it in 1.5 years) If you come here to do a 1 year Masters then hope to get enough points, you are out of luck.

Also, play close attention to the Immigration Department's Skilled Occupation List (SOL) (see SOL). To get points towards your permanent residency, your studies must be IN THE LIST. If not, you will not be able to apply for PR. Also remember that the list gets updated regularly, so do not be surprised if you have started studying and suddenly the studies is no longer in the SOL list and you cannot apply for PR. Safe bet would always be engineering studies.

Before heading to Australia, always check the map of the suburb near your university and get familiar with suburb names. Using Realestate or Domain this will give you an idea on how much you would have to pay for rent. Sharing houses will always be cheaper, the best way to do this is going to Uni, get some friends then rent a whole house and split the rent.

Also, due to stringent immigration laws, AVOID BRINGING ANY FOOD unless you are familiar with the rules. The last thing you want is a AUD 200 fine just as you landed. (thats about RM 600). Also, don't be kiasu and start taking photos of the cute drug sniffing dogs located around the airport. You can get arrested for that. (my friend nearly got arrested...he took a photo of the dog and was suddenly surrounded by police officers)

Woohoo, now you have everything sorted, its time to fly to Australia!

Studying in Australia

Once you land in Australia, familiarise yourself with the public transport systems and keep an eye on local supermarkets and health centres. University orientation weeks are good to attend since they get you familiar with the culture in Australia.

Most Australians are polite and don't be surprised to be greeted everywhere from McDonalds to public buses. Don't act like a babboon and say hello when asked. While in Uni, students will have total freedom to attend / not attend classes. This will probably be a shock (or rather HOORAH) for students since we are now 10 hours flight away from any control from parents or teachers. The most important thing and I cannot stress this enough is being focused and avoid the wrong crowd. It is very tempting to waste money on booze and gambling and having fun but please have self discipline. Remember that your parents paid for your studies, not for you to go on a 2 year holiday. Especially when your parents sold everything they had including house just for you to study (this is my case) the thing you can do is respect what they have sacrificed for you.

During Uni studies, keep an eye out for opportunities for internships and always attend careers fair. Intership here usually opens at least 6 months to 1 year from the start of the internship. Best to start looking during you 2nd or 3rd year. For those who don't require internship to complete their degree, lucky you. (damn you, engineering students MUST complete 3 months internship with an engineering company) Internships are very competitive and you must really go all out to secure a place. Don't be afraid to directly call the company to query about internships. Some company actually regards this as an extra effort that you put in to get a place. As always, be polite and they will help you as much as possible. Do note that most internships are not paid so you will not get any money for your work. Do not be upset by this, since an internship will give you experience with an Australia company and will be very useful after you graduated. If you are lucky, they might offer you a job once you complete your internship without waiting for you to finish your studies.

Lastly, enjoy uni life and mix around with fellow students from all around the world. Do not just stick with Malaysian friends. You do not travel all the way to Australia just confine yourself to the Malaysian culture. Speak English all the time while you are in Australia, even when you are in Chinatown. You will know why later.

Also get along with your lecturers and if you have spare time and can cope with your studies, get a part time job. After you graduate, your part time work will actually look good on your resume, plus your manager can give you reference for your future job. (One of my colleague told me that he got internship from a large company because he was working at a sandwich shop. The company manager went to the shop for lunch and heard that my colleague needed internship and offered him a place after he made the manager a sandwich)

I've graduated woo hoo! Now what?

If you have spent your time well in Uni, chances are that your English would have improved and made lots of friends. If not, shoot yourself in the head. If you survive, shoot again. To get the maximum points for PR application, you will need an IELTS score of at least band 8 for ALL test. To give you an idea, Chinese students who speak English based on direct translation from Chinese will probably be around band 5 if they speak correctly. If you speak with a lot of "wan" "la" "ma" or all the "doremi" stuff then you are looking at around 6 to 6.5 (Manglish in general). Band 7
is speaking proper English without all the Manglish material and contruct proper sentences. Band 8 is sort of speaking like Jeremy Clarkson (literally). As a comparison, I am a banana, can barely speak Chinese and I am from an English speaking background since birth, my mum is an English teacher and my IELTS average was band 8 (barely).

Of course, once you have graduated, you need a new visa to continue staying in Australia! Unlike the old days where you should have enough points by now to apply PR, chances are, you now don't have enough points to apply for PR! To stay longer, you will need to apply for graduate visa (Skilled - Graduate Visa, subclass 485) that allows you 18 months to accumulate more points towards your PR application. Use this time to start working in a company that relates to your studies and get points from that. Also use this time to improve your English if you have spent your last 2 years in Uni watching HK / Korean / Chinese / Japanese Drama all the time and didn't attempt to improve your English.

Check out University Careers Fairs and speak to the company representatives to learn about their company. If you are lucky, some of the representatives could be HR staff or Senior Managers and they might give you their name cards. This helps you further by having a point of contact in the company rather than having to go through their website to get information. Large companies usually have a stringent recruitment process and it is not easy when you have to compete with hundreds of other graduates for a handful of positions. In general, you can apply for a position in a company on the company's website itself or other recruitment websites such as your Uni's career website, Seekor GradConnection.

Always remember not to wait until the last minute to apply. Some application requires very long answers and it may take some time for you to answer them effectively. Remember, you need to put in effort to stand out. You reap what you sow.

Resume writing in Australia is different from what you would expect from Malaysia. Most resume writing skilss have been covered online. I will let you know some other stuff that these online articles might not cover.

Firstly You should not put your date of birth, religion, race, or any information that is not relevant to the recruitment process. Unless requested, DON'T put your visa status in your resume. Your aim is to score an interview and present yourself face to face with your future employer. If you perform well enough during the interview, some companies will even recruit you as long as you have the legal visa to stay in Australia. (student visa, graduate visa) without even having PR.

Most employers do not care about your uni results. Whats important is your attitude and how well you present yourself in an interview. Speak proper english, be elaborate on your achievements and dress well. Skills like this are hotly discussed online so do your homework.

Getting into the workforce is probably the hardest barrier for graduates. You do not have permanent residency and no experience. Even so, never give up and apply for as many positions as possible. Also never be afraid to travel, since this will give you even more choices of work. You may hear some of your friends getting well paid in some company but as a new graduate with no PR and experience, never be afraid to start from the bottom. Some smaller companies will offer lower pay and recruit new grads with no PR. Take this as an opportunity to work towards your PR as well as gain experience. Once you have received your PR and having experience, nothing will stop you from moving to a better company.

The important thing is to work hard and get along with your colleagues. You will need their reference once you move to another company. They will be the ones who will speak good things / bad things about you to your future employers.

All things going smoothly, you should be able to apply for your PR once you complete your work experience and pass all english test requirements.


This is as much as I can write at the moment, I will update this further as time passes. I will also try to answer individual questions but remember that I am working full time and give me some time to reply. Also let me know what other topics I should cover.

I hope this will be helpful to some.

Thanks for the good write up mate....

Thanks for sharing on the above. Belived that one of the biggest expenses or concerns is the house rental. This site, migoloo give you some information about the house rental and events in Melbourne CBD.

This post has been edited by pachelbel: Feb 19 2024, 05:58 PM

I can’t believe I was totally unaware of the existence of this forum until today…. Thank you!