http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/art...icle/index_html
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,26367834-23109,00.html
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/lite/ar...es.php?id=43983

We are doomed, when we have these people deciding on our education policies.

As I have said, and I will continue to say, Malaysia is an English speaking country. But no, the Malay nationalists and the shrill cries of the Chinese educationalists will not have any of that.

China Chinese are a different kettle of fish altogether. I don't know whether to praise them for doing a degree in a foreign language (most people have enough trouble learning in their native tongue), or slap them senseless because despite coming to Australia/New Zealand they live in their own world, speaking Mandarin, reading Chinese papers, and essentially not interacting with anything that does not speak Mandarin.

Most phones on contract "cap" plans are soft-locked, so can be unlocked by entering a carrier/telco specific code. Most of the time you just need to call them and get the code.

For Optus: http://personal.optus.com.au/web/ocaportal...s&site=personal

Call them at +61 1300 555 002 from any Malaysian line. Digi pre-paid is quite good these days: RM0.18 to Australian landlines!

Source

I wouldn't say it is confirmed. They are seeking rights to land in SYD, but are Malaysians that forgetful?

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/airas...0-1225732662186
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?f...67&sec=business

The real question is: is the subject that you need to retake avaliable in summer?

If yes, just do it.

If no, then you don't have a choice.

A$22500/year works out to be $1875/month. That is some serious cash there. I knew scholarship students were loaded.

Looking at ANU's website, the generic average cost of living in Canberra is about $1600/month. Granted, rents are not cheap in Canberra, but from my experience university cost estimates for living costs tend to err on the higher side. My university thinks I need about $1400/month in Brisbane; I get along well with about $1000/month (admittedly, not much to spare, but its not a bad life)

How can your visa still be valid?

Assuming that you withdrew from your course before the expiry of your student visa, your student visa will be null and void from the time you cease to be a student in the institution.

BTW, the documentation of the Migration Review Tribunal of Australia(http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinosrch.cgi?method=all&query=failure+to+meet+course+requirements&meta=%2Fau&mask_path=au%2Fcases%2Fcth%2FMRTA) can be an interesting read. Its amazing what kind of excuses and stories people will come up with when appealing against the cancellation of a student visa.

QUT does not fetch students from Cooloongatta. You'll have to make your way to Brisbane yourself.

Brunei Air also flies KUL-BWN-BNE. You and your luggage would be checked through. They're reasonable at RM1800 one way, through not much less that MH at that time of the year.

While I cannot stop people flying D7 on their first time to Australia, having felt both D7 and BI, I would say BI is more comfortable than D7. Considering that D7 2702 is a overnight flight, it is a bit of a disaster being in their A330's that don't recline.

Actually, D7 is about RM1200 one you throw in meals and 30KG of luggage. Qamtas will do SIN-BNE for RM1700, and it comes with their excellent VOD system. Eithad (ooh!) will do SIN-BNE for S$560 (RM1300). When you paying A$11,000/semester (RM33,000) in fees for a B.IT, whats a few tenners?

It is also your own fault.

As I have said in the past, I am no fan of Chinaman housing. I believe in individual leases in any kind of accommodation, so if anything should go wrong there is some documentation to actually pursue your rights. If your arrangement is just verbal then there is nothing you can do.

Really people, I would gladly go through the "hassle" of having an individual lease rather than answering an Sunnybank ad where nothing is written and the lease is under one name only. Unless the name on the lease is yours, you're screwed.

In light of developments in V3.0, I'm adding 2 new sections to the front page of the next version: one for driving licenses and opening a bank account for international banks. As I do not have experience in either of them, I'm using the discussions on the info on this thread; however I would be very much grateful if anyone could correct any mistakes before it becomes live.

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The basics: Money Matters

1. Opening a bank account:
Malaysian banks do not have any branches in Australia. While more international banks like HSBC have bank branches in Australia, generally they are more focused on business banking, not consumer needs.

The best way is to open a Australian bank account. To open a bank account, you need:
• A passport
• ECoE (to prove which university or institution you attend)
• Student card (not really needed)

All banks have fee-free banking for students, so generally account keeping fees and most transaction fees are waived. The student waiver has to be renewed every year, but it as simple as going to any branch and giving your student card along with your account details. The process takes less than 5 minutes.

All banks have associated or 'sub' accounts, which are ONLY electronically accessible, and comes with high interests. Some people keep a minimal amount in the main account, and the bulk of funds in the subaccount. When money is needed, you will need to electronically transfer the money from the sub account to the main account so you can withdraw at the atm. The good news is, most branches will have internet terminals for you to do that.

LYN members are not responsible for giving advice on which financial institution to use. It is up to you and based on your needs. Generally ANZ and Commonwealth bank have the most branches and ATM machines, but Sydney students seem to favor Westpac. Links of major Australian banks provided below for your research.

ANZ: http://www.anz.com/
Commonwealth Bank: http://www.commbank.com.au/
Westpac: http://www.westpac.com.au/
NAB: http://www.nab.com.au/

For Queensland students:
Suncorp: http://www.suncorp.com.au/
Bank of Queensland: http://www.boq.com.au

For Western Australia students:
BankWest: http://www.bankwest.com.au/

1.1 Accounts with international banks

Some forum members who have financial relationships with international banks such as Citibank and HSBC might consider to open a account with these finaicial institution(s) in Australia. However, there are a few caevats: most have minimum opening deposit amounts, and/or require you to have minimum monhly deposits to avoid the monthy account keeping fee. Student fee waivers usually do not apply here.

To transfer money between a (say) Malaysian HSBC to a Australian HSBC account, the Australian HSBC account would need to be linked to the Malaysian HSBC account. Fees for linking and initiating the money transfer may apply, and note that it is not the cheapest or the fastest way of moving money across.

While most international banks have only one branch in the major cities, the good news is any Australia Post office acts as a agent for these international banks, and you can do basic banking tasks such as depositing and withdrawing money. Note that is is not limited to HSBC and Citibank: see here for the list of financial institutions which you can deal with using any Australian post office. See here for most information on Bank@Post: http://www.austpost.com.au/BCP/0,1467,CH20...57EMO19,00.html

For access to your money, HSBC and Citibank customers can generally use Westpac, St.George and BankSA ATM's without any charge. So read the fine print through: not all Westpac-St.Geroge ATM's are fee-free.

1.2 Opening a Australian bank account in Malaysia

It has come to my attention that OCBC customers can open a ANZ account in Malaysia before arriving in Australia. However, the minimum opening balance seems to be AUD2k. Please contact OCBC for details. Note that under the Banking And Financial Institutions Act 1989, Lowyat.net members cannot legally give financial advice.


Driving in Australia

Driving rules in Australia vary from state to state, so it has hard to give any actual advice. The best way will be to go to your institution's International student services for accurate information.

If you want to drive, keep in mind that having a car is not to be taken lightly in Australia. While cars are cheap compared to "AP-land" Malaysia, petrol is not, and neither is parking in the CBD areas. Parking in your institution may also not be easy/avaliable, and certainly not free (unless you're in a regional campus)!

Generally, if you hold a valid full (ie no "P" licenses) Malaysian driving license, you are allowed to drive in Australia. You must have your license and your passport with you at all times when you drive.

Obtaining Official Translation
Malaysians driving in Australia need to get their driving license translated. The best way of obtaining a offical translation is through National Accreditation Authority of Translators & Intrepreters (NAATI). It is a private organisation that regulates translator services in Australia, and thus they do not deal with translations per se. You deal with the Translator directly. (From $25) www.naati.com.au then click on “Find a Translator or Interpreter ".

Alternatively, the Malaysian High Commission in Canberra can also do the translation of your driving license. See here: http://www.malaysia.org.au/serv5.html#translate. Note that it also says "No charges for student. Kindly include a certified copy of your student ID", and you can do so through the post.

Note that your authority to drive in Australia on your Malaysian driving licence will be withdrawn 3 months after you become an Australian citizen or 3 months after you get a visa that allows you to stay in Australia indefinitely (read: Australian PR). You will need to get a driver licence for your state to continue driving. There are severe penalties for driving while unlicensed (1 year imprisonment and/or a fine of A$4000 for those in Queensland).

I'm not sure about other universities, but in UQ and QUT you don't exactly stay in your faculty area. You will be allocated to classrooms in other faculties for the non-specific subjects (where all you need is a room).

Edit: before people start asking. v3.1 will go live. I'm still touching things up, but I have to run out for a while. Shout out to the admin who helped me clean up the front page.

This post has been edited by haya: Jan 7 2010, 07:11 PM

Anyway, there are sections of Lowyat.net members who think this thread had outlived it's time, so this is the end of the 4th iteration of Studying in Australia.

Its been nice folks. Try to be civil and coherent in the new version eh?