Registration, banking and utilities in Sydney

The visa comes first

Everything below assumes a visa that lets you live and work here, decided before you fly. Most people who relocate for a job hold the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482), sponsored by their employer. From 1 July 2026 its Core Skills stream asks for a salary of at least about A$79,500, and both the threshold and the visa charges are reindexed every July. Younger arrivals from many countries use a working holiday visa (subclass 417 or 462), students hold a subclass 500, and New Zealand citizens are granted a Special Category visa on arrival. The visa is digital, so check its conditions on VEVO and keep the grant notice.

• Thresholds and charges are reindexed each 1 July. Take current figures from the Department of Home Affairs, not a forum.
• There is no remote-work or digital-nomad visa. A visitor visa covers a visit, not a move.
• After two years with a sponsor, the employer can usually nominate you for permanent residence under subclass 186.

Tax file number and superannuation

The TFN is issued by the Australian Taxation Office and is applied for online once you have arrived and have an address. Give it to your employer and to your bank, because interest is also taxed at the top rate without one. Employers must pay superannuation contributions into a retirement fund on top of your salary; you can nominate a fund or be defaulted into one, and if you leave Australia permanently on a temporary visa there is a departing superannuation payment process, taxed at its own rate.

• Apply for the TFN online with the ATO after you arrive; it is free.
• Give the TFN to your employer and your bank to avoid top-rate withholding.
• Superannuation is paid by the employer on top of salary, at 12% of ordinary earnings since July 2025.
• The Australian financial year ends on 30 June, not 31 December.

Banking and myGov

The major banks let you open an account from overseas before you arrive and activate it with your passport at a branch once here, which is the smoothest route. Everyday payments run on tap-and-go and on PayID, which sends money instantly between banks using a phone number or email address. myGov is the single government login that links the tax office, Medicare and other services, and setting it up early saves repeated identity checks later.

• Open the account online before arrival, then activate in branch with your passport.
• PayID moves money between banks instantly by phone number or email.
• myGov links the ATO, Medicare and Centrelink under one login.
• Keep proof of address handy — utility bills and the tenancy agreement do the work.

Driving licence and identification

Since July 2023 the clock depends on your visa. Temporary visa holders who live in New South Wales must get a NSW licence within six months of arriving; permanent residents have three months. After that an overseas licence stops counting and you are treated as unlicensed. Holders from recognised countries, the UK among them, simply swap at a Service NSW centre, experienced drivers aged 25 or over from a second group of countries do the same, and everyone else sits a knowledge test and a driving test. Beyond driving, a NSW driver licence or Photo Card is the everyday identity document — a passport works but nobody wants to carry one, and proof of age is checked routinely in licensed venues.

• Temporary visa: convert within six months of starting to live in NSW. Permanent resident: within three months.
• Service NSW handles licence conversion, Photo Cards and vehicle registration.
• Whether you need a test depends on the country that issued your licence; the list is on the Service NSW site.
• A NSW Photo Card gives you an identity document without holding a driving licence.

Utilities and connectivity

Electricity and gas are a retail market and you choose the retailer, with prices and discounts varying enough that the government comparison service is worth ten minutes of your time. Water in most rental properties is billed to the owner, with usage sometimes passed to the tenant. Internet runs over the NBN, and the technology at your specific address — fibre to the premises, to the node, or something older — determines the speed you can actually buy, so check the address before you sign a tenancy if working from home matters.

• Compare electricity and gas retailers; the Energy Made Easy service is free.
• Check the NBN connection type at the exact address, not the suburb.
• Mobile coverage differs meaningfully between carriers outside the inner suburbs.

In order

1. 1Confirm the visa grant and its conditions on VEVO, and save the grant notice.
2. 2Open an Australian bank account online before you fly.
3. 3Activate the account in a branch with your passport on arrival.
4. 4Apply for a tax file number as soon as you have an address.
5. 5Give the TFN to your employer and your bank.
6. 6Set up a myGov account and link the ATO.
7. 7Enrol in Medicare or arrange health cover, depending on your circumstances.
8. 8Convert your driving licence at Service NSW: within six months on a temporary visa, three as a permanent resident.
9. 9Choose an energy retailer and an NBN plan for your address.