The first two days in Sydney, in priority order: what has to happen, what should, and what can wait. Tick things off as you go.
For Sydney
How long you are staying
Must do
Telstra, Optus and Vodafone sell prepaid SIMs and eSIMs at the airport and in supermarkets. Activation needs ID, so have your passport to hand. Telstra has the widest coverage outside the cities.
Look up your visa online with your passport and grant number, and save the result. Employers and agents may ask for it.
Trains, the Metro, buses, ferries and light rail all take contactless bank cards at the adult fare, with the same caps as an Opal card. Tap on and tap off every time, or you pay the maximum fare.
If you opened an account from overseas, take your passport to a branch to activate it. Then set up PayID and tap-to-pay on your phone.
Book inspections on realestate.com.au and Domain, plan a route between them, and set up an account on the application platform agents use so you can apply the same afternoon.
Free, online with the ATO, once you have an address. Without one, your employer has to withhold tax at the top rate.
Should do
000 is police, ambulance and fire. healthdirect on 1800 022 222 is a free nurse advice line, open around the clock, for when you are not sure where to go.
Create the account early and link the ATO once your TFN arrives, and Medicare once you are enrolled.
From the eastern beaches the commute is a bus, and from across the harbour it is a bridge or a tunnel. Do the trip at rush hour before you apply.
Residents and visitors from countries with a reciprocal health care agreement enrol through Services Australia with a passport and visa. Everyone else should already hold private cover.
Medicare does not cover ambulance transport in New South Wales. Ambulance-only cover from a health insurer costs little; a single call-out without it can cost hundreds of dollars.
Swim between the red and yellow flags, where lifeguards patrol. Rips are the commonest danger on Australian beaches and they are hard to spot.
Before you sign, enter the exact address on the NBN website. Fibre to the premises and fibre to the node give very different speeds.
Nice to do
Many embassies run a registration or alert service for nationals living abroad. Two minutes now saves a scramble in an emergency.
The Manly or Taronga ferry costs a normal Opal fare and is the best introduction to the harbour.
Your first 48 hours in Sydney0/150% done. Ticks are saved on this device.