Soft Landing
Welcome to Australia! You've just landed, and here you'll find everything you need to know for the first days — from the Chabad House's opening hours, to getting there from the airport, accommodation, food, and practical information on your first steps on the continent.
Your Australian adventure starts here
✅ Interactive arrival checklistOpening Hours
The Chabad House is open year-round, between 10:30 AM and 9:30 PM.
On Shabbat and holidays the Chabad House is open from 8:30 AM.
How to Get Here from the Airport
There are several ways to get from Tullamarine (TULLAMARINE) airport to the Chabad House:
- UBER
- Taxi — the taxi rank is located on the ground floor of Melbourne airport, outside the international and domestic flight terminals. A taxi ride will cost roughly $80-$85. In addition to this cost, there is a $2 fee per taxi leaving the airport taxi rank.
- Buses \ shuttle — the stations of the various bus companies are located on the lower level opposite the international terminal of Melbourne airport.
Getting Here by Bus and Tram
Take the SKYBUS to the ST KILDA area and get off at the stop on CARLISLE ST.
Then take tram number 16 toward KEW (at the corner of CARLISLE and BARKLY streets, stop no. 33) and get off at stop number 47. Payment on the TRAM is made with a myki card.
About Skybus
Skybus offers a shuttle bus from Melbourne airport to the city center and to the St Kilda area. The buses run seven days a week, 24 hours a day. The buses run every 10-15 minutes during the day, and every 30-60 minutes overnight.
To book, you can contact the bus company at the phone number: 613-9335-2811, or, more simply, book online through the company's website. A ticket costs $15.
How do you buy a myki card for the tram / TRAM?
You can buy one at the airport at the "Skybus" booth — SkyBus ticket booths at Melbourne Airport.
Places to Stay
Welcome to Australia. Chances are you had a tough flight and want to sleep a few hours to reset. Here are some options for the first days:
Chabad House — the Chabad House has guest rooms. Those interested need to arrange in advance with Dudu (link to WhatsApp).
Food
Shopping for Food and Basic Products
So once you have somewhere to rest your head and everything is in place, all that's left is to buy the basics. You can find such things in a few places.
Supermarkets — Australia has a wide selection of supermarkets and places to shop. Here are a few examples:
- Coles
- Woolworths
- ALDI
At these chains you'll of course find anything you want as far as supermarkets go — a wide selection of products, etc. You'll also be able to find, in the larger branches of the chains and in the Jewish areas, entire aisles of Israeli and kosher products.
In addition, you'll find chains of department stores:
- Kmart
- Target Australia
- Big W
If you need somewhat more serious items such as building materials, mechanical equipment, cheap furniture, sports and travel gear, and anything of that sort (for travelers who build vans of various kinds) — you'll be able to find the following chains:
- Gumtree / The Marketplace / Melbourne Jewish Community Craigslist — secondhand online
- Bunnings Warehouse — building materials
- Amart / Ikea — new and cheap furniture
- Op-shop — secondhand stores
- DFO — outlet mall chain
Kosher Food in Australia
Today in Australia the demand for kosher food and kosher products is enormous. You'll be able to find entire aisles in the supermarkets of kosher products in any category you could want — from staple goods to snacks and sweets. In addition to supermarkets, you'll be able to find dedicated kosher stores.
The marking you'll find on a kosher product is a small circle containing a small image of the Australian continent with the English letter K. In addition, there is an app from the Australian kashrut organization in which you can see kosher products that don't necessarily carry the marking. To get access to the kashrut app you can send an email to info@kosher.org.au or call the number: 1300KOSHER.
Kosher Restaurants
In the cities of Melbourne and Sydney there are many kosher restaurants and cafes. For the updated list you can check the Kosher Australia website.
First Steps on the Continent
What's the right thing to do in your first days after arriving (bank account, phone and SIM)? So you've gotten over the jet lag and started to find your feet — you'll need to take care of a few basic things in order to start working and/or traveling.
SIM Card
There are quite a few mobile carriers in Australia. Listed here is a small number of leading carriers in terms of service and network coverage. SIM prices across the various networks range from $15-30 per month, and can offer 4-15 GB or more per month, depending on the company. It's recommended to check for special deals.
- Optus — can be enough if you're in the central tourist areas and on the east coast.
- Vodafone — also an excellent company that has coverage in the central areas and on the east coast.
- Telstra — an excellent company (the "Bezeq" of Australia), with one of the best network coverages on the continent, even in the more remote and out-of-the-way places. The price is accordingly, but it's totally worth it.
Opening a Bank Account
A very simple process — all you need is a passport and fifteen free minutes. There are several networks, most with excellent service and branches in quite a few places on the continent. Here are some examples of banks:
- ANZ and Commonwealth — excellent banks with great service, easy and simple, with relatively wide coverage on the continent. Both charge a monthly account fee of around $4 per month if you don't make any deposit into the account.
- NAB — also an excellent bank, with wide branch coverage. The bank charges almost no account fees, if at all.
- Westpac — a bank with especially good coverage in remote areas.
Jobs
General Overview
Over the years, many Israelis with a work visa (Working Holiday Visa) who arrived in Melbourne were helped by the Chabad House in finding temporary/permanent work in a wide range of fields: babysitting, cleaning, painting, gardening, construction, kindergartens and schools, factories, stores, and more. Some even managed to advance and establish themselves within those companies.
From experience, it's recommended to advance on two fronts, especially if there's financial pressure: alongside searching for permanent work (if that's what you're looking for) and sending out resumes etc., it's worth pursuing casual jobs. Experience has shown that many times, and especially when a worker proves themselves, connections are formed with the employer or, through them, with other people that can lead to permanent jobs and connections in the community for advancement.
During the COVID period and the pause from new travelers, with God's help and with the help of a local Israeli volunteer programmer, we developed an efficient not-for-profit app for workers and employers — except for the great profit which, God willing, you'll find through the app: jobs, so you can realize your plans. (APP) To download the app, click here.
In order to get full access to jobs (and also to other things such as discounts and coupons for travelers at stores, restaurants, and more in Melbourne), you need to receive an access code at a meeting at the Chabad House with Dudu or with Sara. The purpose of the meeting (black coffee on the house) is so that we can understand your needs and goals, and thereby help in the best way from experience, with the right connections to the local community for jobs and in general. You can arrange a meeting with Dudu/Sara here.
The Paperwork Needed in Order to Work in Australia (tax number, White Card, and the like)
If you've reached this stage, you probably already have a work visa. Congratulations! You'll need a few more small things before starting work.
In addition to the visa, you'll also need a TFN number. What is this thing, you're probably asking? A TFN number is your tax number. Before starting any job, you'll need to obtain this document — don't worry, it's really not hard to do. The easiest method is to go to the Australian tax office website.
A second option, which in my opinion is less recommended but still possible, is to go physically to the Australian tax offices and fill out the form there. There are offices scattered everywhere across Australia, so don't worry.
One more thing — there are certain jobs for which you'll need to obtain a White Card. The purpose of the White Card is to "qualify" you for certain jobs such as: construction, warehouse work, road work, etc. You can usually obtain the White Card in the CBD at designated places.
In addition, there is the Working With Children Check (WWCC) — this is a mandatory card for working and volunteering with children at a recognized institution (not including babysitting). You can fill it out online and then book an appointment at the nearest post office, where they will go over the required documents and give you a temporary card until the plastic card arrives in the mail. Issuing the check costs about $120, and if it's for volunteer work it's free.
Do I Need to Open a Pension Fund?
Opening a pension fund is not always essential at the first stage. Many times there are employers who already work with certain funds, and so when you start working for the employer you can already be enrolled automatically in the pension fund they work with. An employer who pays you properly with a payslip is obligated to contribute a pension of about 9.5% of your salary at their own expense.
If they don't have one, or if you'd like to open a fund even before starting work, it's important to check whether and how much management fees you're going to pay. Be careful, before closing the agreement with that pension fund company, that they don't "dress you up" with additional insurances. Ask to remove all kinds of insurances; if not — of course you'll pay quite a bit of money.
Some recommended pension companies:
- Vicsuper
- Australian Super
- Sunsuper
- Intrust Super
Writing a Resume
You're all probably familiar with that stage where we all want to start looking for work but still don't have a properly put-together resume. So here are some tips. Your resume should be very rich, and at the same time very sharp and concise.
- Basic details — we'll of course start with first name, last name, age, phone, email, and place of residence.
- Goals — after that you can add the goals you aspire to reach at work. It could be a particular place where you'd like to work or a particular position you're aiming for.
- Experience — of course it depends on which job you're sending your resume to. It's definitely worth making changes to the resume, so it's worth considering emphasizing / removing relevant details in the resume according to the employer's needs. But the employers need to know that you did this job, or jobs related to the field you previously worked in, so that they can benefit from it.
- Education — add the educational institutions where you studied.
- Military — it's recommended to write your military role in a way that will be understandable, such as: administration, kitchen management, team instruction, and the like.
- Skills — here you can detail what you're good at and also what you're less good at. Try to add skills related to the job you'd like to work in.
- Language — of course knowing the language is a very important thing. Demonstrate good-level English abilities not only in the resume but also in the meeting you'll have with the employer.
- Photo — it's recommended to add an impressive profile photo. "A picture is worth more than a thousand words."
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