So the flight’s behind you, the jet lag is real, and Australia is now home. But before you dive into practice life, there’s a short list of admin jobs that are essential to tick off your list and if you do them quickly, it will make everything else easier: your health cover, your money, your ability to drive, your phone, your tax status, and your right to actually practise medicine.
None of it is glamorous. All of it is worth doing in the first few weeks. Here’s your roadmap.
1. Sort Your Health Insurance First
One of the conditions of your visa is that you maintain adequate health insurance — so this isn’t optional, it’s a requirement of staying in the country. You can set this up before you leave, once your flight is booked, or as soon as you land.
👉 Private Healthcare Australia: cover for overseas visitors and temporary visa holders
Worth checking: if you’re coming from the UK, Ireland, New Zealand, Sweden, or Malta, you may be covered — partially or fully — under a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement with Medicare, Australia’s universal healthcare scheme. There are 11 countries with these agreements in place, so it’s worth confirming your eligibility before you assume you need full private cover.
👉 Reciprocal Health Care Agreements – Services Australia
2. Open a Bank Account
You don’t have to wait until you land to start this. Setting up an Australian dollar account with a provider like Wise, Revolut, or Starling before you leave means you’ll have somewhere for your money to sit from day one. You can even begin an Australian bank application online as a non-resident — but heads up: you won’t be able to fully activate the account or withdraw funds until you visit a branch in person with your passport and ID.
The good news is that once you’re on the ground, this moves fast. Australia’s four major banks have branches and ATMs in most suburbs and towns, alongside a range of smaller banks and building societies — so as long as your ID is in order, you can usually get set up quickly.
3. Get Moving on Your Driving Licence
Every state and territory sets its own rules for converting an overseas licence, so this is one to check locally rather than assume is uniform. As a general rule, you can drive on your current licence (provided it’s valid) for three to six months before you’re required to convert it.
If you’re from a recognised country, conversion is often straightforward. If not, you may need to sit a theory or practical test — so it pays to look into your specific state’s requirements early, rather than leaving it until the deadline is looming.
4. Get Connected
An Australian eSIM is one of the easiest boxes to tick before you even board the plane — you can activate it the day you arrive. The author’s own recommendation is Maya, having used them on a previous trip and found the service excellent.
👉 maya.net
Australia’s main mobile carriers are Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone. Coverage quality varies by region, so it’s genuinely worth asking locals — especially if you’re heading somewhere rural — who they rate. And don’t discount the big supermarkets: they offer competitive plans too, so shop around between eSIM and physical SIM before committing.
5. Get Your Tax File Number and ABN Sorted
This is the paperwork that unlocks everything else, so don’t leave it too late.
Tax File Number (TFN): your unique identifier in the Australian tax system, and essential for working legally, lodging tax returns, and accessing government services. You can apply once you’ve arrived, but allow up to 20 business days for it to be issued.
Australian Business Number (ABN): an 11-digit identifier for business and tax purposes. If you’ll be working as an independent contractor — which describes most GPs in Australia — you’ll need one of these too.
6. Lock In Your Medical Indemnity Insurance
This one’s non-negotiable: professional indemnity insurance is a mandatory requirement for practising as a GP in Australia. You can start the process before you leave and simply activate your cover once you have a confirmed start date.
One practical note — since you’ll need your ABN and TFN in place before you start work, give yourself enough runway to sort all three together, and talk to your practice early about your intended start date. Providers and costs vary quite a bit, so it’s worth doing some research and asking your practice which providers their own doctors recommend.
The Bottom Line
None of these six jobs are complicated on their own — but bundled together in your first few weeks in a new country, they can feel like a lot. Tackle the ones you can start before you fly (SIM, bank account, indemnity insurance research), and get straight into the rest (health cover confirmation, licence conversion, TFN and ABN) as soon as you land. Do that, and you’ll be free to focus on what actually brought you here: settling into practice and into your new life in Australia.
