Pre-Departure Checklist - MS in Australia
Congratulations! You have bagged admission at your preferred University, your Australian Student Visa is all done, and your flight tickets are ready. All that is left to be done now is to pack all your essentials and fly to Australia.
Here we present you a complete pre-departure checklist of the must-carry items that you will need. Feel free to ignore the ones that are not required for you.
Table of contents
Health Checkup
First point in your pre-departure checklist is to get the general health check-up done. Medical visits to the doctor in Australia might put a hole in your wallet. Visit your dentist, eye doctor, and your physician. Get a complete body check done. Remember to pack all your recent medical-related documents and certificates, and signed medical prescriptions when you fly. Surf online and enquire if your syrups and pills are allowed in Australia, as they can be strict about the drugs and medications that can be brought into the country.
Shopping
An important segment in your pre-departure checklist is shopping of essential items. This list covers all essential items; please ignore the ones that are not relevant to you.
Clothing
Shoes
Electrical
Utensils
Masala
Stationary
Toiletries
- Carry your medicines along with prescriptions signed by your physician. You might need to show it at the airport security check.
- Carry a few 1 or 2 Australian Dollar coins for immediate use at the airport.
- As soon as you reach Australia, it might be a drag looking for supermarkets or getting the products you need. Pack a few ready-to-eat edibles like Maggi and soup powders which will help you in your first few days.
- Label all homemade spice powders. You might be questioned about them at the airport security check.
- Passport size photos are a little costly in Australia, and walking all around the city for a photo studio might be a pain. Bring a few additional photos from India.
- Your residence at Australia might mostly have yellow bulbs only. If you prefer white light, you can carry a few 25W CFL bulbs.
- Carry enough masala powders which can help you cook for at least six months. Depending on your place of stay, you may / may not have an Indian supermarket close-by. Even if you do, Indian food items are a little expensive.
- If you use spectacles, get yourself an additional pair (just in case). This is again not cheap in Australia.
Travel Bags
Getting good quality travel bags/suitcases is the most important point in your pre-departure checklist. There are three things you should keep in mind while looking for your travel bags:
- Good Quality: Seeing your bag tear/break while travelling is the last thing you want.
- Light-weight: You do not want to buy large, hefty bags and end up removing your items for compromising the weight limit.
- Dimensions: Check the dimensions of the bag and its shape. It must match with the dimensions mentioned by the airlines.
The Final Packing
- Pack only the essentials and weigh all your suitcases/travel bags repeatedly to make sure they do not exceed the baggage weight limit. Leave behind an identity mark/luggage tag on each of your bags.
- Make sure all your valuables, your passport, important reports and documents, and your air-tickets are kept in your handbag.
- Get a haircut done before you leave. It is quite expensive in Australia.
- Leave a copy of all your original records and documents back home with your family.
- Write down all the important contact numbers (including your senior's/university phone no.) and the route to your place of residence at Australia.
- Inform your University's International Office about the date and time of your arrival to Australia a few days in advance. Ask them if there is an availability of airport pickup services.
