Melbourne · ~7 million · The Garden State · AEST / AEDT (daylight saving Oct–Apr)
Small state, big city. Melbourne is the cultural and coffee capital, laid out on a grid with trams running through it, and it is the easiest large Australian city to live in without a car. Beyond it: the Great Ocean Road, the Grampians, the alpine country and some of the best food-growing regions in Australia.
The bodies that actually decide these things. Everything further down this page cites one of them.
Ambulance is not free — but a Victorian ambulance membership is unusually cheap, and it is one of the best-value purchases a new arrival makes.
Trams inside the Free Tram Zone in the Melbourne CBD cost nothing. Outside it, you must touch on.
The weather really does change several times a day. Carry a layer in every season.
SourcesAmbulance Victoria — membership (Ambulance cover)Public Transport Victoria — Free Tram Zone (Free Tram Zone)Bureau of Meteorology — Victoria (Weather variability)
Not free — but membership is cheap and covers you Australia-wide.
Costs are directional and change without notice. Confirm on the official page before relying on a figure.
Getting around
The Melbourne CBD Free Tram Zone is genuinely free — no touch on required inside it. On trams outside the zone you touch on only. On trains and buses you touch on and off.
Bank card instead of a travel card? Mobile myki works on Android phones and watches. Victoria has been rolling out contactless bank-card payment — check the PTV site for where it is live before relying on it.
Health advice, 24/7
Victoria’s own 24/7 nurse advice line. Free from a landline; mobile rates apply.
Driving
Permanent residents have 6 months to convert to a Victorian licence. Temporary visa holders can generally keep using a valid overseas licence, carrying an English translation or an International Driving Permit if it is not in English.
VicRoadsRenting
Tenancy law and the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority. Your bond is lodged with a government authority, not held by the agent — if nobody lodged yours, something is wrong.
Tenancy rules & bondsWork safety
The state regulator for workplace health and safety. If a job feels unsafe, this is who you call — and they do not ask about your visa.
Report or askSourceWorkSafe Victoria
Costs & climate
Cheaper than Sydney, expensive by world standards. Melbourne share rooms commonly $230–$380 a week.
Four seasons in one day is not a joke. Mild summers by Australian standards, genuinely cold winters, and alpine snow in the north-east.
SourcesConsumer Affairs Victoria — rental dataBureau of Meteorology — VictoriaG'day Guide estimate — not an official figure
SourceVisit Victoria
Whatever the job, check your legal minimum rate on the Fair Work Pay Calculator in your first week. Underpayment of new arrivals is common and the calculator settles it in five minutes.
SourcesJobs and Skills AustraliaHarvest work via Workforce Australia (Seasonal work regions)
The Twelve Apostles, surf coast towns and koalas at Kennett River. Do it over two days, not one.
Degraves, Hosier Lane and Centre Place — street art, tiny bars and the coffee the city is known for.
Produce, cheap eats and a summer night market. Go late in the day for marked-down produce.
Little penguins coming ashore at dusk — the most reliable wildlife encounter in the state.
Sandstone ranges, waterfalls, and rock art sites of the Jardwadjali and Djab Wurrung peoples.
SourcesVisit VictoriaParks Victoria
Coffee, trams, laneways and four seasons before lunch.
In your first week here
Victoria’s second city and the start of the Great Ocean Road.
In your first week here
Murray River town and one of the biggest regional work hubs in the country.
In your first week here
Still to do?
The national list — myGov, tax file number, Medicare, Fair Work and the rest — is on the main guide, in the order that works. Tick it off as you go on the checklist in My guide.