FAQ
**The information given below are based on our experiences in South Australia. For further information, don't hesitate to contact any of the MyPSA(SA) Committee. We will help you to the fullest, InsyaAllah.
1) How to rent a house?
In Adelaide you cannot book or rent a house on behalf of another person. The landlord/property agent would want to meet the prospective tenant themselves. They would also be keen that the prospective tenants see the property for rent when they open it for inspection so that when the tenant sign the rental agreement it is with full knowledge on the condition of the house and what is available for the amount of rent that you will pay. Any questions should be asked before you sign the agreement since the agreement is a legally binding document under the law here.
Of course, some of us will assist you and your husband by going with you during the house inspection and providing some advices based on our past experiences and knowledge.
While waiting for you to get your own place of stay, insyaallah you can temporarily stay at one of the postgrads student’s house so you don’t have to fork out a lot of money to stay at a hotel or such.
- Rent a house near to the city is higher than in the more outlying suburbs. You will probably need to stay a little further away and your wife will either have to drive you to work or you use the public transport to work every morning. Saying that, the public transport system here is very efficient and, in most cases, runs on time.
- By law, because you have more than 2 children you are required to rent a house with at least 3 bedrooms. Most agents will not rent you a place with 2 bedrooms. IF you are renting directly from a house owner they may allow you to do so. This all have to do with insurance and safety requirements.
- Unfortunately the rental rates for the houses here have been on the increase due to the bank interest rates being hiked up 3 times since October 2009. A decent 3-bedroomed house in the suburbs will cost you at least $300 a week nowadays. Any cheaper and you run the risk of staying in a very dilapidated piece of property but that is up to your preference and needs.
Note that the rent here is on a weekly basis in almost all cases and you will have to pay rent in advance each fortnight.
Kalau saya sewa rumah unfurnish, perabot dan brg2 elektrik serta alat2 keperluan lain rumah mudah dan murah ke di adelaide?
- Murah kalau second hand. Tak kurang juga yang boleh didapati dari kawan-kawan yang rajin pergi garage sale tiap-tiap hujung minggu. :-D
- Masalah dengan sewa rumah fully furnished kena jaga perabot dan barang tuan rumah mengalahkan jaga barang sendiri. :-( Mungkin sesuai juga kalau datang berdua tapi kalau ada anak kecil?
- Sini semua pakai duit, kalau rumah sewa atau kelengkapannya rosak disebabkan kita (bukan sebahagian dari normal wear and tear) dan perlu dibaiki/ganti duit bond akan dipotong. Pernah berlaku ada postgrad hilang seluruh duit bond (bersamaan 6 minggu sewa) sebab tak jaga rumah sewa dengan baik.
2) Customs restrictions flying in.
Fill in the declaration form as completely and honestly as you can. E.g. if you are bringing along some common medications like paracetamol, anti-histamines etc, or some foodstuff, like Maggi etc, just tick ‘yes‘ in the appropriate boxes and show it to the Customs officer if need be.
They are very particular about what kind of foodstuff that you are bringing in. Prohibited items includes fresh vegetables and fruits, anything with dairy products in it (like the many ‘3in1’s drink packets), any products with eggs in it, and any meat (beef, poultry, lamb) products. Please avoid bringing any along as it is very likely that they will be thrown away.
If you are bringing any foodstuff from Malaysia like Maggi noodles, sauces, ikan bilis, spices etc put them all in one bag so that it is easy to be opened and shown to the Customs officer. There usually will be a sniffer dog at the baggage claim area so they will already know which bag contains food etc.
3) Getting a car and driving here is different than in Malaysia.
Buying a second hand car is not an easy thing, especially if you are not familiar with cars in general. There are a few people here that can do more than just change the engine oil with a car and some pointers from them will be invaluable so that you will not end up with a car that is more trouble than it is worth.
- You can get a 10 to 15 year old car anywhere from around AUD$800 to AUD$2,500 depending on its condition and your luck. However, there will be probably be some costs involved in getting it back to shape again and the risk of a breakdown in the near future is rather high. Due to the minimum wage system here the cost of service for car repair and maintenance is high unless you can do it yourself.
- For around AUD$5,000 to AUD$10,000 you can get a much more decent car that’s around 5-7 year old. There probably wouldn’t be any hidden costs that you have to fork out upon getting it. - One of the postgrad students here has bought a 3-year old (2007) Toyota Tarago (a.k.a. Estima), an 8-seater, for around AUD$30,000. But he is planning to bring it back to Malaysia when he finishes this year, insyaallah. I have to say that the car is in an extremely good condition (almost new) and runs very well indeed. However, as he will be getting his 6th child soon it is sort of a need for him to get something like this to use both here and in Malaysia. - Finally, another advice that I think is prudent, is for you to start teaching your children to use a child car seat or seat belt when in the car even before coming here. It is mandatory over here that children are secured while driving so that they will not get badly injured if an accident occurs and that they will also not distract the driver from the task of driving. It is against the law for children to be on anyone lap on the passenger seat. Children must be belted up in the rear seat. Any car seen with children not properly secured will be stopped by the traffic police and liable to get a sizeable fine. Your 2 year old will definitely need to use a child car seat when over here. For your 5 year old it depends on his size. Buying a car seat over here is not too much of a problem as you can get them for very cheap at garage sales. They are usually in rather good condition and will certainly be serviceable for a number of years yet. - Traffic rules and regulations here are strictly enforced and fines for traffic offences are much higher than in Malaysia. If the speed limit is 50 km/h you will be fined if you are found to be driving even at 51 km/h. The same goes for having more passengers in the car than there are seats, not using child car seats or seat belts for all passengers.
We were also told that both of you will be studying in the city, which is a good thing as many of the public transport (buses, O-bahn, tram and trains) will start/stop in the city. Only some public transport service will actually go through the city to another destination. Thus, if you need to go from one side of the city to another it is very likely that you will need to take at least 2 buses/public transport. In fact, even if the suburb that you want to go to is not to far from where you are it is very likely that you either have to go into town first or at least walk between one service line to another to go to it.
5) Opening a bank account
Will be provided soon.
6) Schooling for your children
Every suburb should have a school within its area.
- Childcare adalah mahal...dalam AUD$50-60 sekali hantar dan sekiranya terlewat ambil extra charge by the hour. Keluarga Melayu membantu sesama sendiri bila perlu tapi tak boleh buat sebagai business kerana perlu ada certificate dan register sebagai business jika hendak buka childcare centre di sini. Disebabkan child welfare services yang maju di sini banyaklah kerenahnya untuk buka childcare centre seperti police check dan medical checkup dan sebagainya untuk setiap pekerja.
- Setiap suburb ada sekolahnya sendiri...so dimana anak akan ke sekolah akan bergantung dengan area mana rumah yang akan diduduki Hairol sekeluarga. Sekiranya duduk diarea yang ada keluarga Melayu lain yang ada anak diperingkat umur yang sama maka besar kemungkinan akan ke sekolah yang sama
- Sekolah Islam ada disini dan terletak di suburb West Croydon....tetapi ia adalah fully private serta ia cater untuk anak Pak Arab mostly. Anak-anak postgrad tak mampu nak dihantar ke sana kerana cost persekolahan yang tinggi...beberapa ribu dollar setahun seorang
- Anak-anak mungkin perlu masuk kelas peralihan dulu tapi saya kurang jelas akan criteria yang dilihat oleh pihak sekolah. Diharap sesiapa yang telah ada pengalaman menghantar anak ke sekolah di Adelaide dapat memberi sedikit input dan perbetulkan sekiranya info saya tidak tepat. Further info from Sanusi Sardi, husband to a postgrad student here: Harap maaf saya mencelah.Saya ada sedikit info untuk anak2 sekolah... since kami ada 2 anak (5 & 7 yrs old) dan skrg enrol di Public school in NAP (new arrival program for international students). we hv to pay the fees,cz our VISA is 573 (master by course) but, if 574 - school fee will be waived.So, harap tuan dpt check n pastikan which VISA will be granted.... untuk memudahkan anak2 enrol ke sekolah....
7) Halal food
An important part for a Muslim family staying in Adelaide is getting halal meat for consumption. If you are rather particular about this than there aren’t many halal butcher shops around that you can frequent compared to bigger cities such as Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. The ones that are reputable and trustworthy are found in the northern and northwestern suburbs (Woodville, Prospect, Thebarton etc). The status of the ‘halal’ butcher in the city (at Central Market) has been questioned by the imam of the biggest mosque here because it seems that the owner (a non-Muslim) also own the non-halal butcher shop next to it and shares not only workers but also storage space at the back with pork meat. Thus, if you are staying in the southern suburbs you will need to travel across the city to get to the nearest halal butcher.
8) Lain-lain
Kos sara hidup bergantung kepada setiap keluarga. Rent rumah dan makan-minum yang akan gunakan kebanyakan duit scholar yang diberi.
Perlu diingatkan bila datang first time ke sini bawa duit cash AUD banyak sikit sebab nak bayar bond sewa rumah dan beli kenderaan/perkakas rumah. At least AUD$8,000 is my advice.
** More FAQ will be updated. Thank you.
