10 Essential Apps to Download When You Arrive in Australia (2026)

Quick answer: the 10 essential apps to download when you arrive in Australia are Yakka Labour (to find work), Yakka Hospitality (if you want hotel, restaurant or event work), myGov, your bank's app, Wise, your city's transport app, Flatmates.com.au, Emergency+, BOM Weather and Gumtree. Between them they cover the first things every new arrival has to sort out: a job, a tax file number, a bank account, getting around, a room to live in and staying safe.

A note before the list: Yakka Labour publishes this guide, and we put our own apps first because finding work is usually the most urgent job when you land. Everything we say about the other apps comes from their official websites and app store listings as at October 2026. Fees and features change, so check before you rely on them.

The 10 essential apps at a glance

Sort these out first: a phone number and an address

Several of these apps need an Australian mobile number for sign-in codes, and a TFN is posted to an Australian address. Get a local SIM or eSIM at the airport or a phone shop on day one. For the address, a hostel or a friend's place you trust is fine while you look for a room, as long as you can collect mail there.

1. Yakka Labour

Yakka Labour is a jobs app for labouring, construction, cleaning and warehouse work. You build a profile with your skills, experience and the suburbs you can work in, and upload your White Card, licences and police check to the wallet in the app. When an employer posts a job for one of your skills, you get a push alert. You apply in one tap and track each application as Pending, Hired or Declined.

The app also covers the bits after you're hired. You check in on site with a QR code or a six-character code, the shift timer tracks your hours and breaks, and you send timesheets and invoices from the app. Your PayID or bank details print on every invoice.

It's free for workers. There's no sign-up fee, no subscription and Yakka takes nothing from your pay. Employers pay to post full job listings, which is how it stays free. See what's included for workers or get the app.

Before you start: most building sites won't let you on without a White Card, the general construction induction card. It's a one-day course, and it's the single most useful thing you can do for your job prospects in your first week. Our guide What is a White Card? explains how to get one.

Worth knowing: agree the rate before you start, and check whether you're being hired as an employee or as a contractor with an ABN. It changes who pays your super and tax. Our guides on working on an ABN and sham contracting explain the difference. Yakka Labour is a jobs app and has no connection to the workwear brand with a similar name.

2. Yakka Hospitality

If you'd rather work in hotels, restaurants, bars or at events, use Yakka Hospitality instead. It's the hospitality side of Yakka, with casual shifts for chefs, kitchen hands, wait staff, bartenders, baristas, housekeepers and event crew in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and the Gold Coast. Event work is a good fit for new arrivals: weddings, festivals and conferences need extra hands at short notice, and one good shift often leads to the next.

You use the same Yakka app. Download it from Yakka Hospitality, add your hospitality skills and certificates to your profile, and you'll get alerts for shifts that match. Timesheets, invoices and check-in work the same way as on the labour side, and it's free for workers too.

Before you start: to serve alcohol anywhere in Australia you need a Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) certificate, and each state runs its own scheme. An RSA from one state usually isn't accepted in another, so get the one for the state you'll work in. Yakka Hospitality's guide to RSA requirements by state sets out the rules. Many venues also ask for food safety training for kitchen roles.

3. myGov

myGov is the Australian Government's app for tax, Medicare and other government services. Once you link the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to your account, you can manage your tax, see your super, and fill in the employment forms you give a new employer.

Getting a tax file number (TFN): apply on the ATO website once you're in Australia with a visa that has work rights. It's free, and the ATO says your TFN usually arrives by post within 28 days. Don't skip it. Without a TFN, an employer has to withhold tax at 45%. With one, a working holiday maker (subclass 417 or 462) pays 15% on the first $45,000 earned in 2026-27, according to the ATO's guide for working holiday makers.

Medicare: if you're from a country with a reciprocal health care agreement with Australia (Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden and the United Kingdom), you may be able to enrol in Medicare. Once you're enrolled and Medicare is linked to myGov, you can add a digital Medicare card to the wallet in the myGov app. Everyone else should arrange private health cover, which many visas require anyway.

Tip: the ATO recommends signing in with myID, the government's Digital ID app. Set it up when you create your account and linking the ATO is simpler.

4. Your bank's app

Employers pay wages into an Australian bank account, and most share houses expect rent by bank transfer, so you need one early. Some banks let you start before you arrive. CommBank says you can open an account up to 14 days before you land, then visit a branch with your passport to finish. Westpac also allows 14 days. NAB lets eligible newcomers start online up to 30 days ahead and finish in a branch. ANZ says you can open an account once you've arrived.

Once the account is open, set up a PayID (usually your mobile number or email) so people can pay you without asking for your BSB and account number.

Worth knowing: keep the account open when you leave. Your employer pays super into a fund for you (12% of your ordinary earnings), and if you're on a temporary visa you can claim it after you leave Australia. The ATO notes that this departing payment is taxed at 65% for working holiday makers, but it's still your money.

5. Wise

Wise is useful for moving money between Australia and home. Wise says it converts at the mid-market exchange rate with fees from 0.19% for international transfers, and you can hold dozens of currencies in one account. You also get Australian account details with a BSB and account number, so an Australian employer can pay you into Wise. Wise points out that this isn't a bank account.

Many people use both: a local bank for wages and rent, and Wise for sending savings home or spending on a trip to New Zealand or Bali.

6. Your city's transport app

Each state runs its own public transport, and each has its own app: Opal Travel in New South Wales, PTV in Victoria, MyTransLink in south-east Queensland and Transperth in Western Australia. They show live departure times, plan trips and warn you about track work and disruptions.

In Sydney you don't need to buy an Opal card. Tap on and off with a contactless bank card, phone or watch and you pay the same Opal fares, including the daily and weekly caps. Transport for NSW lists the adult weekly cap at $50. In Melbourne, tap-and-go payments arrived on the train network in June 2026, with trams and buses to follow, so check the PTV app to see where you still need a myki card.

7. Flatmates.com.au

Most new arrivals start in a hostel and move into a share house once they have work. Flatmates.com.au is the main app for rooms in share houses. It's free to browse, create a profile and message most listings. Listings less than 14 days old are "Early Bird" listings, and you need a paid upgrade to message those straight away; otherwise your message waits until the listing becomes free to message.

Avoid scams: don't transfer a bond or any rent until you've seen the room, in person or on a live video call, and met at least one of the people you'll live with. Ask whether your bond will be lodged with the state's rental bond authority and get a receipt for every payment.

8. Emergency+

Emergency+ is a free app built by Australia's emergency services. It helps you call Triple Zero (000) and uses your phone's GPS to show your street address, plus a what3words address that pinpoints a 3 metre square. If you're on a building site, a beach or a bush track and don't know exactly where you are, you can read the location straight to the operator. The app also has buttons for the SES and the Police Assistance Line for situations that aren't emergencies.

Remember that the emergency number in Australia is 000, not 911 or 112.

9. BOM Weather

BOM Weather is the official app from the Bureau of Meteorology. It's free and has no ads. You get hourly and 7-day forecasts, a rain radar, and alerts for heatwaves, fire weather, floods and severe storms for up to three locations. In May 2026 the bureau added rain notifications and an hourly UV Index forecast.

The UV forecast matters more than most people expect. The Australian sun is harsh, and if you work outdoors on a site or at an event, check the UV and plan for a hat, sunscreen and water before you leave home.

10. Gumtree

Gumtree is where Australians sell second-hand furniture, bikes, tools, appliances and cars. It's the cheapest way to furnish a room, and plenty of travellers buy a car or a campervan here for a road trip and sell it again before they leave.

Stay safe: Gumtree's own advice is to keep messages inside the app, pay only through Gumtree Pay or face to face, and never pay through a link sent by email, text or QR code. Inspect items in person and meet in a busy public place. For a car, ask for the service history and proof of ownership, and have a mechanic look at it before you hand over any money.

Other apps worth having

• myID: the government's Digital ID app, used to sign in to myGov and the ATO.
• Google Maps: handy for walking and driving directions, and for public transport in cities where you haven't downloaded the local app yet.
• Uber or DiDi: for late finishes when public transport has stopped.
• WhatsApp: most share houses, crews and event teams organise themselves in group chats.

Your first week in Australia: a checklist

1. Get an Australian SIM or eSIM.
2. Download Emergency+, BOM Weather and your city's transport app.
3. Finish opening your bank account and set up a PayID.
4. Apply for your TFN on the ATO website and create your myGov account.
5. Book your White Card course, or your RSA if you want hospitality work.
6. Set up your Yakka profile with your skills, suburbs and certificates, and turn on job alerts.
7. Start looking for a room on Flatmates.com.au.

Know your rights at work

Visa holders have the same workplace rights as everyone else in Australia. You must be paid at least the minimum wage or the award rate for your job, casual workers get a casual loading, usually 25% on top of the base rate, and your employer must pay super. Check the minimum rates for your industry in the Fair Work Ombudsman's pay guides. Our guide to casual loading explains how it works. If you're on a student visa, read up on the work hours limit before you take on extra shifts.

Related guides

• Best apps to find jobs in Australia
• What is a White Card?
• Labourer day rates in Australia
• Labourer resume example