Learning and Teaching Unit
The first few days of your arrival in Adelaide as an International Student are both exciting and challenging. Every day is a new experience to you. This information site will provide you with helpful information to assist you with settlement issues. When you first arrive in Adelaide, one of the first things you should do is visit Learning and Teaching Unit. There is a Learning and Teaching Unit office at each of the metropolitan campuses.
Looking for long-term accommodation
While you are staying in your temporary accommodation you need to think of your different accommodation options:
You may wish to check the UniSA Accommodation Services website.
Accommodation Assistance is available at the Welcome Area on your home campus during orientation to UniSA.
For more information, refer to the UniSA Accommodation Services website.
Opening a bank account
There are many banks along King William Street in the city. You may open a bank account at any of these banks. You might like to consider opening an account with the bank that operates an ATM on your campus:
You are advised to open a Student Account as there are no bank fees. To open a Student bank account you are required to show identification to gain a 100 points qualification. Your Passport (70 points) and Student ID (40 points) will be sufficient identification documents to open a bank account. Your Confirmation of Enrolment (COE) letter is also an acceptable form of identification if you do not have a Student ID.
Exchanging currency into Australia dollars
You can exchange your money into Australia Dollars at the Adelaide Airport and the banks during normal trading hours. Opening hours for
most banks are as follows:
Monday to Thursday 9.30am – 4.00pm Friday 9.30am – 5.00pm
Getting money changed after hours
If you arrive in Adelaide after hours and need to change your currency into Australian dollars you can ex visit the
Travelex/Thomas Cook Foreign Exchange outlet at Shop 4 Rundle Mall, near
the Beehive Corner, Adelaide.
Travelex/Thomas Cook Foreign Exchange is open at the following times: Monday to Friday from 9.00am – 5.00pm and Saturday 10.00am – 4.00pm.
Other places in the city where you can exchange currency are listed below:
For more information about exchanging your money please visit the Australian Explorer website.
Getting a mobile phone
There are a lot of different phone plans around. The main advice is to shop around, and read the purchase agreement carefully.
There are two main ways of getting a mobile phone. You can enter an agreement where you pay very little up front and get to use a handset cheaply, but are committed to monthly fees on top of call charges. This commitment is usually for two years. You may be assessed as to your credit suitability, and may need to provide bank and credit card details.
You can also purchase a phone outright, and pay for your calls monthly or buy pre-paid cards. This is more expensive up-front, but does not commit you to a plan that may be expensive in the long term.
For more information, visit the Office of Business and Consumer Affairs website.
Fixed-line phones
Again, there are many options here. You can choose one provider for local calls and another for overseas, or you can buy rechargeable phone cards that give you cheaper overseas calls.
Phoning home
If you wish to telephone a friend or family member in your home country you will need to dial 0011 for international access followed by the country code. For example, to phone California, the United States of America from South Australia dial 0011 + 1 + (Area Code, 3 digit number) + local number.
If you do not know the dialling code for the country, and state or province, you wish to call you can refer to a hard copy of the Adelaide White Pages directory for more information. Alternatively, you can search the White Pages online for international dialling codes.
Search the White Pages online for world time and dialling codes.
Purchasing phone cards
A variety of phone cards, including pre-paid and rechargeable phone cards, can be purchased from selected newsagencies and post offices. It is worthwhile to shop around for a phone card that suits your requirements. Phone cards, and rates charged, vary in price according to the country you wish to call.
Shopping for groceries
Most of the supermarkets in the city and suburbs are open from 7.00am -
7.00pm. The supermarkets in suburbs have late night shopping on Thursdays and in the city on Fridays where they open until 9.00pm. Supermarkets are also open on
Saturdays from 7am - 5pm and Sundays from 11.00am - 5.00pm.
The Adelaide Central Market is open from 7.00am - 3.00pm on Saturday, 7.00am - 5.30pm on Tuesday, 9.00am - 5.30pm on Wednesday and 9.00am - 5.30pm on Thursday. On Friday it is open from 7.00am until 9.00pm. There are many Asian Groceries in China town next to the Central Market that open 7 days a week from 9.00am - 5.00pm.
Finding eating places
Adelaide has a wide range of eating places that cater for differences in taste. There are food courts in shopping complexes, popular restaurants in Rundle Street, Gouger Street and Melbourne Street and fast food chains all over Adelaide.
Finding information about Adelaide
There is a Visitor Information Booth at the western end of Rundle Mall where you will be able to get information about places to visit, shop and eat at.
For further information visit the SA Central website.
Getting around in Adelaide
It won’t cost you much to get around, so buy a value priced daytrip ticket at $6.40 and travel all over Adelaide the whole day. You can purchase a range of tickets at the Passenger Transport Information Centre, on the corner of King William Street and Currie Street, the Adelaide Railway Station and at newsagents. These tickets are transferable between train, bus and tram. You will only be able to use student concession tickets once you are enrolled and have a student card.
Visit the Passenger Transport Info Centre, open Monday to Saturday, from 8.00am - 6.00pm, and Sunday, from 10.30am - 5.30pm, to pick up timetable programs and guides of bus routes to your campus and accommodation or visit the Adelaide Metro website to find out information about public transport in Adelaide.
Buying a car
The Advertiser newspaper and the Trading Post will have classified listings of second-hand cars. You can also see “Motor Cars – Used” in the Yellow Pages.
You can pay for the Royal Automobile Association (RAA) to provide you with an inspection of the car before you buy it. RAA Inspections ph: 8202 4600. RAA website.
Passenger Transport Info Line on: Tel: 8210 1000 7 days a week 7.00am - 8.00pm. The Passenger Transport Board website.
License Information: Transport SA website
The Interpreting and Translation Centre 24 Flinders Street Adelaide SA 5000 Telephone: 8226 1990
Orientation is designed to introduce you and other international students to the University and to help you settle into life in Adelaide. During this time you will be assisted to:
During orientation, please visit the Welcome Area on your home campus and register your arrival.
Details about the orientation program, including start dates, times and welcome area locations, are available from the New Students website.
Visiting a doctor and obtaining medical treatment
The moment you arrive in Adelaide you are covered by OSHC Worldcare. Under this scheme you are covered for basic medical treatment at public hospitals and for part of the treatment at private hospitals.
If you need to visit a doctor but you don’t have a health care card you will need to pay the doctor first, keep your receipt and claim a refund once you receive your card.
For further information about Overseas Student Health Cover contact staff at the Learning and Teaching Unit on your home campus or email: LTU@unisa.edu.au
In the event of an emergency dial 000 for fire, police and ambulance any time, day or night for 24 hour service.
A full list of Adelaide public hospitals and their locations can be found on page 4 of the Adelaide White Pages (print version) and also by conducting a search of Hospitals-Public using the online White Pages.
For an emergency on campus contact Campus Security. After office hours, contact the emergency 24 hour phone number for Campus Security.
Campus Security 24 hour phone number: 1800 500 911
During Office hours, contact the nearest Learning and Teaching Unit at UniSA.
Learning and Teaching Unit numbers:
