Travelling to Australia

It is important to know what month of the year you will be arriving in what state in Australia.
When I arrived here in Melbourne, it was August of 2012.  It was the last month of winter.  It was not that cold, but it was relatively cold than our coldest in the Philippines.  We are talking about 7-14 deg Celsius.  

Therefore, if you are planning to arrive in Melbourne during the winter months, bring a thick jacket (preferably with fleece inner lining), a scarf, warmers for your legs because jeans is not enough to keep you warm believe me, bath robe so you can get out of the bathroom not shaking, wooly indoor slippers, and plenty of thick socks.  Light jackets are very handy and useful the whole time, I keep at least one jacket with me everyday even during summer.  The rest of your clothes in the Philippines will do just fine here in Melbourne. 

Documents.  Whatever documents you submitted during the skills assessment and VISA lodgement, bring all of them. Originals and authenticated copies would be good.  Bring as many copies of birth certificates from NSO, NBI clearance, Diplomas, Transcript of Records from your schools.  If you can get reference letters from all bosses you have worked with, the better.  Employment certificates are also useful so don't forget to bring them as well.  Bring your medical records as well if you have any preexisting medical conditions.  I brought a prescription from my optometrist as well, just in case. 

How much can you bring?  You will be limited to the kind of ticket you purchased.  With PAL, I have 25 kilos worth for checked in baggage and 15 kilos of 2 piece-hand-carry items.  With other carriers I believe you can carry more especially if you ask for first time immigrants free baggage allowance.  A friend of mine was able to bring 40 kilos.  That's 15 kilos more than what I brought.  So if you have a limited amount of kilos to bring, bring the most appropriate clothes that suites your purpose in your State of destination.

In my hand carry bag, I brought a set of clothes, all my important documents, and my laptop, and some food/items that needs to be declared with customs (in case they need to check it, it can be easily accessed).

An important reminder though, SOIL. Yes, your shoes or any footwear should be clean from any soil from any foreign country.  A piece of paper will ask you to declare if your footwear have any considerable amount of foreign soil on it. You will be asked to clean your shoes before you leave the airport gates.

If you have more to add, please put them on the comments section.

You can read more about climates in Australia per state here.
A list of things you need to know as an arriving traveler.