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Before the Gate
A pre-trip checklist for Australians heading overseas
Most trips that go wrong go wrong at home. A passport two months short of valid. A card that blocks on the first tap. A phone with no signal in the arrivals hall.
This is the checklist I run through before every trip. Two printable pages, free, sent straight to your inbox.
What's inside
Documents, visas and travel authorisations, and the passport rule that catches people out.
Smartraveller: what to read, what to subscribe to, and the one number to save.
Money: which cards to carry, and the one question at the terminal you should always say no to.
Phone and eSIM, sorted before you leave home.
Insurance and health, including the gaps most policies leave.
Packing, the week before, and the day you leave.
A Trip at a glance page to fill in and keep with your passport.
Why it exists
Everything else on a trip can be figured out when you get there. These things can’t. The list fits on two pages because the things that matter do.
If you want the country-level detail, the OneLife Essentials guides go deeper. This is where it starts.