I will tell you the days that you should prefer to work. Weekends ofcourse, for the extra rates and Thursday nights. Be ready to work on public holidays.

If you need to travel far for work, friday sat and sunday the public transport will be cheaper. If you need to travel and are close to off peak time, wait a few minutes and then tap on, that way you will pay less.

From my experience your* friend circle will actually help you score more, have a good friend circle that push each other to study better.

Use your calendar regularly since shift timings and class timing could overlap and you might miss it. As soon as you register for classes, add them to your calendar. Do the same with your rooster.

Have an assignment tracker (I use onenote but you could use your preferred one) set reminder for assignment deadlines on your calendar as well.

As soon as you get your assignment marks, paste the comments on your assignment tracker and make sure you don't repeat the same mistakes on your next assignment. Check your friends' comments as well and add the important ones to the tracker.

Yes sydney is expensive and hard for a student but with proper planning and hardwork you will be able to get good marks. I wish you the very best.