hey girls I just arrived here at Sydney on the last week of May for a one year course. =)
Looking for a part-time job here is harder than it seems! Because of the 20hr/wk limitation, employers are more hesitant to because they want people who can work extra hours when they need extra hands, those that are more flexible. Specially here in the city. It took me 2 months to find mine and it's just casual(meaning there's no fixed schedule, no sure hours per week, they just call you when they need extra people to fill in) and hassle coz i could be assigned to any outlet.
just a few heads up too...cost of living here is extremely crazy. I was quite surprised. A minimum train ride costs 4.40AUD round trip. (around 180PHP!) That's just around 6++ stations covered.
Fast food here costs 200-600PHP.
Also...it's so quiet here! 5PM palang sarado na mga malls. Nalurklurk ako. LOL
But other than those downsides, it's been so great having a sense of safety. Unlike sa Pinas when you have to look over your shoulder 24/7 baka meron nang nakaabang na may balisong sa tabi tabi.
Also, the train system is super nice which is something I LOVE. Walang siksikan na tipong sa LRT na kahit di ka kumapit ok lang sa sobrang sikip.
So anyways, if you're planning to come here, don't rely on your possible earnings from a part-time job. I've applied to over a hundred part-time jobs(Fastfood, grocery, dept. store, etc) that doesnt even need skilled backgrounds...but ang sakit, pati mcdo tinanggihan ako? LOL
Re: jobs: Maybe your résumé needs some tweaking? If Maccas rejected you, that's not a good sign. But be persistent, you'll find a job din! And oh, don't put a photo on your résumé, it's frowned upon. Also, if your university has a careers advisor, maybe you could ask them to help you with your résumé and your job search.
Also is there any Filipino restaurant you can apply to? You may have better chances in a Filipino-owned business.
About cost of living naman, $4.40 for a daily ticket is actually quite cheap! Here it Melbourne it's $6+ for a daily ticket. Although there's nothing wrong with it, converting to PhP all the time does not really help, baka ma-depress ka pa thinking that everything is so expensive. And compared to other 1st world countries, our cost of living is actually relatively affordable.
Fastfood (McDonald's in particular) actually is some of the cheapest sorts of ready-made food you can get here.
There's more to see in Sydney after 5pm than malls.

You're lucky your trains aren't overcrowded! Here in Melbourne it's a nightmare and 3rd-worldish during peak hour.
Anyway good luck on the job search!