Hi Jak
For us the experience was fine. We found this one on gumtree. We viewed 3 off gumtree and got offered all 3. I think it really helps if you meet the landlord. We saw a couple of horrors through agencies, ones which would be condemned in the UK! The ones we viewed in Freo had about 10 - 15 couples attending, we weren't ready to move out of our short term so didn't put offers in. The other thing to note is that with the agencies, if you apply you may have to pay a fee. If you are not successful the fee is fully refunded. If you are successful they keep it. It means that you can't really apply for more than one property at a time, as if you change your mind once successful, you will still lose your money. I think the main thing is not to stress to much about it. Depending on the areas you are looking at,there are quite a few properties going. When you get here start looking at gumtree, ask your short term people to write you a reference and if you can, get a reference from work and a character reference.
Good luck, shout if you have any questions!
Jo