Well, if you want to take actuarial major, you have to keep in mind that you need to get 65% + in all your actuarial subjects, which can be quite hard at times.
Also quality of teaching leaves quite a bit to be desired.
In my opinion, if you want to work as an actuary, your best option is not to take actuarial major (especially not at UNSW, don't know about Macquarie, it's better from what I've heard) at all, but instead, take combined commerce/maths degree, majoring in accounting and statistics. You can get exemptions for 4 out of 9 Part I exams, and then do the remaining 5 through the Institute of Actuaries.
Make sure to pick stats electives that are relevant and you shouldn't have any trouble preparing for those exams.
You could also consider finance major instead of accounting, but most of what you do is either trivial or similar to actl...
Hope this can help
