Australia - Need to know

Information you'll need to know when travelling to Ausralia...

Top Tips Travel: Most visitors start off in Sydney, a beautiful and bouncing harbour city. Beware getting stuck though; it's harder to leave than Hotel California after someone has nailed all the doors shut. Try travelling first, with money in your pocket and breathing space on your visa, or set yourself a date to leave, and stick to it. A city, even one this nice, is just a city; Australia has much more to offer.

Weather: Plan your trip to see places at the best possible time. You don't want to be up north when the sea is full of stingers and people are going homicidal with humidity, or freezing in Tassie during winter. May-September is a good time to see the red hot centre and tropical north, while the summer blesses the south with beautiful beach weather.
Accommodation: VIP affiliated hostels are all over Oz, so you can save cash everywhere you stop and stay. Book ahead at busy times though, beds in Sydney over Christmas and New Year's are at a premium and Melbourne is heaving between the Tennis Open and the Grand Prix. 
Health: Visitors from Britain, New Zealand, Holland, Sweden, Italy, Finland and Malta can get a Medicare Card, which provides free or subsidised necessary medical treatment in Australia, excluding dental work. Travel/health insurance is always a good idea as you will probably be throwing yourself around a fair bit.
Time: Eastern Standard Time applies to VIC, TAS, NSW, ACT and QLD and is 10 hours in front of Greenwich Mean Time. Central Standard time, which applies to SA and NT, is ½ an hour behind that and Western Standard Time, which covers WA, is a further 2 ½ hours behind that. This all gets even more confusing when the summer period brings daylight savings first to TAS, then to VIC, SA and NSW. 
Cash:  With a few exceptions - like bread - beer, food and most activities are relatively cheap. Eating out is also very reasonable. Internationally affiliated ATMs are everywhere and credit cards are widely accepted. If you plan on working set up a bank account as soon as possible.

Jobs

> Get a Tax File Number (TFN) sorted out from a tax office as soon as you arrive, otherwise half your first pay packet will disappear in emergency tax. Currently you are only allowed to work for three months for any one employer. If you're good your boss may offer you sponsorship allowing you to stay and work beyond your initial year. Employer sponsored permanent migration to Australia is also a possibility.
> Jobs are plentiful in the cities. Unemployment is low and there are loads of clerical, construction and service industry roles. Keep a copy of your CV on disk or as an attachment in your email. Backpackers are always in hot demand around big sport events and festivals. Beware commission based sales jobs, if they sound too good to be true, they probably are.
> Teachers and nurses are always needed and other professionals, such as accountants or engineers, will find specialist agencies which cater for their needs  - check that your qualifications are officially recognised in Australia before you leave.
> Or you could try something a bit different for less money but more life experience, like a job in the tourist industry, or fruit picking - call the national harvest info line for free on 1800 062 332 to find out about what's in season where.

Thirst things First

This country pioneered drive through bottle shops and alcohol supermarkets, so relax, you're in good hands.

Beer: Aussies cannot decide what size glass the amber nectar should be supped from. As the beer brands change from state to state, so do the drinking vessels, varying from social 1140ml jugs to hardly-worth-bothering "six ounce: 170ml glasses. Contrary to the myth, not everyone drinks Fosters and XXXX. Each state has its own popular ales, with Tooheys, Carlton, Coopers, Cascade and Boags being among the best breweries. Cans are called "tinnies", small bottles are "stubbies" and large ones "long necks".
Wine: Even pretentious Southern European sniffers and spitters now admit that quality vino is produced Downunder. New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia all have renowned grape growing areas, great to visit on the booze busses. For the less fussy, plonk also comes in 5-litre boxes for around $10.
Hard Stuff: Aussies are fond of premixed drinks, often available on tap, but the only really famous local spirit is Bundaberg Rum.

Image courtesy of Tourism Queensland