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Archive-name: australian-faq/part2
Last-modified: 2 April 1996 Version: 3.10 See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge PART I (separate posting) 1.About soc.culture.australian 2.How to find Australians, Australian Information 2.1 on the net 2.1.1 Public access sites 2.1.2 Gopher and WWW 2.1.3 Weather 2.1.4 Finding people 2.1.5 Other 2.2 elsewhere 3.Citizenship/Visas/Immigration 3.1 Australian citizenship 3.2 Dual Citizenship of other countries 3.3 Visas 3.3.1 For Foreigners in Australia 3.3.2 For Australians in other Countries 3.4 Immigration 3.4.1 Addresses 3.4.2 Criteria and Points System 3.4.3 Spouse/fiance(e) immigration 3.4.4 Employers sponsoring foreign employees 3.5 Emigrants ----------------------------------------------------------------- PART II (this posting) 4.Coming to Australia 4.1 Quarantine 4.2 Standards 4.3 Cars 4.3.1 Car Insurance 4.4 Shipping Information 4.5 Miscellaneous 4.6 Australians Returning Home 5.Studying in Australia 5.1 Overview of Australian Higher Education 5.2 Postgraduate Study 5.3 Miscellaneous Questions 5.4 "Classification" of Australian Universities 5.5 Academic Addresses 5.6 Australian Medical Schools 6.For Australians Overseas 6.1 Radio Australia 6.2 Newspapers: 6.3 Australiana in the USA 6.4 Video Conversion 6.5 Expatriate organisation 6.6 Oz News ----------------------------------------------------------------- PART III (separate posting) 7.History 7.1 Pre-Europeans 7.2 European Discovery 7.3 European settlement 7.3.1 Penal Colony 7.3.2 Gold Rush 7.3.3 Post WWI Immigration 7.3.4 Miscellaneous (includes Tasmanian Aborigines) 7.4 Political History 7.4.1 Independence 7.4.2 Aboriginal Voting 7.5 Wars 7.5.1 Boer War 7.5.2 World War I 7.5.3 World War II 7.5.4 Korea, Vietnam and others 7.6 National heroes/Notable Australians 7.7 Miscellaneous 8.Politics 8.1 Political System 8.2 Voting System 8.3 Current governments 8.4 Taxation 8.5 The Independence Debate 8.6 Mabo 8.7 Health Care 8.7.1 Medicare 8.7.2 Medicare Levy 8.7.3 Doctors 8.7.4 Fees 8.7.5 Public Hospitals 8.7.6 Private Hospitals 8.7.7 Aged Care 8.7.8 Skin Cancer 8.8 Economic Information ----------------------------------------------------------------- PART IV (separate posting) 9.Geography, Natural History 9.1 Geographic information 9.1 Cities and Population 9.2 National Holidays 9.3 Weather 9.4 Flora 9.4.1 Extinct Species 9.5 Fauna 9.5.1 Monotremes 9.5.2 Marsupials 9.5.3 Tasmanian devils and Tasmanian Tigers 9.5.4 Venomous Fauna 9.5.5 Extinct and Endangered Species 9.5.6 Koalas 9.6 National Symbols 9.6.1 Flag 9.6.2 Coat of arms 10.Australian Life 10.1 Housing 10.2 Schooling 10.3 Public Transport 10.4 Roads 10.5 Prices 10.6 Shopping Hours 10.7 Crime 10.8 Sport ----------------------------------------------------------------- PART V (separate posting) 11.Travel 11.1 Money 11.2 Jet-lag 11.3 Responses to 3 questions 11.4 Travel Reports and Recommendations 11.4.1 A Trip description 11.4.2 Uluru (Ayers Rock) 11.4.3 Places of interest in Tasmania 11.4.4 Accommodation tips to the low budget motorhome traveller (BB) 11.4.5 Adelaide and SA 11.4.6 Touring Australia by Motorcycle [C] 11.4.7 Cheap travel agent [RM] 11.4.8 Places of Interest in Melbourne 11.4.9 Australia from south to north [JO] 11.5 Advice for Australians in .... 11.5.1 United Kingdom 11.5.2 United States 11.5.3 Canada 12.Language 12.1 Australian pronounciation 12.2 Australian spelling 12.3 Australian slang, word origins 12.4 Australian word usage (misc) ----------------------------------------------------------------- PART VI (separate posting) 13.Culture 13.1 Recipes and food 13.1.1 Vegemite 13.1.2 Sweets recipes: anzac biscuits, pavlova, lamingtons, chocolate crackles 13.1.3 Meat Pies, Damper, Galah, pumpkin soup 13.1.4 Misc 13.2 Songs 13.2.1 "Waltzing Matilda", by Banjo Paterson (3 versions :-) 13.2.2 "Advance Australia Fair", National Anthem 13.2.3 "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda", Eric Bogle 13.2.4 "Tie me kangaroo down" (Rolf Harris) 13.3 Literature 13.3.1 Fiction 13.3.2 Poetry - "My Country" by Dorothea McKellar - "The Man From Snowy River" by A.B. (Banjo) Paterson 13.3.3 Children's Literature 13.3.4 Non-Fiction 13.4 Films 13.5 Music 13.5.1 Classical 13.5.2 Pop 13.5.3 Jazz 13.5.4 Other 13.6 Opera 13.7 Ballet 13.8 Theatre 14. Contributors ----------------------------------------------------------------- A major reorganisation has been done (June 1994) and some sections are incomplete. Contributions welcome - send to Stephen Wales, stephenw@mincom.com. PART II 4.COMING TO AUSTRALIA 4.1 Quarantine Quarantine regulations are extremely strict. Food, furs, and any other animal or wood products may have to be quarantined. Pets will have to be quarantined for several months in both countries, an expensive procedure. [The following section has been completely redone with the new information as received below - older outdated information has been removed - SW] * Bringing animals to Australia The quarantine restrictions have recently changed. Here is a summary of the new details: Summarised from a 9 page Foreign office cable, dated 27/05/94: Approved Rabies free countries - 30 days quarantine Cyprus, Fiji, New Zealand, Hawaii, Hong Kong, Republic of Ireland, Japan, Malta, New Caledonia, Norway, Sabah, Sarawak, Singapore, Sweden, UK. Approved Rabies free countries - 60 days quarantine America Samoa, Christmas Island, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Kingdom of Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna, Western Samoa. Approved "Well controlled" countries, 120 days quarantine Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, USA The animal must have been resident in the stated country for at least six months. Animals from "Well controlled" countries must have been vaccinated against rabies at least six months and within 12 months prior to export. Application and fee (AU$43) should be sent to the Chief Quarantine officer in the state in which the animal is to undergo quarantine, at least two months prior to the intended date of importation. Animals must meet all requirements of a special "Animal Health Certificate", issued by an official civil service vet of the exporting country. Shipment must be by an approved means (NOT a yacht), in approved and officially sealed containers. Quarantine centres: Eastern Creek, Sydney NSW Spotswood Melbourne Victoria Torrens Island Adelaide South Australia Byford, Western Australia Owners may visit once per week. Costs ( In AU$): Lodgement of application to import: $43 Lodgement of a quarantine entry form: $10 Conveyance from Port to quarantine station: $50 Examination on arrival: $96 for first animal, then $38 for every extra animal miscellaneous services: $43 per 1/4 hour or part thereof, per officer accommodation: dog < 7kg: $20/day dog >7kg and < 20 kg: $24/day dog > 20 kg: $28/day cat: $20/day Pregnant animals are not permitted. Some useful addresses: Customs: The Collector of Customs GPO Box 8 Sydney NSW 2001 Phone: 02 2132000 Fax: 02 2134000 Immigration: The Secretary, Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs, GPO Box 25, Belconnen ACT 2616 Phone 06 2641111 Fax 06 2643752 Quarantine Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, GPO Box 858, Canberra ACT 2601 Phone: 06 2723933 Fax: 06 2724873 4.2 Standards * language: The national language of Australia is English. * TV/VCR: Our TV/video system is PAL-B. Multisystem videos (view NTSC on a PAL TV) cost around $700. Standards converters (output a recordable signal NTSC from PAL, or vice versa) cost much more. The difference between PAL-B and PAL-D? [DH] According to the World Radio TV Handbook, Australia uses PAL-B, not PAL-D. The difference? About a MHz... The technical differences (B vs. D) are: Channel width: 7 MHz vs. 8 MHz Vision b/w: 5 MHz vs. 6 MHz IF: 5.5 MHz vs. 6.5 MHz. [PO] Australia uses the PAL video system and the PAL-D television transmission system (D - stands for Delay Line). Tapes which are recorded in PAL are fully compatible with the Aussie system. Tapes which are recorded in NTSC are incompatible. They can however be played on NTSC playback VCRs. The older NTSC ( > 1year ) playback VCRs required the use of either an NTSC (or multi-format) TV or NTSC colour video monitor because the signals were not converted to PAL format. VCRs available now with NTSC playback capabilities convert the NTSC signal into PAL so the signal can be displayed directly on PAL TVs or PAL colour monitors. Don't try to use PAL equipment (TV/VCR etc) built for other countries in Australia because generally, the channels are different (eg UK only uses UHF but VHF is still used extensively here). Also the sound is modulated into the signal at a different position relative to the video signal than to some other countries and so you may get a picture but no sound or vice-versa. [MJ] It is possible to buy dual standard LCD television sets, that will work with PAL, NTSC or SECAM transmissions. These are quite new, quite expensive and quite cute. * Electricity: The electricity supply is 50Hz, 240 volts everywhere (no longer 253 volts in W.A.). Step-down transformers are available (but wasteful),and the 50 Hz may throw off your clock-radio and other things using the mains as a frequency reference. AM broadcast stations use 9 kHz spacing, in common with most of the civilised world. Your fancy USA radio with its 10 kHz spacing won't like this. FM broadcast stations use 50 micro-second pre-emphasis; USA uses 75 usec, so the recovered audio may sound funny. [DH] [JL] Power outlets have two slanting slots (hot and neutral, somebody else will have to tell you which is which!) and a third vertical ground slot. The configuration looks something like this... / \ <--- active and neutral pins / \ | <--- ground pin | BTW all three slots are identical in size, but the configuration prevents the plug from being inserted incorrectly. [MJ] Australia uses the same voltage as Britain and the rest of Europe, but with different plugs (the British plug is different from the European plug also). It is thus OK to use European/Australian appliances interchangeably if you rewire the plugs (DON'T try doing this with American/Japanese appliances unless YOU KNOW FOR SURE that the product has an auto configuring power supply). * Appliances and Transformers [LS]: Although many people have warned about the differences in electricity between the two countries (Aus and USA), people who have purchased step-down transformers have reported no problems with small appliances such as mixers and coffee pots. Also, appliances that will convert from 120 to 240 will need adaptors for Australian outlets. It has been advised that you should buy these items while you are still in the States. [PR] In the USA, Magnetek (1 800 624 6384) transformers are: n-259mg 1000 Watt weighing 35lb, or n-257mg 500 Watt, 23lb. $71 with a U.S. power-cord which you can either adapt or cut off and replace (trivial). My take was that it was worth it for the stereo but not much else. [DH] Don't think it will matter where you buy it. It is low tech, no real cost advantage by getting it here. As for the power rating, the bigger the better, the more you can plug in at once (And the more "Safe" overhead you will have) If you are concerned about weight to ship things home, buy it in Oz. They are a dime a dozen and available anywhere. [EG] First the basics. In Canada and the U.S., power is approx. 120V, 60 Hertz. In Australia it is 240V, 50 Hertz. Very few appliances depend on the line frequency (50Hz vs. 60Hz). An exception is that some clocks use the line frequency for timing. I've also heard that certain things like tape players or VCRs could potentially use the line frequency for timing. I brought a General Electric VCR with me from the U.S. and it runs just fine on 50Hz. Because just about everything runs okay on 50Hz, what people are looking for is a device that transforms 240V 50Hz to 120V 50Hz. I've seen people naively say that they want something that converts 240V 50Hz to 120V 60Hz. Such devices, which convert frequency as well as voltage, are not necessary for most people and are extremely costly. A simple voltage converter is all that most people need. A crucial issue is the wattage of the converter. Basically, this specifies the maximum wattage that the converter can handle at any one time. So if you're going to run a bunch of appliances off of one converter, you should first figure out the maximum wattage that each may draw and add these up. Usually appliances will have a label that specifies maximum power usage. One problem is that different manufacturers seem to rate things differently. You can get a cheap converter at Radio Shack that is supposedly rated at 50 watts. But when you read the fine print it says something like "not for continuous usage". I asked the salesman about this (a dangerous thing to do, I know) and he said it could handle 25 watts of continuous use. Make sure that the rating you get is for continuous use. Also, be aware that reputable U.S. manufacturers are likely to be more conservative in their ratings than cheap imports. I bought a high-quality transformer from a U.S. manufacturer (Stancor) that's rated at 150 watts (at constant use). I have another transformer (made in Taiwan) that is about the same size and claims to handle 500 watts. The next issue is whether the transformer is grounded or not. I'm not sure why, but most of the transformers I've seen are not grounded. For safety reasons it is best to get a transformer that will ground your 3-pin appliances. An additional issue is whether the transformer is a normal transformer (autotransformer) or an isolation transformer. An isolation transformer will provide a cleaner power source than an autotransformer since there is no direct DC path for voltage spikes to follow. I've seen isolation transformers recommended for computer equipment. This isn't necessary but if you want the extra protection an isolation transformer is better than an autotransformer. The next question is: where can you buy a transformer? That's a good question. When I knew I was going to move to Australia, I called around to a bunch of local electronics stores and electrical supply houses to try to find a good quality, grounded, isolation transformer. I couldn't find one locally, but was able to get one by mail order from Allied Electronics. I bought a Stancor GISD-150 transformer (GISD = Grounded Isolation Step-Down). It is designed to convert 230V to 115V, and hence will convert 240V to 120V. The input to that converter is a grounded 3-pin U.S. 230V plug, and the output is the standard U.S. 3-pin jack, which I have a power strip plugged into. Since Allied Electronics also had Australian power cords, I bought one of those and got the necessary 230V jack (at Hechinger's) to add to the end of the cord. Alternatively, one could buy the necessary Australian plug and replace the U.S. plug. In any event, it cost me $60 for the transformer and $10 for the Australian power cord. I'm not necessarily recommending this route for making an Australian transformer (because I don't know of the alternatives), but this is what I did and it has worked fine for me. Incidentally, I did find other non-grounded transformers locally. They were much less expensive...approximately $25 for seemingly low-quality transformers rated at 150 watts. Allied sells a whole line of Stancor transformers, with a wide variety of wattage ratings and a choice of grounded vs. non-grounded and isolation vs. autotransformer. They also have an 800 number (1 800 433 5700). * Monitors [DE] If you have a Macintosh 12" colour monitor it won't work on 240 volts in Australia unless you buy a transformer. All other Macintosh monitors should be dual 110/240 volts, and you will only need to cut the plug off and put an Australian plug back on. Check the back of your monitor to see what the specifications are. You will need 50 Hz as well as 240 volts. [MJ] Whilst on Macintoshes, some (eg the SE) have autoconfiguring power supplies, others (eg classic) do not, so you should be careful. [TT] Further on Macs, as far as I know, all Apple machines after the *Plus* have UPS [Can someone verify that last statement please - SW] * Telephone: The telephone system is strictly regulated, but has recently undergone a change from a monopoly to some real competition. There are currently two national land-line telecommunications carriers: Telecom and Optus; and three national mobile telephone carriers: Telecom, Optus and Vodaphone. From 1997 onwards unlimited competition will be permitted. Austel is the Federal Government's telecommunications regulatory body. In the meantime, don't even _think_ about connecting your answering machine etc to it; it must bear an appropriate "Austel" compliance sticker. Besides, the signalling conventions are different (two short rings instead of one long ring as in USA etc). Australia is slowly converting to AXE telephone exchanges, offering various features via DTMF. Examples are Call-Waiting, Third-Party-Conference etc. Local calls attract a flat fee, irrespective of duration; there have been proposals floated to introduce timed local calls, but so far the Federal Government has not had the courage to introduce it. "Free" calls exist - they are 008 numbers (like USA 800 numbers). The other end of the spectrum also exists - don't call 0055 numbers unless you like paying a timed fee to the service provider - in some cases (time etc) free alternatives exist. There are various "free" services, such as Time (1194), News (1199) etc. There are also numbers starting with "13" - they offer the same number country-wide, and are routed to the nearest service provider (courier companies, airlines etc). Finally, a mobile telephone service is accessed via the 015, 018 and 041 prefixes; it is costed at STD rates, but the actual split of caller/callee paying varies. One more thing - the emergency number is 000; don't abuse it - they know from where the call was placed, however Caller-ID is not generally available. Cordless telephones are prohibited imports; they will be confiscated by Customs. Not only are they not Austel-approved, they are not DoTaC (Dept. of Transport and Communications) approved either, and they may stomp all over some frequency assigned to another service. [DH] As an aside, most 008 numbers are becoming 1800 numbers for the freecall numbers. * Modems [summary of responses: AN] It seems that dial tones are the same these days, so there is no problem usually with modems working. The thing is (as with phone and answering machines), are they Austel approved? The fine for plugging something non-approved into the phone socket is $12,000 apparently! You have to get an adapter plug for the phone cord (OR wall socket). You also have to get yet another small power supply to feed you USR modem 9 volts or 12 or whatever it wants. [AJ] I have US Robotics Sportster modem I bought while in the US. It works fine (as will the other US Robotics modems). For the Sportster at least you can buy a replacement for the external mains transformer here [AUS] for around $20 (I scavenged mine). * Currency The Australian currency is the Australian dollar. The change from pounds and pence took place in 1966, with the following ditty used (to the tune of "Click go the Shears") [AW]: In come the dollars, in come the cents Out go the pounds and the shillings and the pence So be prepared when the money starts to mix On the fourteenth of february nineteen sixty six Therese Turner (tmturner@bcsc02.gov.bc.ca) remembers the song like this : In come the dollars in come the cents to relplace the pounds and the shillings and the pence change-over day is closer than you think on the 14th of February 1966' [My personal feeling, (not from memory, since I was born in 1966) is that it is actually a bit of a mix of the above two - anyone care to clarify -SW] Bob Menzies wanted to call the new currency the 'Royal'! Apparently although dollar is a widely used name and can cause confusion with the greenback, it does have local (historical) relevance as it was the name of the first locally produced currency. Another name put forward was the 'Austral'. The 1 and 2 cent coins have been removed from circulation, however are still legal tender. Prices are rounded up or down to the nearest 5 cents (ie 82c -> 80c, 83c -> 85c), although plenty of the larger retailers round down all the time. All coins have Queen Elizabeth II on the "heads" side. The image of the Queen used was updated (so that she now looks old!) a few years ago. Current coins, colour, shape (round unless stated) and their "tails" side are: 5c: silver, echidna 10c: silver, lyrebird 20c: silver, platypus 50c: silver, 12 sided, coat of arms roo and emu holding shield of 6 state emblems (also commemorative alternatives). The 1966 50c was round. $1: gold, 5 kangaroos, also many years had commemorative $1 coins $2: gold, bearded aboriginal man and southern cross "silver" is copper nickle alloy. "gold" is copper aluminium etc alloy. Coins in order of size are: 5c, $2, 10c, $1, 20c, 50c. The old $1 and $2 notes were replaced by coins. The other notes are as follows: new $5: Plastic film purple/grey. Queen Elizabeth + gum leaves/ view and plan of new parliament house in Canberra. Hologram(me) of a gum flower over a clear bird in flight. new $10 plastic film blue/green. Banjo Paterson, with picture of a horseman, and some of the words to "The Man from Snowy River". Also the words "Waltzing Matilda" in the top right corner. Mary Gilmour, with picture of some oxen pulling a wagon. new $20 plastic film red/green. Mary Reiby, with picture of ship and building. John Flynn, with picture of biplane, pedal radio, human silhouette, camel & rider. Reiby was a pioneer business woman, Flynn formed Royal Flying Doctor Service. new $50 plastic film yellow/orange. David Muaipon, with picture of Aboriginal couple, building, and power shears. Edith Cowan, with picture of building, family group, and woman at lectern. new $100 plastic film. Dame Nellie Melba, with picture of theatre proscenium arch. Sir John Monash, with picture of cavalrymen behind army badge, cavalry, and horse artillery. * Exchange Rates: Exchange rate is roughly AUS $1 = .67 US cents, Y67, $HK5.01, $S1.03, Ringgit 1.65, $NZ1.17, $Ca0.85, Pound 0.42, FF3.65, DM1.05, SF0.91, ECU0.55 Source: Asiaweek, September 29th, 1993. Legend: Y = Japanese Yen, $HK = Hong Kong dollar, $S = Singapore Dollar, Ringgit = Malaysian currency, $NZ = New Zealand Dollar, $Ca = Canadian Dollar, Pound = British Pound, FF = French Franc, DM = Deutschmark, SF = Swiss Franc, ECU = European Currency Unit (Most newspapers should have more reliable information.) June 94 update: AUS$1 = ~0.72 US cents. * The metric system is used. Conversion to the metric system officially began in 1971 and was officially completed in 1981. It has been remarkably successful, with even conversational use of metric measures more the norm than the exception. (See more in Section 12.4 on Australian language usage) 4.3 Cars NB. Australians drive on the left. Anyone can import a vehicle, but all privately imported vehicles attract the same rate of Duty and Sales Tax as commercially imported vehicles. If not valued before importing, the Customs value will be normally assessed on the purchase price. There are additions and deductions available for this method. If owned and used overseas then depreciation is allowed on the purchase price. Alternatively, the likely local value of the vehicle can be used. There is also a limit of one car per person per year. (Note that these conditions only apply federally, there are state variations). Combined Duty and Sales Tax rates: Vehicles under 30 yrs old, new or used Customs Value Sales Tax & Duty $1 - 19583 60% $19584+ 84% As above, but older than 30yrs $1 - 26437 18% $26438+ 36% Off road 4wd passenger vehicles $1 - 22989 44% $22990+ 58% Motorcycles 24% The Motor Vehicle Standards Act, 1989 makes it illegal to import a vehicle unless: i) it meets the safety and emissions standards applying to vehicles to be used on Australian roads ii) arrangements are in place to modify the vehicle to meet these requirements after its arrival. Approval will be given to import a vehicle if : i) It has a valid compliance plate fitted; or ii) arrangements are in place for it to be modified to have a compliance plate fitted; or iii) you have a letter of compliance from the manufacturer; or iv) you have owned and used the vehicle overseas for a continuous period of not less than 3 months, you are of driving age and are an Australian citizen or migrant holding permanent residency; or v) the vehicle was manufactured before 1 Jan, 1974 for cars or 1 Jul 1975 for motorbikes. If it brought in under points iii-v, it will get a personal import plate, rather than a compliance plate. This is sufficient to allow it to be sold. Note that at least some states require left-hand drive vehicles to be converted to right-hand drive, which is likely to be expensive (and troublesome to drive in). [JM] Cars are more expensive here than most countries, but the days when it was worthwhile importing your own are gone. In the lead up to the last election, there was considerable discussion about how much more expensive Australian cars are, and the worst figure I heard of was around $4,000 more for an average family saloon. In any case, you have to pay customs duty if you import a car and it usually isn't worthwhile. Be aware however of two points regarding cars in Australia: - European cars are luxury items, more expensive than you might expect, - second hand values are higher than you would expect (rust isn't a problem so the beasts stay on the road longer.) 4.3.1 Car Insurance [JC] Be aware that insurance history is *personal* rather than per policy in Australia. I had trouble with getting my Australian No Claim bonus accepted in UK because I wanted to maintain the insurance policy on my Australian car. A year ago when I wanted to start a policy on a second car in Australia, my no claim bonus was accepted automatically. I suggest you get a statement from your UK insurer stating not only the level of no claim bonus but also the period for which you have had no claims, since the period that it takes to get to 60% varies. Many Australian insurers will record but not penalise you for you 'no fault' claims i.e. where you claim through your insurer to get repairs done quickly and then the insurer recovers the cost of the repairs through the insurer of the other party. E.g. Someone backed into me while I was stationary. I claimed through my insurer who recover the money from the other party. My 'no claim' history was preserved. Car insurance is somewhat differently organised between UK and Australia. (All?) States require you to obtain 'Compulsory Third Party' (CTP) before registration, but this is only Third Party Injury insurance. You can then take out a separate Third Party Property policy (a 'bomb' policy for your car (UK: banger) which is not worth insuring), or Comprehensive Insurance. I have never heard of Third Part Fire and Theft in Australia. 4.4 Shipping Information * From USA to Australia [LS] It would appear that the cheapest way to get books to Australia is by using an M-bag from the US Postal Service (this service is for books only). The surface rate for this is $.72 per pound (this is the rate from Washington, D.C., to Sydney). Each M-bag can contain from 15-66 pounds and from the experience of netters, it takes about 8 weeks to arrive. One netter said that Australian postal carriers are not allowed to handle packages over 20 kg (~44 lbs) so the bags are opened when they reach Australia, and the packages inside are delivered. Therefore, put an address on each separate package inside an M-bag. An air M-bag is available for $5.96 (same origination/destination as previous) per pound. Whether or not to ship your belongings from the U.S. to Australia appears to be a highly subjective matter. However, most people seem to believe it is well worth the effort and expense if you have quality furniture. What to bring with you varies wildly, too. It all appears to go back to something that each person feels is important. The only consistency: a lot of people were sorry that they had sold electrical appliances. With the use of a step-down transformer, most everything (except tvs) will work just fine. While you will want to get your own estimates, be prepared to spend in the thousands of US dollars (the average price seemed to be around $6,000). The experiences people had ran the gamut--some had no damages and some found crates with items just thrown into the boxes. If you are using door-to-door movers and a container, insist that the container be packed at *your* house to avoid breakage. Which brings up the issue of insurance. Be very certain that you understand what method of determining value is used. One person had bought more than enough insurance to cover the value of her goods. However, the policy paid on the percentage of the shipment weight lost, not on a cost-to-replace basis. [AN] Standard insurance I was offered was $25/1000 of the value I put on my things. I decided to value for replacement cost. There are three basic parts of a move from the States to Australia. The first is the packing at your house and delivery to a port, the second is overseas shipping, and the third is customs clearance and shipping to the final destination in Australia. It has been suggested by many people that you insist on having a quote broken down into those stages. Almost everyone felt that you would be best served (and save *lots* of cash) by working through a shipping agent to cover these stages rather than using a moving company for door-to-door service. The possibility to do either exists, and there were a couple of people who felt door-to-door service was the best way. There are two basic types of containers for overseas shipping: ship's containers and waterproofed crates. Ship's containers come in two sizes 40' and 20' and everyone agreed that you can fit an amazing amount of stuff in a 20' container. The waterproofed crates are for smaller shipments where using a container is not cost effective. It is very important to get an inventory of what goes into every box. Do not pack any boxes yourself. The moving company will mark all such boxes as "packed by owner", and this may delay you in customs. Moving from your house to the port is based on total weight; the costs from the States to Australia are based on volume. So, if you were planning on taking heavy, small stuff or big, light stuff to save money, forget it. However, most people felt that the approximate weight of an average container was used in figuring weight, and unless, you went *way* over the average, you weren't charged more. It will take your belongings at least three months to arrive and clear customs. Remember to use other means (you might want to talk to a mover about a small air shipment) to ship the stuff you are going to have to have in the interim like sheets. * From USA to Australia [BJ] Surface shipping is very expensive; but also quite "flexible." Standard price LA->Oz is $450 a cubic metre. (Yes, that is absurdly expensive). Of course, one place at a whim cut the price from $450 to $250 a cubic metre. In general excess baggage is the cheapest; both United and QANTAS charge $90-$100 a bag. Still, this is cheaper than surface shipping *AND* you get your stuff straight away. No waiting anything up to 2 months (maybe more). I took six bags; 2 are standard, I was charged $400 excess baggage for the 4 bags over the limit. (I'd been living in the States for quite a while). I did read in the FAQ that Australians returning home receive baggage credits (ie. who have been residing overseas). Not so. It turns out Americans migrating to Oz receive 2 baggage credits (ie. 4 free items). That's QANTAS, Australia's National airline (who apparently has a bit of an identity crisis ;-) The bags must be no more than 70 pounds each. That's pretty heavy. If you are shipping appliances be warned that box and pack places charge $40 a box (these are cardboard boxes with foam peanuts). For a few bucks more you can get a suitcase, though obviously some things HAVE to be boxed and packed. If you have a computer etc keep the original packaging and save yourself some money. (My obsessive compulsive roommate kindly threw my "tatty" boxes out without asking me - Grrrrr) If you have books and printed matter you can save a bundle sending them bookpost. That's 72 cents a pound; the boxes you use must be small enough to fit in an "m-bag" (yes, you actually get to try and stuff them into those big canvas mailbags). They take 4-6 weeks (I've yet to receive my first) but at 72 cents a pound they work out to be approximately half the price of excess baggage. Hints about packing/moving: + start early; its a hell of a lot of work. + you really will regret those "useless" things you leave behind. + It costs a lot; I spent $700 moving my stuff - and I don't really have all that much. + Be prepared for many tears and anxiety attacks. ie. MOVING SUCKS! Customs: You get judged on the spot. They won't guarantee how much duty you will be charged in advanced. Everything older than 12 months is duty free. They may or may not charge you for personal possessions less than 12 months old. It comes down to the disgression of the customs officer who examines your luggage. If they think you're importing stuff that you'll resell, you will get charged. Generally, be polite and honest; declare everything, and if you're smart you will have receipts handy. Some inlaws of mine bought a fair bit of stuff overseas and "forgot" about it; they got $2,000 in fines. Duties (actually duty is both real duties (tarrifs) and sales tax; mercifully the Oz government is finally starting to trim tarrifs). All things electrical: 54%. Computer Hardware: 21%. Shoes and Clothes (for personal use): 0%. Computer Software: 0%. (HEY! If computer software is duty free then why does a game that costs US$45 (A$65) in the US cost A$150 in Australia?) Actually that fits well with my next point; many things are much much cheaper in the US. Reeboks US$22-US$30. Brand name jeans US$27-US$37 (eg. red tabs, other Levis). I got a really good black leather jacket for US$150. Bitchin! CDs US$13-17 first release. Computer software is cheap. Consumer electronics are cheap. Computer hardware is between the same and cheaper depending on what you are buying. eg. CDroms and ISA cards are *MUCH* cheaper, but system units are pretty much the same. Even with the Australian dollar at 72cents there are lots of bargains to be had over there! If you're going to the US be prepared for some heavy duty shopping! The food is also excellent, and once you get used to the concept (many Australians get the shivers from it) tipping isn't that bad after all (at least for restaurants); actually works out well for all the parties involved. One last point; LA does in fact have a public transport system; call 1-800-2LARIDE. LA is by far the prettiest in the winter when there is no smog. Lots more to tell but that will do for now. * From Australia to the UK I have just moved to the UK and if you are sending a lot of books, there is a *very* reasonable way using Aus. Post. They have this thing called "Print Post" where you can send printed material (books, notes, photos etc.) for $2/kg. Parcels of books have to be divided into groups with the weight of each group being between 6 and 16 kg (I think, check with AP for the correct bracket) and you then get a post bag (which weighs 1kg) to put the parcels in. The whole bag with contents is then weighed to determine the price. This is a fifth of the cost of the cheapest freight I could find and is post-office to address rather than dock to dock. The delivery time to the UK is about 8 weeks, I imagine it would be similar for the US. Even if you are only sending 10kg of books, this is a considerable saving on sending it via normal freight channels. [DF] * From Edinburgh to Oz [LC] Here's a summary of a couple of replies I received to my query regarding shipping household goods back to Oz from the UK; specifically from Edinburgh. The main recommendation was to go with a large reputably company rather than a smaller, perhaps cheaper, one. Using the latter may involve lengthy delays, with boxes sitting in warehouses for anything up to months at a time. Having a local office at either end is also very useful. In Edinburgh, this narrows the choice to Pickfords or Scotpac. (There's lots of shipping companies based in London advertised in the London TNT mag. for Aus/NZers, but I have no idea on how recommendable they are.) I was warned off the former, with tales of delay and damage, while Scotpac were reported to have involved no delays (about 3 months transit time) and no damage (apart from a buckled bike wheel: lesson is to obtain a bike carton from a bike shop; actually, shipping bikes is quite expensive, and we hope to use ours as the second piece of checked-in luggage if flying via the US). As far as the choice between door-to-port and door-to-door goes, one person strongly recommended the latter as saving lots of hassle, although he did have his moving expenses paid for!! The others reported no hassles with pickups from Sydney depots, with no extra charges involved; one had her stuff shipped from Sydney to Armidale (arranged in Oz) for a *lot* less than the extra it would have cost for door-to-door. * Airlines It has been said that some airlines will allow persons with permanent residence visa to enter the Australia with additional baggage at no extra charge. United Airlines does not allow this. United allows two checked bags and charges $100 for each additional bag (bags may not weigh more than 70 pounds). It has been said that Qantas will honor the additional baggage deal, but this has not been confirmed. [LS] If you are a U.S. government employee, the government will give you additional baggage credits; make sure you check into this. [MJ] Note that airlines flying from the US allow two pieces of checked luggage (with no maximum weight). Airlines flying via the Far East have a 20kg (one bag, usually) limit. If you are travelling from Australia to Europe or the reverse, it therefore makes sense to fly via the US if you wish to take lots of luggage. In my experience, tickets cost about the same whichever way you fly. [AN] For US to Australia, going to Brisbane, Sydney or Cairns, Qantas charge US$92 for each excess bag weighing less than 70lb, US$92x2 for each bag between 70 and 100lb, and more for bags over 100lb. The woman I spoke to said that would be the same for going on to Melbourne. [ST] Regarding baggage allowance for permanent residence visa holders on airlines. The rule is that you must have a one-way ticket and the visa has not yet been activated. Baggage allowance is doubled (4 bags instead of 2), not unlimited, and is known as the "migrant's allowance". My wife got it when she came to Canada as landed immigrant. I was offered it now we are going over to Australia, but could not as I was getting a return ticket. I don't think it is universally accepted except by the destination country's airline. 4.5 Miscellaneous If your children are in Scouts get international transfer papers from the local council. Otherwise, they might not be able to get into a troop. Cub Scouts did not start until boys were 8 -- a bit different than here in the US. 4.6 Australians Returning Home From CT: Some info for Aussies returning home.... - Customs restrictions on returning to Australia: >From "Customs Information For Travellers", published by the Australian Customs Service. "Migrants and returning residents: "As a migrant or a person returning to Australia to resume permanent residence you may bring duty/tax free, any personal belongings, furniture and household articles which you have owned and used overseas for the 12 months (or more) before your departure for Australia." Special conditions exist for Caravans, trailers and boats, and machinery, Plant and other equipment. 5.STUDYING IN AUSTRALIA 5.1 Overview of Australian Higher Education [CP,April '93] A few general points: the academic year in Australian universities usually runs from about March 1 to November 1 with an examination term in November. Applications for undergraduate programs are usually made through a centralised organisation in each state. International students wishing to study in Australia should check with the nearest Australian embassy on where and when to send their applications. Offers of places are usually made in late January and early February. The costs of attending Australian Universities include the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) charge (Graduate tax) and a student services fee. The student services fees vary from university to university (at major universities its around $300 +/- $75) but the HECS contribution (about $2300/year) is set by the federal government and is the same for all universities. Payment of the HECS contribution can be deferred until after graduation, however if its paid up front there is a discount of 15%, otherwise it is repaid as a surcharge on individual income tax. Nominally it should cost you the same (for tuition/HECS) to get a B.Sc. in Brisbane as in Perth. Foreign students are not subject to the HECS but instead are subject to an annual tuition fee (the equivalent of out-of-state tuition in the US) charged by the university [JB], half of which has to be paid before a visa is granted (note that students in exchange programs may be exempt from this fee). The fee varies with the university and the degree program and is on the order of A$10-15,000 p.a. depending on degree program (Medical, dental and veterinary programs are more: A$20-25,000 p.a.) Foreign students are also required to purchase private health insurance, which currently costs ~$350 p.a. Foreign students are permitted to take part time employment up to 20 hours per week during the semester and full time during vacations. Degree programs in Australian universities show greater similarity to British degree programs than to American ones. Thus, even before they start an undergraduate degree, Australian students have to choose what general field they wish to get their degree in. In addition to science (B.Sc.), arts and humanities (B.A.), commerce (B.Comm.) and engineering (B.E.), these fields include professional training which is usually only available at the graduate level in the US (e.g. Law, Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary Science). As a general rule there are no "breadth" requirements, indeed science students may not be able to take more than 1 or 2 arts courses (liberal arts and humanities) and vice versa. In general, ordinary degrees in arts (B.A.), science (B.Sc.), and commerce (B.Comm.) require 3 years of full time study. Honours degrees in these areas usually require an extra years study and the preparation of a small thesis. An honours degree is normally required for admission to graduate study. Students without an honours degree may be required to complete a "masters preliminary year" before being admitted to graduate programs (masters programs in administration seem to be an exception). In the case of degree programs which are normally four years (e.g.agriculture, forestry, engineering) an honours degree is obtained by completing extra work and receiving high grades in core classes. While Australian universities do participate in local and intervarsity sporting competitions such competition is pretty low key and there is nothing like the big-bucks semi-professional athletic programs one sees in the US. Athletic scholarships are unheard of. In general, Australian universities are commuter universities. The vast majority of undergraduates live at home while doing their degrees, although many share housing in suburbs close to their university or live in residence halls or residential colleges. Students tend not to go interstate for undergraduate study, and even at the graduate level their is very little incentive to relocate to another city or even another university: most do their graduate work at the same institution they did their undergraduate work at. 5.2 Postgraduate Study [CP] I don't know how universal my experience was (I did a MSc in biochemistry) but my experience was that people admitted into MSc or PhD programs in Australia were admitted to work with a specific supervisor, i.e. the decision to take on a particular person as a grad student rested with the specific supervisor that the student wanted to work with. This is very different from the situation in the US where students are usually admitted to a department and spend a year or two taking classes and finding a supervisor/advisor to work with. In general, Australian PhD programs don't involve any course work. Partly because of this their "usual" duration is about 3 years and their maximum duration is usually 4 years (cf 5 and 8 years in the US!!!!). Another thing which is different between graduate programs in the two countries is the way students are supported. In Australia most of the scholarship support for graduate students comes directly from the federal government, foreigners are not eligible for these scholarships. Some postgraduate scholarships are offered by the universities themselves and by charitable research foundations (eg National Heart Foundation), these are the only ones that foreigners are eligible for!!! In the US most graduate student support is channeled through the universities. There are a few federally funded fellowships that are similar to the old CPRA's, but only a VERY few! Most of the students in the sciences get their stipends from their supervisor's research grants, or from federal training grants administered by the institutions. Alternatively they may serve as teaching assistants (the main source of funds for humanities grad students). [IC] Q. How do I find out more about Post Graduate Courses in Australia ? A. Each year the Australian Vice Chancellors Committee, The Graduate Connection and the Graduate Careers Council of Australia (herein referred to as AVCC, TGC and GCCA) produce a book: "Directory of Postgraduate Study" It is usually prefixed with the year. The current one is (obviously) titled: "1995 Directory of Postgraduate Study". This book contains information on all the postgraduate courses at universities in Australia. There is also a section dedicated to international students (explaining how to apply). The book is arranged into different faculties of study (eg Business, Education, Engineering, Health). Each section contains a list of the available courses, the university offering the course, the fees, and contact phone numbers, among other things. It also contains sections on the various scholarships and awards available to postgraduate students. If you're contemplating Postgraduate study in Australia, this book is a good resource. The cost of the 1995 edition (432 pages) in $26 Australian. You can buy a copy from: The Graduate Connection 15 Seaview St Balgowlah. Australia. 2093 Their phone number is +61 2 949 2686. In Australia, you should be able to get your hands on this from your Student Services organization (at your university) or you should be able to purchase it from a bookshop (ISSN 1035-5405). 5.3 Miscellaneous Questions [NB: most ITs and CAEs have now been merged with or converted into universities.) [JB] Q. Can I assume that a degree from a UC, IT or CAE carries just as much weight as a degree from a University? A. (1) To be frank, no, but the difference is a lot less than it is between various universities in the US. The main quality difference is in the undergraduate degrees; an EE degree from Monash is very theoretical, whereas one from RMIT is more practical. This is not to say one is "better"; some employers prefer one approach, others the other. (2) A PhD from anywhere in Australia is equally-regarded. (3) [RA] adds: I wouldn't be so sure. For people looking for academic employment, I suspect that in most disciplines, certain supervisors and/or departments are a lot more highly regarded than others. I imagine the same thing applies for Ph.D.s looking for jobs outside academia, as well. This is really very similar to the U.S.--except for a very few institutions there, which are in the lucky position of being highly prestigious in most fields, the quality and saleability of a Ph.D. depends more on the department and/or supervisor than on the institution. This is something that anyone contemplating a Ph.D. should think about carefully, though, as it is a hell of a lot of time to invest if you aren't going to get a good degree. Q. Is there an accrediting agency for MBA programmes (in the U.S., business schools are accredited by a nation-wide body called AASCB). Should I even be looking for a parallel? A. No. Each state accredits the universities and degrees, then the Federal Govt (which funds them) keeps an eye on things. Australia really does not suffer from the shonky mailing_box_university problem that exists in the US. Q. Is there higher prestige attached to certain Aussie MBA programmes? (If this concept has no place in Aussie culture, I apologise. I have only experienced the U.S. educational system. I, therefore, constantly try to find a parallel. Here in the U.S., degrees from certain schools are very highly regarded ... like Stanford, Harvard, Univ. Chicago ...) A. Same here. The two highest-rated in Australia are the Australian Graduate School of Management at the University of NSW, and the University of Melbourne Graduate School of Management. The others are of varying quality, but all quite good by world standards. * Which universities have the most overseas students? [SP] The following info was extracted from: 'Campus Review' May 26-Jun 1, 1994 which reviewed Australian Universities. Listed below are the 'top 10' Australian Uni's in terms of percentage of overseas students. Total Per cent Students Overseas Students -------- -------- Curtin Uni. of Tech. 18739 14.3 Royal Melbourne Inst. of Tech. 23748 13.4 University of New South Wales 26073 13.3 Murdock University 7454 12.6 Monash University 36467 12.4 University of Wollongong 11056 12.2 University of Southern Queensland 12518 11.3 Australian National University 10225 10.9 University of Western Australia 12227 10.5 Swinburne University of Tech. 8831 10.1 5.4 "Classification" of Australian Universities I thought that it might be more useful for those unfamiliar with the Australian Higher Education Scene to try and classify the institutions according to their history and aims in life. I have tried to keep my personal biases out of the short descriptions, but they will no doubt show through. I have also probably left a couple of the smaller institutions off the list - with the rate of amalgamations and institutional divorces, it is hard to keep track off all of them (for example there may now be a University of Northern Rivers, which resulted from U.N.E. breaking up). The order of the classes is NOT meant to indicate any ranking of the universities. A very good source of information about these institutions is the essay in the Commonwealth Universities Handbook, which unfortunately I don't have handy to check on all my details! Let me then apologise to anyone I have left out or misrepresented in the list below. To give you some idea of sizes, the largest Australian universities, (Sydney, Melbourne, Queensland, New South Wales, Monash) have 20,000+ students. Government policy makes it undesirable for institutions to have less than 5,000 students. Ian (iand@hydra.maths.unsw.edu.au) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Class 1. The large old institutions in the big cities. I think all founded pre WWI, these institutions offer a full range of courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, including medical and legal degrees, and large research programs. Whether deserved or otherwise, these universities still carry more prestige than others in their state. * Sydney, Melbourne, Queensland, Adelaide, Western Australia. Class 1a. Old, like class 1, but in a much smaller city, somewhat limiting its development. * Tasmania ----------------------------------------------------------------- Class 2. Large post WWII universities. Originally looked down on a little (although the standards weren't questioned [JB]) these institutions are now very similar to those of class 1. With those of class 1, these institutions take the lion's share of government research money and the good students. * New South Wales, Monash Class 2a. The Australian National University was set up after WWII to offer more postgraduate education in Australia (while many universities had PhDs, they were nothing like as popular as they are now [JB]). Although it now teaches undergraduates as well, it is still the home of the Institute for Advanced Study, which is devoted to postgraduate education and research. It's range of courses is more limited than those of U.N.S.W. and Monash. * A.N.U. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Class 3. 1960s-1970s suburban universities. These were set up to cater for the rapid expansion in higher education in Australia that took place at this time. As befitted the period, they were often set up with unconventional academic structures (stressing multidisciplinary courses for example), and with some programs not offered elsewhere. Designed to be teaching and research institutions, their full development is perhaps hampered by the difficulty they have in attracting very good students away from the universities in classes 1 and 2. * Macquarie, La Trobe, Flinders, Griffith, Murdoch Class 3a. Regional universities of about the same age. Usually beginning as sponsored colleges of one of the institutions from classes 1 or 2. Perhaps more conventional than those in class 3, but otherwise having similar strengths and weaknesses, and broadly comparable on the prestige scales. * Newcastle, Wollongong, New England, James Cook, Deakin (Deakin was a bit different, in that it was a CAE (Gordon IT) which was converted [JB]). ----------------------------------------------------------------- Class 4. Institutes of Technology. Although most of these institutions have now changed their names to "university", they began by offering undergraduate education of a more applied nature than the traditional universities. They gradually developed postgraduate courses and research programs to a sufficient extent that the distinction (in particular with respect to research funding) between these institutions and the "lesser" universities was difficult to sustain. Although these are now rather large and broad institutions, they are still somewhat different in their aims to those of classes 1, 2 and 3. * Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, University of Technology Sydney (was N.S.W.I.T.), Curtin University of Technology (W.A.I.T), University of South Australia (S.A.I.T.), Queensland University of Technology (Q.I.T. and BCAE) Victoria University of Technology (was Footscray I.T.), Swinburne University of Technology (was Swinburne I of T) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Class 5. Former Colleges of Advanced Education. Originally set up as undergraduate institutions, offering a limited range of courses, such as teacher training, nursing, accounting etc. In the Dawkins era (mid-late 1980s), these were "encouraged" to band together to form larger (but often quite geographically dispersed) institutions, so that they could get a bigger share of the funding pie. Despite their change of status, they are probably destined to remain as essentially undergraduate teaching institutions for the forseeable future. * Edith Cowan, Charles Sturt, Western Sydney, Canberra, Southern Queensland, Central Queensland, Ballarat University College, Northern Territory (perhaps misplaced here...it's geographical position makes it a bit of a special case). [MJ] I would put Northern Territory in Class 3a personally. It was founded as a college of the University of Queensland and awarded UQ degrees for a while. This is definitely the Class 3a pattern, although it happened more recently than the others in the case of UNT. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Class 6. Private Universities and Universities with Religious Affiliations. During the late 1980's private universities made their first appearance (all the above institutions are government funded). The loudest of these in announcing its arrival was Bond University, in Queensland. There still seems to be a degree of resistance to private institutions in Australia - it is too early to tell how successful they will be. Mainly funding considerations dictate that these universities offer only a limited range of courses. * Bond, Notre Dame, Australian Catholic University (although perhaps this belongs in class 5) 5.5 Academic Addresses * "The Directory" (6 months=$90 airmail, fortnightly) advertises many academic jobs. Barry Thornton and Associates Pty. Ltd. PO Box 217 Black Rock, VIC 3193 Australia * "The Australian Directory of Academics" ($130 airmail) is comprehensive. Universal Consultancy Services, PO Box 1140 Coffs Harbour, NSW 2450 Australia * A useful source of information on higher education in Australia is: Campus (Australian campus review weekly) Locked bag 19 Post Office Paddington, NSW 2021 Australia * "The Independent Monthly Good Universities Guide to Australian Universities and Other Higher Education Institutions", by Dean Ashenden and Sandra Milligan, 1991. Octopus Australia PO Box 460 Port Melbourne, VIC 3207 Australia +61 3 646 6688 * Carter and Stone Consulting Services. 275 Alfred St North Sydney Phone 62,2,955-5477. Contact: Sharon Stone. Comment: A very small agency. (Two women + one guy at last count). VERY good, Very professional. No mess, no fuss. * Clayton and Partners. Also 275 Alfred St. North Sydney. Phone: 62,1,959-3448 Contact: David Burgess, Brian Clayton. Comment: Slightly larger, but not big enough to be impersonal. Proffesional.Efficient. Have found me a few jobs over the years, some I've taken, some not. Do have a habit of finding you a job, settling you in, waiting 6 months then ringing up to see if you want another job. Generally, an impressive agency. At present there are very few university administrators using the net. You're unlikely to have much success in trying to contact university registrars and vice-chancellors by email! You're much better of sending a letter by regular mail. Remember to pay for airmail postage if sending the letter from outside Australia!!!! Also remember that letters sent between mid-December and mid-February are likely to get fairly slow responses. If you're trying to find an email address for a student please realise that net access is still fairly restricted in Australia and the great majority of students do NOT have net access. This situation is changing slowly, but at present those who are most likely to have net access are in the sciences (particularly maths, physics, and computer science) and engineering. Here are some regular mail addresses of Australian universities, together with the institutional internet domain names: Australian Catholic University acu.edu.au Christ Campus PO Box 213 Oakleigh Victoria 3166 Australian Institute of Marine Science postmast@aims.gov.au Cape Ferguson, Queensland, Australia Mailing Address: PMB No.3, Townsville MC, Q 4810 Ph: 077 789211, Fax: 077 725852 Telex: AA47165 Cable: MARINESCI TOWNSVILLE Australian National University, GPO Box 4, Canberra, ACT 2601 anu.edu.au Bond University Private Bag 10, Gold Coast Mail Centre, Queensland 4217 bu.oz.au Charles Sturt University (Includes former Mitchell CAE and Riverina-Murray Panorama Avenue Inst of Higher Ed.) Bathurst NSW 7795 csu.edu.au Curtin University (Former WAIT) GPO Box U 1987, Perth, WA 6001 curtin.edu.au Deakin University (Includes former Victoria College (Rusden, Toorak, Geelong, Victoria 3217 Burwood) and Warrnambool CAE) deakin.oz.au Edith Cowan University (Formerly WA CAE) Pearson St, Churchlands, WA 6018 cowan.edu.au Flinders University Bedford Park, SA 5042 flinders.edu.au Griffith University Nathan, Queensland 4111 gu.edu.au James Cook University Townsville, Queensland 4811 jcu.edu.au Latrobe University (Includes former Lincoln Inst. of Health Sciences Bundoora, Victoria 3083 and Wodonga Inst of Tert. Educ. latrobe.edu.au Macquarie University North Ryde, NSW, 2109 mq.edu.au Monash University (Includes former Frankston, Caulfield and Bendigo Clayton, Victoria 3168 CAE's) monash.edu.au Murdoch University Murdoch, WA 6150 murdoch.edu.au Newcastle University Newcastle, NSW 2308 newcastle.edu.au Northern Territory University PO Box 40146, Casuarina,NT 0811 ntu.edu.au Queensland University of Technology (Includes former QIT and Brisbane CAE) GPO Box 2434 Brisbane, Queensland 4001 qut.edu.au Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology 124 Latrobe St Melbourne 3000 rmit.oz.au Swinburne University of Technology PO Box 218 Hawthorn Victoria 3122 swin.edu.au Southern Cross University (was Lismore campus of Uni of New England) University of Adelaide GPO Box 498 Adelaide SA, 5001 adelaide.edu.au University of Canberra (Combines Aust Inst of Sport and former Canberra CAE) PO Box 1, Belconnen, ACT 2616 canberra.edu.au University of Central Queensland Rockhampton Mail Centre Queensland, 4702 ucq.edu.au University of Melbourne (Includes former VCA, State College of Vic at Parkville, Victoria 3052 Melbourne, negotiating with Vic College of Ag and Horticulture, unimelb.edu.au University of New England Armidale, NSW 2351 une.edu.au University of New South Wales PO Box 1, Kensington NSW 2033 unsw.oz.au University of Queensland St. Lucia, Queensland 4067 University of South Australia uq.edu.au University of South Australia (Includes former SAIT and SA CAE) North Terrace, GPO Box 2471 Adelaide, SA 5000 unisa.edu.au University of Southern Queensland Toowoomba, Queensland usq.edu.au University of Sydney Sydney, NSW 2006 su.oz.au University of Tasmania (Amalgamated with Launceston CAE?) GPO Box 252 C, Hobart, Tasmania 7001 utas.oz.au University of Technology, Sydney PO Box 123, Broadway, Sydney 2007 uts.oz.au University of Western Australia Nedlands, WA 6009 uwa.edu.au University of Western Sydney (Includes former Hawkesbury Ag. College Hawkesbury Nepean and Milperra CAE's) Richmond NSW 2753 uws.edu.au (also includes former Orange campus of Uni. of New England) University of Wollongong PO Box 1144, Wollongong, NSW 2500 uow.edu.au Victoria University of Technology (Includes former Footscray IT and Western Ballarat Road, Institute) Footscray, Victoria 3011 vut.edu.au A *small* number of departments provide email contacts for enquires from prospective graduate students. The following contact addresses come from a compilation posted to soc.college.gradinfo by Nainish Bapna (nb2@doc.ic.ac.uk): Adelaide Computing Andrew Wendelborn andrew@cs.adelaide.edu.au Australian National Computing Brendan McKay bdm@cs.anu.edu.au Statistics Dr. Peter Hall Peter.Hall@anu.edu.au Canberra Computing Mary O'Kane mok@ise.canberra.edu.au Central Queensland Business Kevin S. Fagg fagg@ucq.edu.au General Judith Anderson j.anderson@ucq.edu.au Flinders Computing Chris Marlin marlin@cs.flinders.edu.au James Cook Computing compsci@coral.cs.jcu.edu.au Latrobe University College of Northern Victoria Accounting/Business business@redgum.ucnv.edu.au Computer Science pwg@ironbark.ucnv.edu.au General Vance Ashlin ashlin@ironbark.ucnv.edu.au Information Systems pwg@ironbark.ucnv.edu.au Outdoor Education brookes@redgum.ucnv.edu.au Macquarie Computing Rod Bell rod@macadam.mpce.mq.edu.au Computing Glenn Johnson glenn@macadam.mpce.mq.edu.au Melbourne PhD enquiries Michael_Tomlinson research@muwayf.unimelb.edu.au Scholarship Jean_McCulloch research@muwayf.unimelb.edu.au International students must apply through the International Office, telephone: +61 3 344 4505 FAX: +61 3 344 4504 financial aid people telephone: +61 3 344 7621 Monash Computing Lloyd Alison gradenq@bruce.cs.monash.edu.au Other addresses [JB] gradenq@rdt.monash.edu.au gradenq@ct.monash.edu.au Newcastle Computing Bryan Beresford-Smith bbs@cs.newcastle.edu.au New South Wales Biomedical Engineering Arthur Brandwood arthurb@cbme.unsw.edu.au Queensland Brisbane Computing Ian Holmes holmes@cs.uq.oz.au Psychology Graeme Halford igsh@psych.psy.uq.oz.au Southern Queensland Computing M. McFarlane mcfarlan@zeus.usq.edu.au Swinburne University of Technology Computing Earl Livings earl@saturn.cs.swin.oz.au Sydney Math and Statistics Dr. Neville Weber pg-director@maths.su.oz.au Western Australia postgraduate enquires gradprog@maths.uwa.edu.au Computing J. Rohl jeff@cs.uwa.edu.au Wollongong Computing John Fulcher john@cs.uow.edu.au Computing Greg Doherty greg@wraith.cs.uow.edu.au 5.6 Australian Medical Schools There are 10 medical schools in Australia. All of them are accredited by the Australian Medical Council and all are Government funded. These are at the Universities of Adelaide, Melbourne, Newcastle, Sydney, New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, Western Australia, and at Monash and Flinders Universities. The basic qualification offered by all of them is the combined bachelor of medicine/bachelor of surgery (usually abbreviated M.B., B.S.). With the exception of Newcastle (which takes 5 years) all of these programs require 6 years of full time study. Until now the vast majority of medical students have entered Australian medical schools direct from high school. Entry is exceedingly competitive. International students have gained entry either through taking an Australian curriculum through special (private) schools or through taking the international baccalaureate. A few students are admitted to australian medical schools as transfer students from other courses (e.g. pharmacy, biological science). Such students are usually placed at, or very near to, the tops of their classes. Three universities (Flinders, Sydney, and Queensland) are now phasing in a four year graduate entry medical school curriculum. Flinders will admit its first class in 1996, Sydney and Brisbane in 1997. The new program commenced at The Flinders University of South Australia in February of 1996 and the quota of the international students is filled mainly with students from the USA. The innovative four year medical course is designed for students who have already developed effective skills at learning, critical analysis and problem solving at university. They represent a major new direction for medical education in Australia. By 2001, the three graduate medical schools will be producing about 40% of all new Australian medical graduates. Applicants for these programs will be required to take the Graduate Australian Medical Schools Admission Test (GAMSAT) which is being administered by ACER. The GAMSAT is being designed to test reasoning abilities in the humanities, physical and biological sciences, and to test ability in written expression. It consists of two multiple choice sections and a written section. Dr Jillian Teubner adds : From 1997 onwards, GAMSAT will be held in April of each year, with registration for the test closing at the end of February. It is held in all Australian captial cities and from the 1996 administration in several overseas centres (including Europe, USA and SE Asia). In 1996 there were 1935 registrations, 61 of which were in overseas locations. These candidates were predominantly Australian residents; international students may take MCAT. There are 11 international students in addition to the 6 Australian residents and the majority of these are from the USA. Selection for the graduate entry medical programs is going to be based on scores on the GAMSAT, undergraduate grades in the final three years of the first undergraduate degree, a written application and essay and an interview process. How much weight is attached to each of these factors will vary from school to school. Chris Penington adds: (for the 1996 intake) Applications by Australian citizens/permanent residents were due at ACER by July 31. Flinders, with 61 places for Australian students, selected about 180 applicants for interview (from about 430 applicants). These included the 150 applicants with the highest GAMSAT scores and about 30 applicants chosen for their exceptional undergraduate performances, strong performance on part of the GAMSAT, or significant experiences documented in the biographical statement required with the application. Those who were selected for interview on the basis of their biographical statements were required to produce supporting references at the time of the interview. Interviews were conducted in the AVCC common vacation week. In 1996 this will be the week of September 30-October 4. ACER gave people *very* little time to respond to interview offers or to make arrangements for getting to them (very expensive for those unfortunates who had to come from overseas (not international applicants, but Australians living overseas). Interviews took approximately 45 minutes and were conducted by panels of three interviewers - a medico, an academic, and a community representative. The interviews followed a "semi-structured" format. The interviewing panels were told the names of the interviewees but nothing else about them (they hadn't seen the biographical statements or test results). It appears that all interviewees were asked more-or-less the same set of questions. To outline what I can remember of the interview: before the interview started interviewees were given a newspaper article to read. At the start of the interview they were asked to summarise the main points, then present an argument based on facts in the article. Other sorts of questions: Explain what something is to someone with very little knowledge. Describe an experience in working as part of a team. Given a description of a situation describe how you would allocate people to work on a problem. How have you found out about medical practice? What do you think you would like to specialise in? What do you see as the most positive and most negative aspects of medical practice? Describe a goal you've set yourself and how you've gone about achieving it. Any setbacks? How did you overcome them? What would be your greatest difficulty in medical school? Given a description of a situation in which someone is under a lot of stress describe what you'd do to help them. If one of your coworkers is spreading libellous rumours about you what do you do? The program at Newcastle (which is not restricted to graduates and does not use GAMSAT) has a similar interview plus additional psychometric testing. Newcastle apparently takes a fairly high proportion of mature students. Their application deadline is very early (some time in June). Evidently other Australian medical schools have also found it desirable to give applicants coming straight from high school a similar sort of interview (e.g. Monash apparently does this). For more information on this program, contact Dr Jillian Teubner at jillian.teubner@flinders.edu.au or call 1800 686 3562 (which apparently will work from the USA) 6.FOR AUSTRALIANS OVERSEAS 6.1 Radio Australia (update) Up-to-date information on frequencies can be found on rec.radio.shortwave, or ftp from nic.funet.fi:/pub/dx/text/schedules/Oceania/australia.prog.txt. (ftp://nic.funet.fi/pub/dx/text/schedules/Oceania/australia.prog.txt) These frequencies are for August 1992: 21740 - 0100 to 0400 GMT 17795 - 0100 to 0400 " 15240 - 0300 to 0500 " 13605 - 1600 to 1800 " 9580 - 0830 to 1500 " 11800 - On the east coast of the USA, I can Radio Australia on 9580 Hz and 11800 in the morning. In the spring and summer I can get RA on 15240 late at night when they are doing sporting broadcasts. I can also get 15365 during the evening. Radio Australia comes in better in spring and summer in North America, than in autumn and winter, especially for the higher frequencies, due to differences in the ionosphere. [AN] Sports Broadcasts [JM]: Radio Australia broadcasts the Saturday sports program called `Grandstand' on Saturday afternoons. The broadcasts are primarily aimed at Asia and the Pacific but the transmissions can be received all over the world. Grandstand is broadcast between 0200 and 0730 UT (= 1200 and 1730 AEST) on Saturdays for AFL football and 0300 and 0730 UT (=1300 and 1730 AEST) on Sundays for Rugby League. Updates of the Sunday AFL match scores are available during the Rugby League broadcasts. The frequencies published for Radio Australia broadcasts are: Pacific - 17795 kHz, 15240 kHz, 11720 kHz Papua New Guinea - 11880 kHz South Asia - 21595 kHz South East Asia - 17715 kHz For other areas during these times, try these frequencies: Japan - 17715 kHz Middle East/NE Africa - 21595 kHz UK/Europe - 21595 kHz USA/Canada - 17860 kHz, 17795 kHz, 15365 kHz, 11910 kHz, 9860 kHz, 9580 kHz For a copy of the Radio Australia guide, write to: Radio Australia, PO Box 755, Glen Waverly VIC. 3150, Australia Telephone 61-3-881-2222 Fax 61-3-881-2346 6.2 Newspapers NYC: on 42nd St between 7th and 8th Avs., south side UCSD: Melbourne Age (4-6 weeks late)- International Relations & Pacific Studies Library Palo Alto: Mac's Newsagent, Printers Inc., Kepler's Books, Tower Records Bookstore Boston: The Newsagent's in the middle of Harvard Square has copies of the Australian (and maybe the Sydney Morning Herald) [AN] "The Australian" is a national (Murdoch owned) daily which advertises computing jobs in its Tuesday edition, and other jobs in the Wed. and Saturday editions. Available from most Australian consulates. Address: The Australian, 2 Holt Street, Surrey Hills, 2010, +61 2 288 3000 Try the following on WWW: The Age: http://www.theage.com.au/ The Sydney Morning Herald: http://www.smh.com.au/index.html The Weekend Independent: http://www.uq.oz.au/jrn/twi/twi.html Australian Financial Review: http://www.afr.com.au/ Australia Online: Australian News Reports: http://australia-online.com/anr.html [ Others ? -SW ] 6.3 Australiana in the USA * The Australian Catalogue Company: 7412 Wingfoot Dr., Raleigh, NC 27615. Tel: 919-878-8266 Fax: 919-878-0553. They have a fair selection of food [biscuits, sweets, etc], Australiana (pins, calendars, posters), a range of Women's Weekly Cookbooks, tapes of Australian music, boomerangs, didgeridoo, books on Australia, etc. The prices aren't particularly cheap because they get things sent over by air themselves, but is probably cheaper than getting them sent to you. They will send you a free catalogue if you ring them up. [AN] Apparently, they are also available via email at auscat@metaplex.com. They also have the "upside down map", with North at the top, with the caption "Australia, No Longer Down Under": McArthur's Universal Corrective Map of the World - Gives a true perspective of how the world looks to an Aussie. A talking piece. Item Number: rmmc00 Price US$8.95 + Tax & Shipping * Koala Baskets, San Jose, CA. They will send a catalog if you ask. Catalog is not that extensive and prices fairly high [SW].I don't have a phone number, I guess you can use directory assistance in San Jose. * Kangaroo Connection, Chicago, IL. Australian sweets, chocolate bars, biscuits, etc. They do mail order. Their number is: (312) 248-5499. They will send you a catalogue. They also sell a Vegemite Cookbook ($8.95). * Down Under in Denver, Denver, CO. Located at 2031A S. Hannibal St Aurora CO 80013. Phone and Fax (303) 696-1179. Limited selection but they are cheaper than both the Australian Catalog Company and Kangaroo Connection. The owner's name is "Hutch" Hutcheson. I believe that he mail orders (call him) or he delivers to offices around the Denver area. He tells me that he is the exclusive distributor of Wallaby World Cup gear in the USA. He also has Sydney 2000 gear. [SW] * Aussie Trader in Baton Rouge, LA. Phone (504) 769 6154 10AM till 6PM Central Time Mon-Sat. fax on (504) 767-2232. They sell Aboriginal Arts and Crafts, Didgeridoos, Boomerangs, Clothing (hats, coats, UGG shoes etc), T-Shirts, Cards, Stationery and Viddles (Tim Tams and other staples). Call for more information. Email the proprietor on jami1@ix.netcom.com * Vegemite: [AJ] More info on Vegemite in the U.S. I buy the medium jars (235g.) for $4.95 from a chain store in the area --Foods of All Nations.The address to try is: Kraft Foods Limited 162 Salmon Street Port Melbourne Vic. Aust. A friend told me she wrote there looking for another product and got a response about where she could find it wholesale--she paid the price of the product and shipping only, no grocer markup. In Seattle, the cheapest place I've found Vegemite is at Cost Plus Imports for $2.19 for a small jar (115g). [GV] Lee's Nutritions, Kendall Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts ($3/jar) Vegemite Cookbook available from Kangaroo Connection (see above) Vegemite availability for D.C. summary: - Koala Blue, Tyson's II Galleria - Dean Deluca's, Georgetown - Beautiful Day and other health stores (maybe) - Gourmet Giant, McLean, Cabin John Plaza Bethesda..etc - Magruders, Rockville 6.4 Video Conversion * There is a service in Raleigh, NC where video conversion from any country format to any format can be made for several types of cassettes(BETA, VHS, VHS-C and 8 mm). This will allow playback of videotapes made overseas, here on U.S. TV's and VCR's(NTSC System). The service will also convert the other way around, from U.S. system to any of the systems used anywhere else in the world (PAL, SECAM, etc..) Mailing Address: INTERNATIONAL VIDEO CONVERSION 520 Harvest Lane Raleigh, NC 27606-2217 Phone: (919) 233-8689 Fees: $24.90 + $5.00 S&H (Price of a High Grade Cassette Included, 2hrs or less) Delivery: Mailed back the next day, express shipping at request. Payment: Cheque, Cash or Money Order mailed with tape. * We've also had a recommendation for SOMI International. "I have used their services and found them to be professional, and of course their price is good ($12.99/tape plus $3 for UPS)." Address: SOMI International 50 Summer St, Edison, NJ 08820. Phone 908 548 3065. * Another one Since so many of my Ozzie friends have asked me to do this for them I thought others might need this as well. Just write for a free FAQ file E-mailed. It explains the differences between multistandard VCRs-TVs and Converters, benefits of both, gives a wide range of models/specs, where to get them cheap and shipped world-wide, includes all world-standards list and lots more (PAL camcorders too). jdulaney@best.com Also here: http://www.best.com/~jdulaney [ I found this to be very commercially oriented - a sales pitch sort of, but some of you may find it interesting..... -SW ] 6.5 Expatriate organisation * Info on Australian contacts, organisations, news, arts, sport, etc.- The Australian Expatriate 3809 Plaza Dr, Ste 107-307 Oceanside, CA 92056 USA * A sort of a professional society for expats in NY and the surrounding area- The Australia Society Inc. P.O. Box 5441 New York NY 10185 USA * The Australian American Chamber of Commerce (Rocky Mountain Region) 999 18th Street Suite 1370 Denver CO 80202 USA They often have social events in the Denver region for Australian expats 6.6 Oz News Kym Horsell (khorsell@ee.latrobe.edu.au) regularly posts Australian News extracts to soc.culture.australian. Here's what he has to say about it.... [KH] Welcome to Oz News This sometime service attempts to summarise local and international news of general interest to Australians and, in particular, to the editor. ;-) News items are gathered daily from a number of major Australian newspapers, TV networks (including American NBC and ABC), and other sources including just plain rumour. All sources are usually disclosed in the body of the article concerned, and material is almost always used without permission. An attempt will be made to include articles of interest to the readership as well. But no guarantees can be made on this score. Generally gross editorialising is enclosed between [], but entire articles are generally summarised from other sources so various editorial bias will creep in from time-to-time. For this the editor makes no apology whatever. ;-) Quotations appearing between "" in articles may be from EITHER speakers heard/seen on TV or radio, or from the text of newspaper reports. The sources of quotations should be apparent from context, but the editor can't guarantee this will always be so. Non-English speakers may be translated incorrectly and, in any case, some paraphrasing may occur since tape recordings used for final preparation are of a poor quality (i.e. the acoustics of lounge rooms is pretty poor -- esp when dogs and kids may be playing in the background). The publication schedule is roughly 2 times per week, with about 100 lines of text associated with each day's news. On slow news days previous or random articles will be inserted at the discretion of the editor. In short, people, you are getting what you pay for here. -- | | | | | | Stephen Wales | Internet: stephenw@mincom.com |M|I|N|C|O|M Denver, Colorado, U.S.A. | No employer opinion included User Contributions:Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic: |
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