Guide to Australia

Basic information about Australia

Why Australia

Whether you are looking for an escape from the city, a unique cultural experience, adrenaline fun, contact with natural or social events, you will find everything in Australia.

Only the east coast stretches gigantic 4 thousand km from Melbourne to Cairns and it would take you about 50 hours of continuous driving to cross the coast. Australia is home to more than 10,685 beaches, more than 500 national parks and 8,222 islands.

The capital of Australia

Canberra is the federal capital of the Australian Commonwealth. It occupies part of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), in southeastern Australia, and is about 150 miles (240 km) southwest of Sydney.

Flag of Australia

It has the shape of a blue rectangle, at the left corner is located Union Jack - a symbol of Great Britain - reminiscent of Australia’s ties to the British settlement. At the bottom left is a seven-pointed star, called the Federation Star. Their six points symbolize six federal states, the seventh being common to two independent federal territories. The right half of the flag shows the constellation of the Southern Cross, which is often associated with its brightest Australian star, Acrux.

Population of Australia

• Australia’s current population is 25,513,510 on Sunday, July 19, 2020, based on the latest UN global data.
• According to the UN data from 2020, the population of Australia is estimated at 25,499,884 people.
• The population of Australia corresponds to 0.33% of the total world population.
• Australia ranks 55th in the list of all countries around the world by population.
• The population density in Australia is 3 per km2 (9 people per mi2).
• The total land area is 7,682,300 km2 (2,966,155 km2)
• 85.9% of the population lives in cities (21,903,705 people in 2020)
• The average age in Australia is 37.9.

Holidays in Australia

• January 1, New Year
• January 27, Australia Day
• April 2, Good Friday
• Easter Sunday and Monday
• April 25, Anzac Day
• May 4, May Day
• 8. červen, Queen’s Birthday
• August 3, Picnic Day
• December 24, Christmas Eve
• December 25, Christmas Day
• December 28, Boxing Day
• December 31, New Year’s Eve

Emblem of Australia

The Emblem of Australia, officially called the Emblem of the Commonwealth, is the formal symbol of the Australian Commonwealth. The shield, depicting the symbols of the six Australian states, is held by Aboriginal Australian animals, a kangaroo and an emu. The seven-pointed Commonwealth Star crossing the ridge also represents states and territories, while floral emblems appear under the shield.

The first weapons were approved by King Edward VII on May 7, 1908, and the current version by King George V on September 19, 1912, although the 1908 version was still used in some contexts, such as the reverse of a six-pence coin.

Time zones

Australia as a continent is divided into 3 time zones. Although the practically unusable standardized Australian time exists, three time zones are actually used - Western, Central and Eastern.

The city of Sydney is located in Eastern Standard Time with the aforementioned UTC time offset of +16 hours. Therefore, if the time in New York is 6:00, then the time in Sydney is 22:00 at the same time.

Only some areas of Australia experience a change of time between summer and winter. Sydney is one of the places where this change takes place twice a year. The transition from winter to winter time is on the first Sunday in October, back to summer time always takes place on the first Sunday in April.

States of Australia

The division of states and territories of Australia is the second level of government in Australia, alongside the federal government and local governments. States and territories are self-governing regions with local legislators, police forces and some civilian authorities and are represented in the Australian Parliament. However, unlike states, territories rely on the functioning of federal legislation and other financial contributions and have smaller representation in the Senate.

There are six states of Australia: New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia and three internal territories: the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), the Northern Territory and the Jervis Bay Territory. There are a total of ten territories in Australia, with the inner territory being on the Australian mainland and the outer territory being a sovereign territory at sea. Each state and internal territory, with the exception of Jervis Bay, has its own executive government, legislative branch, and judicial system. The outer territories of Australia are: Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Australian Antarctic Territory, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands and Norfolk Island.

Currency of Australia

The Australian national currency is the Australian Dollar (AUD), which comes in denominations of AUD 5, 10, 20, 20, 50 and 100. The coins come in 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents and one and two dollar denominations.

Prices in Australia

Food prices roughly correspond to our prices. We can buy sliced white bread for AUD 1.10, milk around 1.30 per liter.

Iceberg lettuce costs USD 1.60. Grapes does AUD 3, bananas AUD 1.80, apples AUD 2 and tangerines AUD 3.

The whole chicken costs around AUD 4.80, a kilogram package of fish fingers costs AUD 4, we get sausages around AUD 2 per kilogram.

We buy a quarter-kilo pack of coffee for less than AUD 10, and a pack of cigarettes as well. We can get a liter of gasoline for as little as AUD 1. Supermarkets are a good choice where to shop. There are several chains, such as Aldi, Woolworths (Safeway), Coles and BI-LO.

Visa to Australia

More information can be found at: https://www.mzv.cz/jnp/cz/encyklopedie_statu/australie_a_oceanie/australie/cestovani/visa.html

Security in Australia

Australia’s response to terrorism is based on strong and cooperative relations between the Australian government and states and territories.

The Australian National Security Agencies have well-defined responsibilities and powers to detect, prevent and respond to terrorist acts in Australia. Terrorist incidents involving Australian interests outside Australia are primarily dealt with by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The roles and responsibilities of the Australian National Agencies and Security Authorities are set out below.

Australian Government:

• maintains counter-terrorism capabilities and national coordination measures within its agencies (see below)
• Maintains national policies, legislation and plans
• sets out Australian prevention strategies and operational response to threats
• supports states and territories in responding to terrorist situations in their jurisdictions
• may, if justified by the nature of the incident, and with the consent of the affected States and territories, declare a national terrorist situation. In a situation as such, * the Australian Government would set policies and broad strategies in close consultation with the affected states or territories.

Interesting facts about Australia

• Melbourne was the capital of Australia for 26 years between 1901 and 1927, before the capital moved to Canberry.
• There are three times as many sheep in Australia as there are humans.
• The Australian Emu - a large, flightless bird - can run at 45 km / h (28 mph).
• Platypus - is very poisonous and has enough poison to kill a dog or seriously injure a human.
• Wombata feces have a cube shape!
• The Jellyfish Box - located in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef - is responsible for causing more deaths than snakes, sharks and saltwater crocodiles.
• Two indigenous Australian animals, Platypus and Echidnas, are the only two mammals in the world that lay eggs.
• Koalas sleep about 20 hours a day.
• Tasmanian devils have the strongest bite on the body size of any mammal.
• There are 4 different species of kangaroos in Australia, the largest being the red kangaroo. The largest Big Red ever was 2.1 m tall (6 feet 9 inches) and weighed 91 kg (200 lb)!
• The jump recorded of the kangaroo is an incredible 9 meters (30 feet) for a single one!
• The Australian Thorny Devil is one of the longest living lizards of its size in the world with a lifespan of up to 20 years.
• The kangaroo and emu were chosen as two animals on the Australian emblem because they cannot walk backwards, reflecting a culture of thought.
• 17 types of the most venomous snakes in the world are found in Australia.
• There are about 1,500 species of spiders, 4,000 species of ants and 350 species of termites in Australia.
• While kangaroos are considered a national icon, with an estimated over 40 million kangaroos across the country, they can also be considered pests in some localities and are sometimes killed.
• Australia has a larger camel population than Egypt.

Important contacts

Where to call in case of an emergency in Australia?

Rescue service, fire brigade, police: 000

The area code for Australia is +61.

Contacts at the Bristish High Commission Canberra:

Address:

British High Commission Canberra Commonwealth Avenue, Yarralumla Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Phone: +61 (0)2 6270 6666

Email: australia.enquiries@fcdo.gov.uk

Further contacts can be found at https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-high-commission-canberra

Contacts at the Embassy of the US in Canberra:

Address:

U.S. Embassy in Australia Moonah Place, Yarralumla, ACT 2600

Phone: (02) 6214-5600

Email: AskEmbassyCanberra@state.gov

Further contacts can be found at https://au.usembassy.gov/