Australia is often called “The Lucky Country”.
Australia is one of the best places to live. It is a young, vibrant and friendly country. It also has a unique kind of education system which offers and provides paths to suit particular academic requirements.
Australia is the word’s smallest continent and the world’s sixth largest country. The name Australia comes from Terra Australis - the southern land. Its full name is ‘Commonwealth of Australia’ but it is most commonly called ‘Australia’. It is situated between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean. The Australian federation consists of six States (New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia) and two Territories (Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory). It is a wonderful place for ultimate travel experience. With its abundant physical resources, Australia has enjoyed a high standard of living since the nineteenth century. It is one of the world’s most urbanized countries. Almost 5 million people born overseas live in Australia. As Australia is surrounded on all the four sides by sea, it constitutes world class beaches and waterways. Australia’s beauty lies in its national parks, rain forests and tropical reefs. It is one of the countries which are very close to nature. Australia is a developed country, with a multicultural society and excellent results in many international comparisons of national performance such as human development, quality of life, health care, life expectancy, public education, economic freedom, and the protection of civil liberties and political rights. People of Australia are very friendly in nature. Australia has an excellent infrastructure for transportation. There is nearly one million kms of highway, which is high in proportion to the population.

Quick view at the facts

Capital:	Canberra is the capital of Australia.
Biggest State:	Western Australia is the biggest Australian state and covers one third of the continent.
Largest City:	Sydney
National Language:	English
Climate:	Climate is generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north.
Government Type:	Federal parliamentary democracy
Currency:	Australian Dollar
Driving:	Drives on left
Business Hours:	Banks are open Monday through Thursday from 9:30am to 4pm, Friday 9:30am to 5pm. General business hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 5:30pm. Shopping hours are usually 8:30am to 5:30pm weekdays and 9am to 4 or 5pm on Saturday. Many shops close on Sunday, although major department stores and shops in tourist precincts are open 7 days.
Dates:	Australians write their dates as day/month/year.
Country code:	61
Newspapers:	The national daily newspaper is The Australian
Emergencies:	Dial tel. 000 anywhere in Australia for police, ambulance, or the fire department. This is a free call from public and private telephones and needs no coins.
Money:	The best way to carry money to Australia is in the form of cards OR Travellers cheques. Most of your money can be carried in the form of plastic cards. As Australians love convenience, so debit cards are widely used here. Travellers cheques is another convenient and safe way to carry your money as they can be easily replaced if they are lost or stolen.
Note denominations:	Notes come in denominations of $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100. Coins come in denominations of 5¢, 10¢, 20¢, 50¢, and gold $1 and $2 coins.