Well, I Never Knew That About Australia!

[DonnaC]

Thanks all, some brill hints and tips!!

[supa]

We stayed in Vic and were told that you had to park so that you will join traffic on your side, ie, you can't pull out across your lane to join the lane in the opposite direction (if that makes sense). Someone may be able to phrase it better!

[Mongrel]

When using my ATM card in shops, I press the 'savings' button, I was just told by the bank to press savings and it comes out of my checking account. I do not understand why?????????????? and why is it called a chequing account when i dont have a cheque book????????? one of Australias mysteries :biglaugh::biglaugh:

I have a debit card but not brave enough to use it yet

 

Its the same card bit weird actually , your debit card allows you to pay over the fone net etc

[Mongrel]

Hey how're doing? doesnt mean 'hello how are you today' please respond. It means hello/good-day/hiya. To respond my saying, im well thankyou, how are you, puzzles them and they clock us as poms straight away....lol....

 

Its always a good idea to make sure they are following you/understanding you in a conversation....ive had many an aussie baffled by what im saying, but they wont show it unless they know you.....they'll just smile politely and say cool alot

 

There is no such thing as Lidls,debenhams,next dotty P's, M&S, tesco, primark, house of fraser over here. Noone will know what your on about.

 

There are only three Ikeas across the whole of Australia!!!!!!:err:

 

there are no nice sausages over here, learn to make them yourself.

 

every shop bought sauce is either sweet or salty

 

they love salt on everything! beware the takeaway

 

 

as for the debit card - you can use cheque if you want cash out, use credit if you want to use it as a credit card and have the protection of a credit card and use savings only when you have a savings acount and theres money in it

 

BREATHE RATCHET BREATHE LOVE you know you love it lol

[Mongrel]

I`m In WA can some mexican ( victorian ) corroberate this statement from some aussie at work you have to stay in the left lane to turn right carton of turkeys on this

 

Many thnx

 

Mally

[fish.01]

I`m In WA can some mexican ( victorian ) corroberate this statement from some aussie at work you have to stay in the left lane to turn right carton of turkeys on this

 

Many thnx

 

Mally

 

A qld'er can confirm that in Melbourne you have hook turns. You go through lights in left lane and then move a bit more to the left so you are sitting in front of the traffic that is crossing the road you are on (sitting just next to the pedestrian crossing). When your lights go yellow you then hook around 90 degrees to the right and complete your right hand turn.

[CLAK]

Waiting for change in the supermarket when the bill came to $5.98, no one told me about rounding up and down.:santa5:

 

 

Ive never heard of this before - please tell me what it is before I arrive in February and make a complete twit of myself.

 

Thank you.

[Metoo]

Ive never heard of this before - please tell me what it is before I arrive in February and make a complete twit of myself.

 

Thank you.

 

Australia many years ago got rid of copper coins, ie the 1 cent and 2 cent coins, at the same time to stop any problems with change, most if not all retailers agreed to a policy of "rounding" so if something cost 2 cents over the value of the silver coin or note then it would be rounded down to the nearest 5 cents and if it cost 3 or 4 cents over the value of the silver coin or note then it would be rounded up.

So, if something was 51 or 52 cents you would pay 50 cents but if it was 53 or 54 cents you would pay 55 cents.

I think by now that most pricing policies take this into account and price to 5 cent multiples, this doesn't apply of course if you pay by card or cheque, oh and one other thing, I don't think there is anything that costs 1 or 2 cents anymore!!

 

does this make sense? we should do it here, how many people carry 1p pieces.

[Metoo]

I`m In WA can some mexican ( victorian ) corroberate this statement from some aussie at work you have to stay in the left lane to turn right carton of turkeys on this

 

Many thnx

 

Mally

 

This only applies to big junctions called box junctions, there only about 7 of them in the whole country and they are all in the centre of Melbourne, you can't queue in the centre of the road to turn right like you normally do as you would get run over by the trams, so there is a separate lane on the left hand side by the curb where you queue to turn right, it has its own traffic light.

I was taught this by the Army (I am from NSW) as the Army driving school is about 60 miles away and often go into Melbourne, it has to be taught even though they only exist in Melbourne, and only because the traffic has to share the road with the trams.

So yes it is true, and a brilliant tourist trap.

[CLAK]

Australia many years ago got rid of copper coins, ie the 1 cent and 2 cent coins, at the same time to stop any problems with change, most if not all retailers agreed to a policy of "rounding" so if something cost 2 cents over the value of the silver coin or note then it would be rounded down to the nearest 5 cents and if it cost 3 or 4 cents over the value of the silver coin or note then it would be rounded up.

So, if something was 51 or 52 cents you would pay 50 cents but if it was 53 or 54 cents you would pay 55 cents.

I think by now that most pricing policies take this into account and price to 5 cent multiples, this doesn't apply of course if you pay by card or cheque, oh and one other thing, I don't think there is anything that costs 1 or 2 cents anymore!!

 

does this make sense? we should do it here, how many people carry 1p pieces.

 

Yes, it makes sense - thank you!

[Guest lilunoz]

Oh what a fantastic thread!! Thank you everyone. Have been sitting here chuckling to myself.

 

Am I right in thinking that Tesco is coming to Australia or is this a myth?

 

The things I discovered are:

 

Root or rooting means something totally different

 

The fish tastes amazing! I can't stand British fish but eat it happily in Australia

 

Alcopops are stupidly expensive

 

aaand I don't know if it is just the blokes I hang around with but the 'C' word is used a lot :-( I will never get used to that and cringe every time my fiance uses it

[Guest brooksey]

There are hardly any spiders about

 

Try living in Queensland. Were swammped with the buggers.

 

Almost everything on a building site is called something different from England.

 

Kiwis are impossible to understand when talking to each other.:huh:

 

Beware divebombing birds. Pluvers slash with hooks on the wings whilest most others peck.

 

Biscotto biscuits only appear at Christmas, so stock up.:yes:

[Skani]

Ive never heard of this before - please tell me what it is before I arrive in February and make a complete twit of myself.

 

.

 

Victoria's rules on turning are here:

 

Turning : VicRoads

 

I'm not in Victoria myself, but I understood their "hook turns" - which I don't think exist anywhere else in Oz - have something to do with the trams in Melbourne.

[Bobj]

There are hardly any spiders about

 

Try living in Queensland. Were swammped with the buggers.

 

Almost everything on a building site is called something different from England.

 

Kiwis are impossible to understand when talking to each other.:huh:

 

Beware divebombing birds. Pluvers slash with hooks on the wings whilest most others peck.

 

Biscotto biscuits only appear at Christmas, so stock up.:yes:

 

Why are poms paranoid about the spiders???

 

Why not, It's a different country.

 

Don't talk to Kiwis, then. Ever thought that they might not understand your accents??

 

Serve you right for invading their nesting sites.

 

As earlier, it's a different country.

 

Cheers, Bobj.

:wink:

[Guest James W]

They pack your groceries into bags for you are the supermarket - lovely surprise.

Theres no amber light before green at traffic lights. Amber only between green and red.

Lollies arent actually lollies - they are any kind of sweetie.

Some people dont wear shoes to get petrol from the "servo", or anywhere else for that matter????!!!

oh and Manchester for bedding - whats that all about?????

Bedding is called Manchester because originally when all the supplier came from the UK all the bedlinen was made in Manchester Cotton Mills. Sad stat from me

[Guest proud2beaussie]

Biscotto biscuits only appear at Christmas

Must be a Queensland thing because my local supermarket sells them all year round.

[heyyu]

They pack your groceries into bags for you are the supermarket - lovely surprise.

Theres no amber light before green at traffic lights. Amber only between green and red.

Lollies arent actually lollies - they are any kind of sweetie.

Some people dont wear shoes to get petrol from the "servo", or anywhere else for that matter????!!!

oh and Manchester for bedding - whats that all about?????

 

when england was our only trading partner,we sent wheat wool meat to england they sent us manufactured goods which included bed linen and such which came in boxes marked'made in manchester' or manchester, thus the name stuck.:yes:another thing you might not know is that" English of all English" songs "Country Garden" was penned buy an aussie Percy Grainger born in Victoria,also the author of "Mary Poppins"was born in Maryborough Queensland.

[Guest IrishInOz]

.......... Oh and doing U turns at traffic lights is also illegal.

 

You need to check your relevant State Road Regulations on that; unless sign posted otherwise, in Victoria it is not illegal to to a U turn at traffic lights but you must give way to all traffic within the intersection.

[Guest IrishInOz]

Remain calm if an Australian asks you to pass the Durex.

 

Durex used to be the brandname for Sellotape and many older Aussies still refer to Sellotape as Durex.

[Chimera]

What the Brits call "spring onions", the Aussies call "shallotts"...

 

depends what state you are in

[Guest toria]

My brother told me that your car insurance is covered in the price of the car tax? I think it is more expensive than here but at least everyone is then insured. Also I heard ambulance cover is included in your utilities bill? Is this correct?

Oh and I don't think you can take food over the borders into another state.

 

Toria

[Guest IrishInOz]

My brother told me that your car insurance is covered in the price of the car tax? I think it is more expensive than here but at least everyone is then insured. Also I heard ambulance cover is included in your utilities bill? Is this correct?

Oh and I don't think you can take food over the borders into another state.

Toria

 

The insurance your brother refers to is third party insurance which is the compulsory part of your vehicle registration. This insurance only covers people not property. You still need to insure your vehicle for damage to it and other property damage.

 

I have never heard of heard of ambulance cover being included in utilities accounts, in some cases they are included in private health insurance policies.

 

The only 'food' that individuals cannot take interstate is fruit and plants, this is to prevent the transmission of the fruit fly which is a known pest in certain designated areas.

[Guest Guest31881]

My brother told me that your car insurance is covered in the price of the car tax? I think it is more expensive than here but at least everyone is then insured. Also I heard ambulance cover is included in your utilities bill? Is this correct?

Oh and I don't think you can take food over the borders into another state.

 

Toria

 

The car insurance that is included with the Rego, is only very basic 3rd party and only covers you for damage to property, (not people). You need to take out an Insurance policy to cover damage to your car, or other people.

 

Ambulance cover depends on what state you live in, Here in Queensland there is a levey on your electricity bill for Ambulance cover.

 

Taking fruit over the border, apparently they used to check cars for fruit to avoid pests being moved from one state to another, I do not think this is done anymore.:jiggy:

[Skani]

Taking fruit over the border, apparently they used to check cars for fruit to avoid pests being moved from one state to another, I do not think this is done anymore.:jiggy:

 

Except for Tasmania, where sniffer dogs are used at ports and airports to check for incoming fruit (it's still a fruit-fly free zone).

[Guest IrishInOz]

The car insurance that is included with the Rego, is only very basic 3rd party and only covers you for damage to property, (not people). You need to take out an Insurance policy to cover damage to your car, or other people.

 

Ambulance cover depends on what state you live in, Here in Queensland there is a levey on your electricity bill for Ambulance cover.

 

Taking fruit over the border, apparently they used to check cars for fruit to avoid pests being moved from one state to another, I do not think this is done anymore.:jiggy:

 

Permanent Quarantine Roadblocks exist at many interstate borders. Random Roadblocks also operate throughout State border areas and Quarantine Officers have the power to stop and search your vehicle.

 

A maximum fine of $2,500 applies for breaches of the Fruit and Plant Protection Act.

 

In relation to vehicle insurance in Australia,

 

Vehicle insurance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

"These state based third party insurance schemes usually cover only personal injury liability. Comprehensive vehicle insurance is sold separately to cover property damage and cover can be for events such as fire, theft, collision and other property damage."