Travel

Coming to Australia

Quarantine – protecting Australia’s unique environment

Managing the risk to Australia of unwanted pests and diseases is essential for the conservation of the nation’s plants, animals and agricultural industries.

Australia’s geographic isolation in the days before mass air travel and international trade served as a natural barrier. In today’s shrinking world, however, the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service plays a vital role in helping to maintain Australia’s favourable pest and disease status.

Australian quarantine measures are among the most stringent in the world. Every year about 11 million passengers and crew pass through Australian seaports and airports, creating a significant challenge for quarantine surveillance. Almost every passenger arriving in Australia now has their luggage checked on arrival, by either a quarantine officer, detector dog or X-ray machine. Even international mail sent to Australia is screened, as is all air and sea cargo.

Australia is extremely vigilant about remaining free of exotic pests and diseases, which have potentially disastrous effects on Australia’s current favourable animal, plant and human health status. Such pests and diseases could be carried by people or animals, in animal products such as meat, in plants or plant products such as timber, or in soil on machinery.

Travellers to Australia must declare anything made from plants or animals – including meat, dairy, eggs or other animal products; wooden articles; fruit, vegetables, seeds, nuts; and live animals and plants. Some plants and animals must be isolated at quarantine stations so any pest or disease risks can be identified and prevented from entering Australia.

The penalties for breaching Australia’s quarantine laws include fines or imprisonment.

Visa and immigration requirements    

Australia welcomes millions of overseas visitors each year. Anyone who is not an Australian citizen needs a valid visa to enter and spend time in Australia. There are different visas for tourists, business people, sports people, students and others.

All visas must be obtained before travelling. The only exception is for New Zealanders, who are granted an electronic visa on arrival in Australia. Visitors can apply for Australian visas at Australian government missions overseas or electronically through travel agents and airlines in many parts of the world.

People from many countries also now apply for certain visas online – Australia’s Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) is the most advanced and streamlined travel authorisation system in the world.

The ETA is an electronically stored authorisation for travel to Australia for short-term visits or business entry. It replaces the visa label or stamp in a passport and removes the need for application forms. An ETA is issued within seconds by computer links between the federal Department of Immigration and Citizenship, travel agents, airlines and specialist service providers around the world.

The ETA system was introduced in 1996 and is now available to passport holders from 34 countries, locations and regions. More than 21 million travellers have been granted ETAs to come to Australia and ETAs now account for almost 83 per cent of all tourist and short-term business visas granted worldwide.

Travelling in Australia

Distance has always been a defining challenge for Australians. However, some international visitors still tend to underestimate distances and travel times between city and rural centres in Australia.

Australia has a surface area of more than 7.7 million square kilometres and most of the nation’s 21 million people live in widely separated cities along its 36 000 kilometres of coastline.

More than 800 000 kilometres of road crisscross the land, of which just under half are sealed (paved). More than 14 million people have a driver’s licence and transport is the second-largest item of household expenditure in Australia. Australians drive on the left-hand side of the road, with the steering wheel located on the right-hand side of the car.

Did you know?

Australia stretches about 4000 kilometres from east to west – about the same distance as New York to Los Angeles, London to Tehran, Bangkok to Tokyo, Singapore to New Delhi or Hong Kong to Mumbai.

Australia’s rail networks total almost 40 000 kilometres.

As a large and geographically isolated island nation, a viable and safe aviation industry is important to Australia and its economic growth. There are about 260 licensed airports in Australia and its external territories. Of these, 12 operate internationally, servicing scheduled international airlines.

Health insurance

Visitors to Australia generally do not have access to Australia’s subsidised health care system. However, residents of countries with which Australia has reciprocal health care agreements may have restricted access to Australia’s public health insurance system. In all cases visitors should obtain advice about appropriate health insurance

Some examples of the Australian idiom
  • arvo: afternoon
  • as happy as Larry: content, satisfied
  • Aussie battler: a hard-working Australian
  • back of Bourke: far away
  • barbie: barbecue
  • barrack for: support a particular sports team
  • cold one: beer
  • digger: an Australian soldier
  • esky: portable ice chest
  • fair dinkum: true, genuine
  • g’day: hello
  • go for your life: yes, you can / …no problem
  • hard yakka: hard work, usually physical
  • kiwi: someone from New Zealand
  • mate: friend; also, form of address usually between males
  • prawn: shrimp
  • she’ll be right: everything will be okay
  • thongs: flip-flops
  • tinny: beer in a can OR outboard motorboat
  • true blue Aussie: really Australian
  • tucker: food
  • ute: pick-up truck

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