The dollar is the official currency of Australia including Norfolk Island, Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands. It is also used in Pacific island states that have independence status, namely Nauru, Tuvalu and Kiribati.
Each dollar is divided into 100 cents, as per a standard dollar system.
The dollar is usually denoted by the letters AUD and the symbol $.
The Australian dollar is a very strong currency and is traded quite widely throughout the world. It also accounts for around just under 5% of all foreign exchange transactions carried out on a worldwide basis. Its popularity is partially due to the fact that Australia has a very stable economy and the fact that the Australian government does not tend to intervene with regard to the foreign exchange market.
The current is Australian dollar only came into being in 1966. It was brought in as the replacement for the Australian pound, which had been in use since the early part of the 20th century.
The Australian pound had been based on the British currency, the pound.
However, at this stage Britain did not have a decimal system of currency and therefore the Australian pound was a system that was not decimal and was based on shillings and pence. There were 20 shillings to each pound and then every shilling was worth 12 pence.
Due to the fact that this was quite a cumbersome system, particularly when used on the foreign exchange markets, Australia felt the need to bring in the decimal system, which would make financial transactions much easier, particularly with regard to global transactions.
And so, the Australian dollar was born in 1966.
Although the Australian dollar is divided into 100 cents, the 1-cent piece is no longer in circulation. This means that you will always pay to the nearest 5c. That is, unless you are using your debit or credit card to pay for an item, in which case you will pay the exact amount. Sometimes you will pay to the nearest 5c and lose a couple of cents, but at other times you will gain a couple of cents. So eventually it really does even out.
Travellers to Australia are often advised to change their money before they actually land in Australia. This is because they can get a much better exchange rate in other countries, so if you change your money in Australia you will get less dollars for your money.
However, many travellers coming to Australia will stay, or be intending to stay, for at least several weeks, if not months or even up to a year. Consequently, it is simply not feasible to take in the vast amounts of dollars that would be required to sustain you, if you were staying for a long time.
ATM machines are widely available in Australian towns and nearly every town will have an ATM machine, where you can withdraw funds, albeit at a poorer rate of exchange.
Credit cards are accepted throughout Australia. The only places that you may have difficulty using a credit card is in some of the very small, outback towns and even then, if there is a supermarket you may be able to use your credit card there, but possibly not in small stores in these types of towns.
If you are coming to Australia for just a few weeks, then some cash exchanged prior to your arrival as well as your debit or credit card, should ensure that you are financially OK during your stay. To be on the safe side you may wish to take some travellers cheques as well, just to make sure that you are prepared for all eventualities.
If you are intending to stay in Australia for several months or more, then it is likely that you will use an ATM machine as your main means of getting money.
Australia is not a cheap place to visit or travel around in. It is not quite so expensive as travelling around Europe, but it is significantly more expensive than it used to be. That being said it is still relatively good value for money and costs for basics as well as meals, eating, drinking and getting around are significantly lower than in the UK.
The difficulty with Australia is that it is so large, that it is almost impossible to make any kind of generalisation that will be relevant and appropriate for every part of this continent. In essence you have very modern and sophisticated cities such as Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth.
Then you have the large, extensive outback, contrasted by beaches and almost every type of civilisation that you can imagine, in between.
So living costs vary according to where you are in Australia. It also varies according to whether you are in a city, a town or just a village in the Outback. Thus it is important to think about different areas in Australia, as opposed to thinking about it as just the one place. Australia is simply too vast and extensive, to be regarded as just one location.
Australia as a whole is a very safe place to visit. However, since Australia is this huge country there are some parts, which are safer than others.
Generally, even the cities are relatively safe and you will not experience crime rates that are any higher than in the United Kingdom. Indeed, crime rates are usually lower than in the UK. Obviously, petty crime does happen and you need to take the usual precautions, to ensure that your wallet or purse is safe and secure and out of the reach of pickpockets.
All the major cities in Australia have areas that are less safe, particularly at night. Usually, you will be able to tell which areas these are, simply because they do not feel as safe.
The Outback is extremely remote and as such, you should exercise caution when in the outback to ensure that people know where you are headed to and when you are likely to return.
Since Australia is a continent in its own right, it really does have everything that you would expect from a fully-fledged continent.
Most people like to see Sydney, with its iconic and world famous bridge, but to really get to see Australia you have to travel some measurable distances. Often, it is difficult to get to know Australia if you are staying for less than a couple of months. If you only stayed in Australia for a couple of weeks, it would be the same as if you had travelled to Europe for a fortnight; you simply would not get a chance to see it all.
The best way to get around Australia is actually to fly. The distances involved are just too great for you to be able to drive or travel comfortably by train or bus. The train system in Australia is not as developed as people may think; in addition, travel by bus is just not feasible because of the distances involved. Flying is used quite a bit within Australia as a main means of transport and prices for internal flights are generally quite reasonable.
One of the most interesting things to see in Australia is simply the range of wildlife and natural fauna that exists here. Although the kangaroo is often depicted as the national symbol of Australia, there are so many more animals to see. This has led to the creation of wildlife parks, dedicated to preserving the wildlife of Australia and ensuring that the animals survive.
There are also areas in Australia where it is possible to see some rain forests, which have been in existence for an incredibly long time and are home to ecosystems, which are perfectly self, sustainable. These offer a unique insight into the type of trees, fauna and wildlife that have lived in these rainforests, for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Even the insects are dramatically different from anything you may have seen in the United Kingdom. They are, however, generally very safe, but you should take care not to bait or antagonise any of the insects or snakes!
Beach life is also very much a facet of Australian life; indeed it is something that is very closely associated with the Australian nation.
So, it is well worth taking the time and making the effort of getting to the beach and seeing for yourself, just how much the Australians love the beach.
Ayres Rock is also a very famous image of Australia and it is a sacred place to the native Aborigine people. Many people find that it does have a very special air to it and somehow you do feel that it is a sacred place.
Most Australians are very welcoming towards visitors and enjoy the fact that so many people come to Australia every year. In some of the more rural parts, you will find the people exceptionally warm and friendly, but in the cities you will tend to find the people are more urban and less friendly.
As a nation, Australians tend to be quite laid-back and have a very relaxed attitude towards life and indeed, living. This gives Australia a very unique feel to it, although you will find that there are regional differences and not all of Australia is the same.
Australia is somewhere that people ought to visit at least once in their lives, just to experience the vast expanse of the country. In some places, it is so dry, hot and arid that human existence seems almost untenable and yet people have managed to survive here for literally thousands of years.
Despite the fact that Australia is so far away from all other countries apart from New Zealand and some of the Pacific islands, it is a country that looks outwards and it is not as introspective as people may think.
It still manages to offer relatively good value for money, with prices generally lower than in the United Kingdom and it can also offer a holiday, which will linger in your memory for some time to come.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_dollar