Australia - Quick facts

Government: Australia is a Constitutional Monarchy, with the British Queen HM Queen Elisabeth II as the head of state.

Although Australia gained independence from the UK already in 1901 and with a majority actually wanting a local head of state, the majority voted in 1999 to keep the existing system. The reason was simply that the alternatives were not properly though through, and were for that reason not accepted.

The monarchy is represented locally by a Governor-General apointed by the Queen. 

Head of Government: Prime Minister John Howard (liberal)since 1996. All individual States and Territories have their own autonomous legislative, executive and judicial systems (though certain powers remain under the jurisdiction of the Federal Government).

Language: The official language is English, but Australia has a large percentage of minorities from non-English speaking countries such as  Italy, Germany, Greece, Vietnam, China and of course our indigenous  dialects and Aboriginal languages.

Ethnic groups: Caucasian 92% Asian 7% aboriginal and other 1%

Religion: About 26% Roman Catholic, 24% Protestant and smaller minorities of all other major religions.

Time: Australia spans three time zones:
Standard East: Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania: GMT + 10 (GMT + 11 October to March, except Queensland that doesn't have summer time).
Central: Northern Territory and South Australia GMT + 9.5 (GMT + 10.5 October to March, except Northern Territory that doesn't have summer time).
West: Western Australia GMT + 8.

Population: round 19.5 million.
With about 1.06 male(s) born per female.
In the age group 15-64 years the number however is down to 1.02 male(s)/female.

Life expectancy of total population: 79.89 years 
with a male average of 76.95 years and 
female 82.98 years 

ELECTRICITY: 220/240 volts AC, 50Hz. 3-pin plugs are in use, however sockets are different from those found in most countries and an adaptor socket may be needed. Outlets for 110 volts for small appliances are found in most hotels.

Telephone:
Country Code to Australia : 61
Outgoing International Access: 00 11

There are full facilities for national and international telecommunications. Full IDD is available.  Payphones are red, green, gold or blue. Only local calls can be made from red phones. Green, gold and blue phones also have International Direct Dialling (IDD) and Subscriber Trunk Dial (STD). The minimum cost of a local phone call is 40c. Telstra Smart Phonecards are available at newsagents, supermarkets and chemists and can be bought in denominations of A$2, 5, 10 and 20 and used for local, STD or international calls. Credit-phones, which take most major credit cards, can be found at airports, city-centre locations and many hotels.

Fax: Services are widely available from various retail outlets. Free collection by courier is available in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide. Fax number guides are available at post offices, and prices vary. Internet: Internet cafes are prevalent in the capital cities. Post: There are post offices in all the main towns of every State. Opening hours are 0900-1700 Monday to Friday. Some post offices are also open Saturday 0900-1200. Stamps are often available at hotel and motel reception areas and selected newsagents. Poste Restante facilities are available throughout the country; mail should be addressed to the nearest post office. Press: The main daily newspapers are The Australian and the Australian Financial Review. The weekly newspapers with the largest circulation are The Bulletin, the Sunday Telegraph and the Sunday Mail. Newspapers have a generally high circulation throughout the continent.

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