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Money Matters

local currency

Curency name: Australian dollar. Denominations: 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 1, 2, 0.50, 0.20 and 0.05. The banknotes are made of plastic.

banknotes	coins
©2006 Gabriel Ditu	©2006 Gabriel Ditu

banking

Beside the local banks, you can find in the Capital Cities of Australia many foreign banks as well. Before you travel to Australia make sure that your bank is doing retail banking in Australia or what arrangements are in place for its customers.

Banking hours are in general 9:30am - 4.00pm Monday to Friday and they are closed during the weekend and public holiday. If you can avoid over the counter transactions is best. The Australian banks are into making a profit and not in serving you. As a result you can expect queues, they do not have the denominations you ask for, they don't offer services in remote areas and so on.

travellers cheques

Avoid cash as much as possible. Traveller's cheques issued by Thomas Cook or American Express are usually accepted by the major stores. You need your passport for identification.

Tip: in general the banks will have lower fees for exchanging the cheques to cash.

For convenience try also your hotel.

credit cards

The credit cards are largely accepted in Australia if are: Master Card, Visa, Diners Club and American Express. Keep in mind, that are stores not accepting credit cards at all and stores that can ask you for a minimum purchase of 10 to 20 dollars to accept the credit card payment. Credit cards are my preferred option here and overseas.

exchange offices

Exchange Offices or Bureaux de Change can be easily found in large cities. Usually are opened Monday to Saturday 9am-5pm. Convenient but expensive. See our Exchange Rates page.

04 December

1851 - Charles La Trobe forwards a Victorian Legislative Council motion passed unanimously opposing further transportation.

1976 - The Royal Australian Navy's fleet of Grumman Tracker aircraft is destroyed by arson at Nowra, New South Wales.

Australian slang

ute utility vehicle
pub public house (place serving drinks)
beanie woollen cap
uni university
ring in substitute
yippee! exclamation of delight
budgie smugglers men's swimsuit
tall poppy syndrome the tendency to criticize successful people
swagman tramp, bum, hobo

Exchange calculator

Amount to exchange:

From currency:

To currency:

Amount to receive:

Disclaimer: The result is based on an inter banking rate and does not contain the variations introduced by the Exchange Office to make a profit out of the transaction. As a result you would sell your currency a bit cheaper than it actually is.