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Travelling to Australia

 

Australia's spectacular natural environment, multicultural communities, food and wine, the friendliness of its people, combined with its weather and lifestyle make it one of the world's most attractive tourist destinations. These qualities also make it one of the best places in the world in which to live and conduct business.

Tourism is one of Australia's largest and fastest-growing industries. The number of overseas visitors to Australia was of 5.6 million in 2007.

Also in 2007, international visitors consumed around  A$23 billion worth of Australian goods and services. 

Environment

Australia's unique environment has many native plants, animals and birds that exist nowhere else in the world. The country has a real commitment to conserving its natural heritage and has a range of protection procedures in place. Australia is the driest inhabited continent on earth. Its interior has one of the lowest rainfalls in the world and about three-quarters of the land is arid or semi-arid. These arid areas extend from the large central deserts to the Western coast. Soils in these areas are characteristically very infertile compared to other deserts of comparable aridity. This has presented Australians with the challenge of how best to manage the variety of regions our continent possesses to meet the competing demands of agriculture, economy and conservation. In land area, Australia is the sixth largest nation after Russia, Canada, China, the United States of America and Brazil. It has, however, a relatively small population. Despite the vast size of the continent however, the majority of Australians live on the coast and in major cities - around 75 per cent of Australia 's population lives in urban areas.

Australia’s fertile areas are well-watered, and these are used very effectively to help feed the world. Sheep and cattle graze in dry country, but care must be taken with the soil. Some grazing land became desert when the long cycles that influence rainfall in Australia turned to drought.

As the world climate warmed and glaciers melted, oceans gradually rose to their current level and the land bridges to New Guinea and Tasmania were cut. Corals colonised a flooded coastal plain, forming the Great Barrier Reef of Queensland.

Ancient plants still grow in the wild. Pressure on native habitats from agriculture and introduced pests like the fox and rabbit have resulted in extinctions of some native species in the past 200 years. Australia now has a strong scientific and legal framework to deal with these issues. Australians care about their unique environment.

For more information on Australian Environment, you may visit the Australian Department of Climate Change.


Travelling to Australia

Tourism Australia
Australia.com


Overseas Licences

Driver licences from recognised countries:

Australia ’s state and territory driver licensing authorities recognise certain overseas country’s driver licences. Whether there is a requirement to hold an Australian licence depends on the type of visa the person holds.

Recognised countries:

For further information regarding international licences in Australian states and territories, click on the appropriate link below.

Queensland
Australian Capital Territory
New South Wales 
Northern Territory
South Australia
Victoria
Western Australia 
Tasmania

 

 Working in Australia

The Governments of Australia and Belgium have signed an agreement for a Working Holiday Agreement, which came into effect on 1 November 2004. If you are a Belgian national, you will be able to apply for and in most cases obtain a Working Holiday visa directly online.

To find out more about the Working Holiday Maker Agreement, click here.


Travelling to Australia - News

 

You might also want to consult our Customs and Quarantine sections on this Website.

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