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 Along with the rest of Queensland, Brisbane operates on
Australian Eastern Standard Time -- which is 10 hours ahead of GMT.
However, during the beautiful hot and humid summers, Queensland doesn't
change to Summertime or Daylight Saving with the rest of the East Coast
of Australia. This means it is an hour behind major commercial centres
such as Sydney, Melbourne and our National Capital Canberra.
This contentious issue was put to a vote once and many people in
Queensland's conservative regional areas to the West, North and Far
North of South East Queensland elected not to keep in time with the
southern States.
Some, more cynical southerners says this keeps Brisbane not an hour
behind, but 10 years behind the rest of Australia. This may have been
true once, but Brisbane has come a long way in the past 25 years. Major
events in the 1980's, such as the Commonwealth Games in 1984 and the
World Expo in 1988, helped kick start Brisbane's maturation. Today
Brisbane, Australia is a lively, vibrant city with most if not all the facilities
you would expect from a world class city.
Like many locations in the sub-tropics, Brisbane Australia maintains a more
relaxed atmosphere, both in business and liesure. The hot summer days
mean its quite acceptable to wear an open shirt and no jacket to a
business meeting and our liesure activities are often outdoors in a
pair of shorts and a sleeveless shirt.
Brisbane Club VenuesDon't expect this casual approach to dressing to extend to party venues though, as Brisbane pub and club venues can be sticklers when it comes to dress. If you don't look the part you may not get in.
Local Currency SystemThe local currency in Brisbane, Queensland is Australian dollars. One Australian
dollar A$ (or AUD$) is divided into 100 cents. Coins are minted in
values of 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c (silver coloured) and $1 and $2 (gold
coloured). The $1 and $2 coins are thicker and quite small with the $1
about the size of a $0.10 piece and the $2 even smaller, about the size
of a $0.05 cent piece.
Australian notes are printed in values of $5, $10, $20, $50 and
$100. The notes are made of plastic and have a small clear window you
can see through. Most credit cards are happily accepted anywhere,
however companies are legally allowed to add a small percentage
surcharge on the purchase price to accept the card. We think the
maximum is 2.5%.
Australia has a 10% Goods and Service Tax, which applies to most
purchases, with the exception of food (not take away or restaurant
food, but food you buy at the grocery store). This additional tax is
added to the advertised price in most instances, so the price you see
on the menu, the sales ticket or the advert is generally the price you
will be expected to pay.
Driving a Car
Keep in mind that in Australia, we drive on the left side of the
road. Whilst most families own at least one car, there are also trains,
buses, taxis, and ferries. Brisbane is a very spread out city though
and the public transport system is not the greatest, even for a short visit a car, or hire car is a great idea.
 A Queenslander A wide variety of landscapes and lifestyles can be enjoyed by
Brisbane's local residents and residents in the inner-city areas are
surrounded by leafy, sometimes hilly, suburban sprawl.
Queenslander Houses
A little further
out in the older subrubs closer to the city (10-15km) you'll see the
traditional older-style houses on stilts. These stilts can range
anything from a few feet to 12 feet (1m-3m).
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Brisbane Shopping
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There are various food markets throughout Brisbane featuring organic fruit and vegetables, gourmet food and more!
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Fun Stuff
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When looking to dine out in Brisbane, it is helpful to understand the different
precincts for
restaurants in Brisbane.
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nocturnal bird that is usually sedentary
during the daytime. If approached it will sit upright with its feathers
pressed
firm against its body.