Australia

AUSTRALIA A RICH TAPESTRY, UNIQUE AND DYNAMIC

Australia's strong economy, hot, sunny climate and relaxed, outdoor lifestyle make it a top expatriate destination. Immigration restrictions have tightened recently but demand for highly skilled workers in specific fields is strong, salaries are among the highest in the world and education and postgraduate training excellent. Australia’s cities are consistently cited at the top of world rankings of the best places in the world to live. 

Melbourne continues to hold the title for the world’s most liveable city (fifth year in a row), with Adelaide, Perth and Sydney also featuring in the top 10. With a healthy minimum wage threshold, Sydney was also highlighted as the world’s most affordable city for young people to live.

With an area of approximately 7.7 million square kilometres, Australia is the sixth largest country in the world, but also one of the most sparsely populated with a population of just 25.7 million people, mostly living on the eastern coast.

Economy

A highly developed market economy with a high GDP per capital and low rate of poverty which  has enjoyed more than two decades of economic expansion.  

The Australian Dollar (AUD) is the official currency, fifth most traded global currency and is free floating and used across Australia and its external territories, as well as some Pacific Islands. 

Australia owes its popularity among currency traders to 3 G's – geology, geography and government policy.

Geology has given the company a wealth of natural resources that are in high demand, including oil, gold, agricultural products, diamonds, iron ore, uranium, nickel and coal.

Geography has positioned the company as a choice trading partner for many fast-growing Asian economies with nearly insatiable resource demands.

Government policy has led to fairly stable high interest rates, a stable government and economy, a lack of intervention in the currency markets, and a Western approach to business and the rule of law that has not always been typical in the region.

The service sector of the economy accounts for 70% of GDP and Australia is internationally competitive in financial and insurance services, technologies, and high-value-added manufactured goods. Agricultural and mining products are major exports.

Culture

A place where the world’s oldest cultures share vast ochre plains, stylish laneways and unimaginably blue waters with successive waves of new arrivals from across the globe. Australia has been inhabited by its aboriginal population for thousands of years, however, the majority of its population today have European ancestry.

The culture of Australia is a Western culture derived primarily from Britain but also influenced by the unique geography of the Australian continent, the diverse input of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and other Oceanian people. 

The oldest surviving cultural traditions in Australia (which are actually some of the oldest surviving traditions on earth) – are those of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Their ancestors inhabited Australia for between 40,000 and 60,000 years and they lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. The boomerang and didgeridoo, which were invented by Aborigines, are to this day iconic symbols of the country.

Australians are generally laid back, open and direct. They say what they mean and are generally more individual and outgoing than other cultures. More than three quarters of Australians live in cities and urban centres, mainly within 100 kilometres of the coast, making Australia one of the world's most urbanised coastal dwelling populations.

Vegetation covers nearly 7 million square, 91% of Australia. Most of its exotic flora and fauna cannot be found anywhere else in the world.