Postal Service

Postal services in Australia are both efficient and inexpensive. Sending mail within the country is quite easy. For international mail, Australia Post has divided the world into two areas: Asia - Pacific, and the Rest of the World. Due to the location, mail must be sent either by air mail or sea mail. Sea mail only goes to Canada, the United States, Europe and South Africa, and is actually quite slow. To all other areas, airmail is the only option. Post offices are open Monday to Friday. In order to pick up sent mail, visitors will need to provide some form of identification, such as a passport.

Telephone Service

Australian telecommunications have been deregulated, and various services are available from a number of different providers. For local calls, public and private phones are throughout the country, and the fee varies depending upon which phone is used, with private being the less expensive.

Long distance calls can be made from any public phone, and are cheaper during off-peak hours, which are seven pm to seven am. There are four area codes in the country. New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory use the area code 02, Victoria and Tasmania use the 03 code, Queensland uses 07, and South Australia, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory use 08. These codes have very broad areas, however, as NSW uses all four. All regular numbers have an area code followed by an eight-digit telephone number. International calls can be made from most public payphones.

Internet Access

Internet access is readily available in Australia. The easiest place to get online is at cybercafes, and most of the larger centres have several for travellors to pick from. Internet access is also available at many youth hostels, caravan parks, and hotels. ISP access is generally available in most major centres for those who travel with their own computers.