There are quite a few differences between Queensland and New Zealand, some positive, some negative. Make sure you read this section because most of this is need to know information:

• As well as your standard income, you are also paid Superannuation here, which is 9% ON TOP (unless stated otherwise) of your wage. It will automatically go into a super account for you. It is best if you pick one super provider (the company who looks after your money) and try to stick with them, if you change jobs, notify your new employer which super provider you are with otherwise it costs you to transfer your money over. If you make personal contributions into your super account the government will make a contribution too, Im not actually sure how much but I will update as soon as I find out (but hey, any free money is good money right!?) You cant access this money until you turn 60, but you can get your super earlier only if you suffer a permanent incapacity for work or possibly in cases in severe financial hardship or on "compassionate grounds".

• There are a lot of employers over here who will employ you as a 'casual'. It has its ups and downs, such as you SHOULD get paid more, about 23% more actually, every industry works off award rates and must pay you a certain amount, however if you are casual you do not get holiday or sick pay, and you can be fired at any time. You can also be called to say 'there is no work today' Obviously you can quit at any time too with nothing to lose.

• Petrol is cheaper over here. I just wanted to point that out because its great.

• You have to pay Tax on any cars you buy or houses or land purchased. Its called stamp duty. Its about 2-3% on vehicles and it varies for homes and mortgages depending on how much you spend. You do however currently get $7,000 towards your first home purchase and relief from most of your stamp duty (first home buyers only for the stamp duty) but you must stay in that home for minimum 1 year..

• Registration for cars is MUCH more expensive (we pay $840 per year) but you dont need to pay to warrant them, it is your own responsibility to keep them up to standard. The lower cylinder the car the cheaper the rego is. Make sure if you are buying a car it has a 'safety certificate' which is the same as our warrant and is a one off requirement when you sell the car. You cannot transfer a vehicle into your name without a current safety Cert so if you buy a car without one, you will need to get one right away and if it fails... well, you may have a decent repair bill on your hands. Also the registration over here includes CTP Insurance, which is NOT 3rd party insurance as most kiwis believe, it is accident cover against anyone you INJURE in an accident.

• Doctors and Emergency are free here once you register with Medicare (if they are bulk billed) and you can even have a doctor come out to your home after hours and it is still free (MEDCALL 55311224) If you are earning under a certain amount you get sent a health card which gives you cheap prescriptions too, and you may also be entitled to Rent assistance (if you are renting) if you are earning under $40,000 and you are receiving some sort of payment through centrelink already you may get up to $62 a week towards your rent.

• Each home will have two Bins (the size of NZ 'wheelie' bins) one with a green lid and one with a yellow lid. The Green lid bins are rubbish and are emptied weekly, the yellow lid bins are recycling and are emptied fortnightly.

• There are currently water restrictions here, we have found that VERY easy, in fact the Australian family of 4 who lived here before us were using - on average - 1222 ltrs per day, and we have just received a letter saying we use 480 ltrs on average per day. The level of restrictions vary and its not as terrible as you think, its just common sense such as not running the water while brushing your teeth, not continually running the water to rinse dishes, dont leave hoses going outside, and shorter showers. I havent even noticed a difference.

• Your Power bills come quarterly (every 3 months) Usually for an average family without a pool, you'd probably be looking at around $200-$350, so it is certainly cheaper than Nz. Obviously if the summer months don't agree with you and you have the air con on max, the bills may be a little higher.... Also you will notice an Ambulance levy added to your power bill, this ensures that ambulance cover is free, rather than receiving a bill to cover the cost of an ambulance call out if you ever needed one. 

• The only road rule that is noticeably different, and that drives me mad, is, when you are turning left into a street in NZ, and there is a car in front of you turning right into the same street, you give way right? Well, here you DONT, if you are turning left into a street you just go, if you are turning right into a street you have to wait for the person in front of you turning left (who would usually give way in NZ) to go. Maybe I didnt explain that too well, here is a picture..

In Nz the blue car would give way, in Australia the red car gives way.

• Guy Fawkes is not celebrated here, I suppose because of the trouble that Nz is currently facing, but that certainly doesnt mean there is a lack of extraordinary Fireworks events here, you will not struggle to find a spectacular event at some stage.

• Local calls cost. Even if you call your neighbour it still costs you the local call charge. It is usually a one off charge of anything from 15 - 30 cents depending on what company you are with, so you learn to limit your calls or use the net a lot more. 1300 numbers cost (a one off fee, usually 25c) and 1800 numbers are free.
  

• In the hotter months there are the most amazing electrical storms here. They are the most fantastic things I have ever seen, it isn't like Nz where there is the odd lightening flash, here it is flash after flash after flash, in fact a few weeks ago I tried counting the seconds between flashes and within two minutes or so I didnt manage to count to 3 more than twice. Funnily enough not every flash is followed by thunder, I guess the wind just takes the sound a different way. When there IS a close bolt though, it almost blows you out of your seat. It is extraordinary. The one thing you do have to watch is the hail... A couple of months ago a place near to us had hail stones 6cm in diameter, so if its on its way, get your car in the garage!

• Australians love to run orange lights. In fact they also love to run early red lights too. There is no such thing here as orange. Its either Green or Red. If its orange it means 'quick, stick your foot down before it goes red' and quite often they think a red light means 'YOU CAN STILL MAKE IT!'. So just be really careful when your light turns green because more often than not a car will fly in front of you grasping that last bit of orange they thought they might have seen. Also, when you are obeying the road rules and stop at an orange light you will probably get honked at. Yup, it infuriates me, but if you dont laugh at things like that you might just cry. So laugh.

• Now here is my favourite - the snakes, spiders, termites, ants, cockroaches, toads and tics. Before you panic, in the first 6 months we were here we saw 1 Toad, and 1 spider, (lots of cockroaches though!) so they are not EVERYWHERE you look but you do have to be careful.

• There are many venomous snakes in Australia, here is a list of some and what to do if you are bitten, as long as you stay out of long grass and use common sense you shouldnt have to worry about any bites.  http://www.usyd.edu.au/anaes/venom/snakebite.html 

I have only seen a couple of snakes in the wild in the whole time we have been here, I ran one over last week on the way to a friends house (accidentally of course) apparently they are just as scared as us as we are of them.

• The Spiders are what worried me the most, as I said we only had 1 encounter in those early days but unfortunately it happened to RUN at me in the lounge during a well enjoyed episode of prison break. By the time I realised it was a spider and not a giant moth (the moths are pretty big over here) I didnt really have time to think so managed to pull a 'superman' maneuver and fly across the room to squash it with the tele remote which I luckily had been holding. I got the shock of my life, but got over it within a few days. The spiders here tend to come out in the hotter months and spiders like my wee friend the 'huntsman' are pretty common. They do bite, VERY rarely and obviously only in defense, but are not venomous. As far as I am aware in Queensland there are only two dangerous venomous spiders, one is the redback and the other is the funnelweb. I feel red back are the ones to watch as they are smaller and like to hide under the lips of potplants and under the edge of your pool. Its just a matter of checking before you stick your fingers in places like that. Oh and if your shoes have been sitting outside for a couple of days I would recommend checking them before you slide your foot in. We havent had a problem yet, but its always best to be careful. Here is a site with all the spider pictures and the spider bite emergency number, it is something I can imagine you will never have to use but no doubt knowing you have it handy may make you feel a little better http://www.qm.qld.gov.au/features/spiders/spidersqld.asp 

• Termites arent a big issue (well not unless they are eating your home) If you see something that you think looks like a termite, stick it to a piece of clear sellotape, and examine it. If it has 3 bodyparts (abdomen, middles section and head) it is an ant, if it has two it could be a termite, also check its antennae, if its antennae are straight it may be a termite, if they have a bend in the middle it is an ant.

• Now, I HATE the ants, but after about 6 months you begin to ignore them (as long as they dont bite you!) The little ones like to have a nibble on me now and then, but it doesnt really hurt, its just like a sandfly bite, a wee pinch, but then it doesnt itch. They dont tend to bite most people, I must just taste nice. If the kids drop food on the floor and its left for a while they will usually find their way to it, but it is as easy as spraying them and hoovering them up. The bigger ants (which are everywhere too, but not inside usually) give a pretty nasty bite, the initial bite doesnt hurt but it certainly stings afterwards. They dont usually bite though unless you half sit on one or something, I was bitten by one last week because I laid my leg on it at the beach. It wasnt nice but I just put a bit of 'burn and bite' on it and it felt fine (burn and bite stops the stinging or itching) Apparently Bull ants are the worst but we havent seen nor been bitten by any yet so fingers crossed it stays that way.

• Cockroaches are everywhere, they are disgusting, but really dont do much harm. Our cat likes to bring the big ones in side and play chase with them, until they retreat somewhere lovely like under our bed (thanks puss)

• No one has died in Australia from Cane Toad poisoning, but people have died overseas after eating toads and even soup made from boiled toad eggs. First aid treatment includes irrigating (washing with a lot of water) the eyes, mouth and nose if they have been exposed to toad venom. Seek medical attention if symptoms persist. When handling any frog or toad, protect the eyes, wear gloves, and thoroughly wash hands before and after touching the animal. We have had them in our back yard and they hop away as soon as we go near them, so they are really just more of a pest, and you just have to watch your kids and animals around them. 

• And lastly the ticks, you have to watch you animals around long grass and bush area, and actually yourself too. They are a decent size and screw themselves into your skin. When they latch they release a paralytic so it is quite important you either treat your pets (usually things like advantage over here are for Mozzies, Fleas, Ticks and worms) or run your fingers through their fur regularly to check for them. Obviously if your pet looks as if it is losing control of part of its body you should take it straight to the vet. If you come across a tick on either your pet, your child or yourself you need to be careful how to remove it. They burrow in a clockwise direction so when you pull them out you have to rotate them anti-clockwise and tilt them while you pull, otherwise the head can break off and stay in the skin. I would recommend phoning healthline on 13-health (13432584) before you attempt anything.