Traveling to Australia, don't want to go to jail?

Question

I'm thinking of traveling to Australia next June. I wanted to know in what ways does Australian law differs from the US in these ways:
Freedom of Speech
Driving Laws
Under age of 18 Fornication (lol, but seriously)
and other basic differences to watch out for.

Also, could you tell me of cultural differences (I heard that giving thumbs up is like giving the finger)

I have to say these more or less so far are great answers. Keep them coming!

I'm not sure if I'll pick the best answer, but I do have somene's in mind.

A thought just came to my mind:

I will more or less be traveling alone to Australia to stay with friends there. As a minor (under 18), can I do this?

Answer 1

We drive on the left and give way (yield) to the right.
Speed limits are pretty heavily enforced but you do not have to go to court unless you are really crazily over the limits. You can pay a fine by mail. Blood alcohol limit is 0.05% and you can be stopped on the road any time and required to give a sample. Seat belts must be worn at all times the car is moving. Government figures it owns the roads so it makes the rules.

You don't park in front of fire hydrants or mail boxes, in bus stops, across driveways or pedestrian crossings - you know the sort of thing. Traffic signs are similar to in the US, they are an international standard. Gasoline is called petrol and is much more expensive than in the US but still cheaper than in Europe. You will recognise a lot of the cars - Toyotas, Fords, BMWs, Mercedes-Benz etc including Mercedes commercial vehicles. A bonnet is a front engine cover, a boot is a luggage compartment, a ute is a pickup, a truck is any open delivery vehicle, a van is a closed commercial vehicle.

Power is 240Volts so don't bring anything that needs mains power. Some things like cell phone chargers and laptop chargers may be OK as they are multi-voltage. You will need an Australian SIM card for a cell phone, check with your phone supplier. Switches are "down" for on. Australian power socket use two or three pins and are usually switched, the pins are angled so the plug can only go in one way. US DVDs will not play in Australia except on de-regionalised players, CDs are OK, your portable radio will work.

We can say what we like about our politicians and government etc short of libel and slander but we don't appreciate foreigners saying the same things. It's not illegal but "mind your own business". I would not bad-mouth Mr. Bush or Senator Clinton or whomever while visiting the USA. Just bad manners.

Don't tell us you love our accents, you have the accent. If you really want to annoy people here tell them how much better things are done in the USA. (Frankly in some places things could be done better too, but there it is.)

A lot of people here thought Steve Irwin was a dcikhead with a gimmick so best not to go on about him too much. We're sorry he got killed but that's about it. Very few people talk like he did, in many ways his line of patter was a throwback to the 1930s. You will of course hear the occasional word of course. We understand a fair bit of US slang, maybe not all the fine details though.

Most of the cops here, specially the ones you are likely to run into are pretty honest types.

Answer 2

Giving the thumbs up is good, whoever told you that is jerking your chain. As an american, you will feel right at home in australia, we watch almost exactly the same television as you do, in other words yours. There is a bit of anti-american sentiment, but generally people will treat you very well, even if they take a little dig now and then at your Yankee ways. Legal age of consent for girls is 16 and boys is 18. Drinking over 18 as well, same drugs policy as the states more or less, one of the sadder imports. Driving requires you to get yourself an international drivers license, our Road and Traffic Authority who deals with licenses is an inefficient bureaucracy just like your DMV. One thing i should mention is that you have to be careful of the speed limit on our roads, we have speed camera's, i've heard that in the US you don't, the camera books you and your international license is more or less gone.

Freedom of speech is not a constitutional right like yours is, so you can't just go touting it as a right, but you can pretty much say what you want without being arrested.

Culturally, we're a western developed country, we're friendly and most of us are quite modern, you won't notice any major cultural differences, we wear our thongs on our feet and drink our stubbies (small bottles of beer) one at a time. our popular culture is very similiar to yours. It's a beautiful country, it's bloody hot though, don't pack your ski gear.

Anything else you need to know before you head over?

As a tourist, you won't have any trouble with your age unless you are trying to enter our nightclubs and city pubs.

Answer 3

I love the answers that have been given to you. They are pretty accurate. However, I'd like to point out that there is a bit of a grey area on consentual sex.

If the girl is 16 and the boy is 16, ok
if the girl is 16 or 17 and the boy is 17, ok
but if you are 18, you better find an 18 year old girl, or older. Better safe than sorry.

Answer 4

There is no constitutional right of free speech, but my experience is that Australia is a lot more relaxed about what you can say than the US. Avoid loud abuse, particularly of the police and you should be OK.

We drive on the left side of the road. We also have roundabouts which you will have to sort out. There is no left (like your right) turn on red.

Age of consent for sex is 16.

Have fun.

Answer 5

if you want to know the rules i suggest you go n visit the australian govt and customs websites,
freedom of speech---> is ok---> just be cautious u dont say anything stupid
driving----> we drive on the other side of the road, everything is in reverse lol, look at RTA (drivng autority) website
under age---> becareful, same as US, just dont do it with any1 under 16, as they r a minior n u could go to jail.
Thumbs up is cool---> every1 does it
have fun when u come

Answer 6

I would read these site quite interesting I must say:
http://mnmn.essortment.com/australiatravel_ridu.htm
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_954.html
http://www.austtravel.com.au/australian_travel.htm#customs