Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1633;
www.irlgov.ie/iveagh). Those under age 18 and over 65 must apply
for a
12 3-year passport. You can also apply at 1A South Mall, Cork
(
&
021/272 525
) or at most main post offices.
For residents of New Zealand:
You can pick up a passport application
at any New Zealand Passports Office or download it from their website.
Contact the
Passports Office
at
&
0800/225 050
in New Zealand or 04/
474-8100, or log on to www.passports.govt.nz.
Pets
Leave 'em at home. You will be back home planning your next vaca-
tion before Fluffy clears quarantine Down Under.
Police
Dial
&
000
anywhere in Australia. This is a free call from public
and private telephones and requires no coins.
Safety
Violent crime is uncommon, and the political situation is stable.
Guns are strictly controlled. Purse snatchers are the same threat they are
all over the world. See “Insurance, Health & Safety,” earlier in this chapter.
Smoking
Smoking in most public areas, such as museums, cinemas, and
theaters, is restricted or banned. Increasingly Aussie restaurants are ban-
ning smoking (those in Western Australia and New South Wales already
ban it), though in many states, restaurants have smoking and nonsmok-
ing sections. Pubs are a territorial victory for smokers; after a night in
one, nonsmokers smell as if they smoked a whole pack (which they prob-
ably did, secondhand). Most hotels have smoking and nonsmoking
rooms. Australian aircraft on all routes are completely nonsmoking, as
are all airport buildings.
Taxes
Australia applies a 10% tax called Goods and Services Tax (GST) on
most products and services. Your international airline tickets to Australia
are not taxed, nor are domestic airline tickets for travel within Australia
if you bought them outside Australia.
If you buy more Australian airline
tickets once you arrive in Australia, you will pay GST on them.
Through the Tourist Refund Scheme (TRS), Australians and interna-
tional visitors can claim a refund of the GST (and of a 14.5% wine tax
called Wine Equalisation Tax, or WET) paid on a purchase of more than
A$300 (US$195) from a single outlet, within the last 30 days before you
leave. More than one item may be included in that A$300. For example,
you can claim back the GST you paid on 10 T-shirts each worth A$30
(US$20), as long as they were bought from a single store. Do this as you
leave by presenting your receipt or “tax invoice,” to the Australian Cus-
toms Service's TRS booths, located beyond passport control in the Inter-
national Terminal departure areas at most airports. If you buy several
things on different days from one store, which together add up to A$300
or more, you must ask the store to total all purchases on one tax invoice
(or receipt)—now there's a nice piece of bureaucracy to remember Aus-
tralia by! Carry the items in your carry-on baggage, as you must show
them to Customs. You can use the goods before you leave Australia and
still claim the refund, but you cannot claim a refund on things you have
consumed (film you shoot off in the camera, say, or food). You cannot
claim a refund on alcohol other than wine. Allow an extra 15 minutes to
stand in line at the airport and get your refund.
You can also claim a refund if you leave Australia as a cruise passen-
ger from Circular Quay or Darling Harbour in Sydney, Cairns, Darwin, or
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