Public Holidays Australia 2008 / 2009

Check if your planned trip overlaps with any holidays. If so, be prepared for higher prices and book as much in advance as possible. Ideally, try to avoid these dates.

Public Holidays
School Holidays

Public Holidays

Those that fall on a weekend may or may not be replaced on Monday depending on the state.
Dates highlighted in purple are nationwide holidays (or almost)

October – December
Monday 6 October – Labour Day (ACT, NSW, SA)
Tuesday 4 November – Family & Community Day (ACT), Melbourne Cup Day (metro area)
Thursday 25 December – Christmas Day
Friday 26 December – Boxing Day

January – March
Thursday 1 January – New Year’s Day
Monday 26 January – Australia Day
Monday 2 March – Labour Day (WA)
Monday 9 March – Canberra Day (ACT), Adelaide Cup Day (SA), Eight Hours Day (TAS), Labour Day (VIC)

April – June
Friday 10 April – Good Friday
Saturday 11 April – Easter Saturday
Monday 13 April – Easter Monday
Tuesday 14 April – Easter Tuesday (TAS)
Saturday 25 April – Anzac Day
Monday 4 May – May Day (NT), Labour Day (QLD)
Monday 1 June – Foundation Day (WA)
Monday 8 June – Queen’s Birthday (All except WA)

July – September
Monday 3 August – Bank Holiday (ACT, NSW financial institutions), Picnic Day (NT)
Wednesday 12 August – Royal Queensland Show Day (Brisbane metro)
Monday 28 September – Queen’s Birthday (WA)

October – December
Monday 5 October – Labour Day (ACT, NSW, SA)
Tuesday 3 November – Family & Community Day (ACT), Melbourne Cup Day (metro area)
Friday 25 December – Christmas Day
Monday 28 December – Boxing Day

School Holidays

Note the actual last day of each school break may vary by 1 or 2 days.

Spring Holidays 2008
20 September – 5 October (QLD, VIC)
27 September – 5 October (NT)
27 September – 12 October (ACT, NSW, SA, WA)

Summer Holidays 2008 / 2009
13 December – 26 January (NT, QLD, SA)
19 December – 1 February (WA)
20 December – 26 January (NSW, VIC)
20 December – 29 January (ACT)
19 December – 9/10 February (TAS)

Autumn Holidays 2009
4 April – 13 April (NT)
4 April – 19 April (VIC)
10 April – 19 April (QLD)
10 April – 26 April (SA), 27 April (ACT, NSW), 28 April (WA)

Winter Holidays 2009
30 May – 14 June (TAS)
20 June – 19 July (NT)
27 June – 12 July (QLD, VIC)
4 July – 19 July (ACT, SA, WA)
11 July – 26 July (NSW)

Spring Holidays 2009
5 September – 20 September (TAS)
19 September – 4 October (QLD, VIC)
26 September – 4 October (NT)
26 September – 11 October (ACT, SA, WA)
3 October – 18 October (NSW)

Summer Holidays 2009 / 2010
12 December – 26/27 January (NT, QLD, SA)
19 December – 26/27 January (NSW, VIC, ACT)
18 December – 31 January (WA)
18 December – To be advised (TAS)

Driving In Australia: Road Rules

Australia is a developed country with roads that are well-signed, well-paved and easy to navigate. The driving rules across the eight states are essentially similar, with Melbourne having an extra few.

Driving Etiquette and Rules

• Left-hand drive
• Seat belts and child restraints must be worn by ALL passengers
• Overcrowding is illegal. Everyone has to be properly seated so sedans would fit a maximum of 5 people
• Drivers in Australia are generally considerate and law-abiding. Always give way to pedestrians and follow the speed limits
• In general, if there are no signs, the default speed limit on urban/built-up roads is 50km/h and 100km/h for all others
• Unless there is a dedicated turn light (or the signs say otherwise), you are allowed to make a left/right turn when the light for going straight ahead is green. It is then your responsibility to wait until all pedestrians have finished crossing and that there are no oncoming cars before you take your turn
• Using a handheld mobile to talk or SMS is subject to heavy fines. A hands-free kit or speaker phone is permitted but not recommended as it can still impair your concentration

Drivers License Requirements

• As a temporary visitor, you can drive on your existing overseas licence
• Always have a copy of your driver’s licence. If it’s not in English, you should have an official translation or an International Driving Permit
• Carry some sort of evidence that you are a genuine visitor e.g. tourist visa, letter from educational institutions, employers or diplomatic offices

Reading the Road Signs

• The meaning of most signs are pretty obvious but below are some further explanations

Regulatory Speed Limit Sign – speed signs with a white background and a red circle are regulatory, meaning it is illegal to go above the stated limit

Advisory Speed Limit Sign – speed signs with a yellow background are recommended speed limits for the average car under good driving conditions

No Stopping – as it implies, you are not allowed to stop unless you are forced to e.g. being held up in traffic

No Parking – you are allowed to stop but only for a maximum of two minutes and you must be within a three metre radius of the car

Typical Parking Sign – how long you are entitled to park is indicated by the number before the “P” (1P means 1 hour parking, ½P means ½ hour parking and so on). The time ranges indicate when this time limit applies. So outside these times, e.g. for this particular sign, on Sunday you will be able to park for as long as you wish. The arrow at the bottom indicates where the length of space you are allowed to park is in relation to the sign

Melbourne Hook Turn and Tram Rules

• Overtaking trams must be done so from the left
• When a tram stops, you must stop level with the rear of the tram to allow for passengers to get on or off
• The Melbourne hook turn affects right-turning cars where the sign is displayed. In such situations, instead of keeping in the right lane to make the right turn, you stay in the leftmost lane. Move forward on the left (without blocking the pedestrian walkway) and wait until the lights in the direction of which you are heading turns green. Then you can proceed to turn right

The Baby, Booster and Child Car Seat

• We can’t stress enough the importance of using the right child restraints. Always, always use one and ensure the restraint is approved and appropriate for the size of your child
• It is an offense to use any form of child restraint in the front passenger seat that is fitted with an airbag as the force of the airbag can cause serious harm to a child
• All sizes of restraints are available for children up to 32kg and/or 10 years old including baby seats for those 12 months and under, but check in advance the exact sizes the car rental company offers
• If you won’t be bringing along your own child seat, this article on renting a child seat has some useful pointers
• Fitting the restraints may seem easy but it should be professionally done by an Authorised Safety Restraint Fitting Station per the manufacturer’s instructions
• Use the Child Restraint Calculator from RACV to help you figure out which restraint is most appropriate
• Approved restraints display the Standards Australia label

The Fuzzy Wildlife

• It is rather common for wild animals to wander onto country roads, so be alert especially at nights or in the fog
• Unfortunately, a fair number of them do get hit on the roads. If you see one that’s killed, do your part to remove it from the road (carefully). If it’s still alive, take it to a vet or an animal shelter
• If a native animal is injured, contact the Wildlife and Information Rescue Service (WIRES)
• If it is a domestic animal, contact the RSPCA or the Police
• Most importantly, drive responsibly and carefully to avoid any casualties! We’ve seen too many carcasses during our roadtrips and that makes us sad

Emergencies

• Police or Ambulance hotline can be reached by dialing 000

Some of the information above is courtesy of the National Transport Commission Australia, the Road Transport Authority, NSW and VicRoads.

Rental Car Sizes and Models

Updated January 2010 to reflect the current models of cars being offered and an expanded list of class sizes. With thanks to Adam M. for his input.

We’ve put together pictures and descriptions of the most common rental car sizes and models you would get when hiring from the major car rental companies in Australia. They are grouped as many car hire companies group them, from Economy through to Luxury, 4WDs and Vans.

To help those of you from overseas who might be unfamiliar with Australia’s car models, we’ve also included their “equivalents” in the US and Europe. Read more