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Costs, money and banks
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If you've travelled down from Southeast Asia you'll find Australia expensive on a day-to-day basis, but fresh from Europe or the US you'll find prices comparable or cheaper. Australia is well set up for independent travellers, and with a student, YHA or a backpackers' card you can get discounts on a wide range of travel and entertainment.
Australia's currency is the Australian dollar, or "buck", divided into 100 cents. Plastic notes with forgery-proof clear windows come in $100, $50, $20, $10 and $5 denominations, along with $2, $1, 50?, 20?, 10? and 5? coins. There are no longer 1? or 2? coins, but prices are regularly advertised at $1.99 etc and an irregular bill will be rounded up or down to the closest denomination. Exchange rates fluctuate around an over-the-counter rate of A$2.90 for ?1; A$2 for US$1; A$1.20 for CDN$1; and A$0.80 for NZ$1 Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Australia |