Australia Guide
Entry requirements
All visitors to Australia, except New Zealanders, require a visa or Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) to enter the country; if you're heading overland, you'll obviously also need to check visa requirements for the countries en route. You can get visa application forms from the Australian high commissions, embassies or consulates listed below.
The easiest option for nationals of the UK, Ireland, the US, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea and most European countries who intend to stay for less than three months is to get an ETA, valid for multiple entry over one year. Applied for online at 
www.eta.immi.gov.au for AUS$20, or through travel agents and airlines for a small fee at the same time you book your flight, it replaces the visa stamp in your passport (ETAs are computerized) and saves the hassle of queuing or sending off your passport.
Citizens of other countries and visitors who intend to stay for longer than three months should apply for a tourist visa, valid for three to six months, which costs AUS$100, and can be lodged in person or by post to the embassy or consulate, or online at www.immi.gov.au ; you'll need to complete an application form and deliver it either in person or by post to the embassy or consulate. If you think you might stay more than three months, it's best to get the longer visa before departure, because once you get to Australia extensions cost AUS$215. Once issued, a visa usually allows multiple entries, so long as your passport is valid.
An important condition for all holiday visa applications is that you have adequate funds both to support yourself during your stay – at least AUS$1000 a month – and eventually to get yourself home again.
Twelve-month working holiday visas are available to citizens aged 18–30 of Britain, Ireland, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Estonia, France, Taiwan, Malta, Sweden, Norway, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea. The stress is on casual employment: you are meant to work for no more than six months at any one job. You must arrange the visa several months in advance of you arriving in Australia. Working visas cost AUS$195; some travel agents such as STA Travel can arrange them for you.
Young American citizens wishing to work in Australia might consider the Special Youth Program, designed to allow people aged 18–30 to holiday while working in short-term employment over a four-month period. See BUNAC ( www.bunac.com ), Camp Counselors ( www.ccusa.com ) or Council/CIEE ( www.ciee.org ) for more information.
Australia has strict quarantine laws that apply to bringing fruit, vegetables, fresh and packaged food, seed and some animal products into the country, and when travelling interstate; there are also strict laws prohibiting drugs, steroids, firearms, protected wildlife and associated products. If you've been snacking on the flight, throw any leftovers in the amnesty quarantine bins available in the arrival area or on the way to the luggage collection bay. You are allowed AUS$900 worth of goods, including gifts and souvenirs, while those over 18 can take advantage of a duty-free allowance on entry of 2.25 litres of alcohol and 250 cigarettes or 250g of tobacco. To find out more about specific goods that are prohibited in Australia before you travel, visit the Australian Customs Service website www.customs.gov.au .