Australia is an easy country to travel — English-speaking, card-friendly, superbly signposted — but it punishes three specific kinds of unpreparedness: arriving without the right visa, mis-declaring at the border, and underestimating the sun. This checklist covers the full arc of a visit, from booking to the departure-gate tax refund most tourists never claim.
Before you book
- Passport: 6+ months' validity beyond your stay is the safe standard (airlines enforce it even when Australia technically requires validity only for the visit).
- Sort the visa before paying for flights. Your passport decides the route: the free eVisitor (651) for most European passports, the ~AUD $20 ETA (601) via the AustralianETA app for the USA, Canada, Japan and others, or the Visitor visa (600) — AUD $250 from July 2026 — for everyone else and for stays beyond 3 months. Full comparison in our visitor visa guide.
- Timing: eVisitor/ETA usually grant within minutes-to-days; subclass 600 can take weeks-to-months depending on nationality — apply well before booking non-refundable travel.
- Travel insurance: Australia's healthcare is excellent and, for visitors from non-reciprocal countries, expensive — a hospital day can run into thousands. Insurance with medical cover is the single most important booking after the flight. (Visitors from reciprocal-agreement countries like the UK and NZ get medically-necessary public care, but insurance still covers cancellations, ambulances — not free! — and activities.)
- Season-check your route: reef and Top End are best May–October; southern cities shine October–April; see our trip planner so you don't book Darwin in the wet season by accident.
Before you fly
- Learn the biosecurity rules — seriously. Australia screens arriving luggage with X-rays and detector dogs. Declare all food (yes, the airline snacks and that packet of tea), plant and animal products, wooden items, and outdoor gear with soil on it. Declaring is free and usually fine; not declaring risks on-the-spot fines in the thousands and visa consequences.
- Medications: carry them in original packaging with a doctor's letter for anything prescription or unusual; check restricted substances on the Therapeutic Goods Administration site before travel.
- Cash: AUD $10,000+ (or foreign equivalent) must be declared on arrival.
- Copies: photograph passport, visa grant email and insurance policy; keep them in cloud storage.
- Power: Australia uses Type I plugs, 230V — pack one adapter and buy extras cheaply after arrival.
- Driving plans? An English-language licence works for tourists in most states; otherwise bring an International Driving Permit obtained at home (you cannot get one after departure).
Landing day
- SmartGates handle most eligible passports automatically; have your incoming declaration honest and ready.
- SIM/eSIM at the airport or first supermarket — prepaid tourist plans with big data run $20–40. An eSIM ordered before flying works the moment you land.
- Getting to the city: airport trains (Sydney, Brisbane, Perth) beat taxis on price; rideshare (Uber, DiDi) is universal. Tap on public transport with a contactless bank card in Sydney and Brisbane, or grab the local card (Opal, myki, Go Card and friends).
- Money culture: cards for everything; small card surcharges (0.5–1.5%) are legal and common; tipping is not expected anywhere — service staff earn a real wage. Round up if delighted; nobody will chase you either way.
During your stay: the rules that matter
- Sun: the UV here is among the world's strongest — SPF50+, hat, and reapplication are health measures, not suggestions. You can burn in 15 minutes on a cloudy day.
- Beaches: swim between the red-and-yellow flags at patrolled beaches; rips cause almost all rescues. If caught in one: float, raise an arm, swim parallel to shore. In tropical Queensland November–May, wear the provided stinger suits.
- Wildlife: obey crocodile signage north of roughly Rockhampton, never feed animals, and enjoy the fact that the dangerous-creatures reputation is 95% marketing — details in our wildlife guide.
- Driving: left-hand side; strict, camera-enforced speed limits; 0.05 blood alcohol; avoid dawn/dusk country driving (kangaroos). Distances are deceptive — Sydney–Melbourne is 9 hours, not an afternoon. Road-trip specifics in the campervan guide.
- Emergencies: 000 (police, fire, ambulance). Ambulances charge non-residents — another vote for insurance.
- Visa conditions: no work on visitor visas (business visitor activities only); don't overstay a single day — Australia's exit system notices, and it haunts future applications.
- Domestic biosecurity exists too: don't carry fruit, honey or plants into South Australia, Western Australia or Tasmania — bins and fines await at borders and airports.
Before you fly home: claim your TRS refund
The Tourist Refund Scheme refunds the 10% GST on goods bought in your final 60 days when you spend AUD $300+ (GST-inclusive) with a single business (receipts can combine across visits to the same retailer). Camera gear, jewellery, electronics — it adds up. The drill: keep original tax invoices, bring the goods in carry-on (or have them sighted before check-in for oversized items), find the TRS facility after security/immigration, and allow 30–90 minutes at busy airports. The TRS app pre-fills your claim and speeds the queue. Refund lands on your card in weeks. It's the easiest money of your whole trip.