General Information

Airport and Transport

Newcastle is located approximately 150km north of Sydney which is an easy 90m minutes by road a 30 minute flight from Sydney.

Air

Newcastle Airport (Williamstown) is the major regional airport and is located 30 minutes from Newcastle city centre and is serviced by daily flights from Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Canberra as well as several regional NSW Centres. See www.newcastleairport.com.au for more details.

Aeropelican, located at Belmont Airport (30 minutes south of Newcastle city centre) provides 9 return commuter flights daily to Sydney.

Air Services

Virgin Blue Airlines - http://www.virginblue.com.au
Jetstar - http://www.jetstar.com.au
QantasLink - http://www.qantaslink.com.au

Road

The main access from Sydney is via the F3 Freeway. The journey takes approximately two hours. Take the Newcastle exit and will take you all the way into the CBD.

Rail

Newcastle is part of the City Rail network centred on Sydney. There are many frequent return services daily. Fast Countrylink trains connect Newcastle to Sydney. The journey takes approximately two hours and forty five minutes. The cost of one way rail ticket from Sydney airport to Newcastle is $26.80. See http://www.cityrail.nsw.gov.au for more details.

Coach

Greyhound buses pick up passengers from Sydney domestic and international airport daily at around 1pm. Buses also pick up from Sydney Central rail station in the CBD. The journey will take approximately three and a half hours. A one way bus ticket cost can vary between $39 - $50.

Coach Services

McCafferty's Greyhound at www.greyhound.com.au

Banking/Currency

Australia's currency consists of coins of five, 10, 20 and 50 cent and one and two dollar denomination; and notes of five, 10, 20, 50 and 100 dollar denomination.

Foreign exchange facilities are available at banks, hotels and airports. All major credit cards including Mastercard, Visa, American Express and Diners Club are accepted at most restaurants and shops.

Business Hours

Banks are open from 0930 to 1600 Monday to Thursday, 0930 to 1700 on Fridays and are closed on Saturday and Sunday. General office and post offices are open 0900 to 1700 Monday - Friday.

Climate and Clothing

April is spring in Newcastle with temperatures ranging from 15? to 22? Celsius.

Generally Australians are informal dressers. Suggested dress for the conference and the Welcome Reception is business attire and smart casual for the harbourside conference dinner.

Eating Out

Newcastle has a wide variety of excellent restaurants offering a diversity of cuisine. Australia is well know if its selection of wines, try some of the wines produced in the local Hunter Valley wine district located less than one hour from Newcastle. The conference secretariat will have information on a number of local restaurants.

Electricity

The electrical current is 240/250V, AC 50Hz and has a unique flat three-pin connection therefore you will need an adaptor. Most hotels provide 110 volt outlets for shavers.

Goods and Services Tax (GST) / Tourist Refund Scheme (TRS)

In 1 July 2000, Australia introduced a new taxation system incorporating the Goods & Services Tax (GST). All prices quoted are inclusive of 10% GST, unless otherwise specified.

The TRS enables you to claim a refund, subject to certain conditions, of the goods and services tax (GST) and wine equalisation tax (WET) that you pay on goods you buy in Australia.

To claim a refund you must:

Spend $300 (GST inclusive) or more in the one store and get a single tax invoice
Buy goods no more than 30 days before departure
Wear or carry the goods on board the aircraft or ship and present them along with your original tax invoice, passport and international boarding pass to a Customs Officer at a TRS facility
Claims at airports are only available up to 30 minutes prior to the scheduled departure of your flight.

The refund only applies to goods you take with you as hand luggage or wear onto the aircraft when you leave Australia. It does not apply to services or goods consumed or partly consumed in Australia, such as wine, chocolate or perfume. However, unlike other tourist shopping schemes, most of the goods, such as clothing and cameras, can be used in Australia before departure.

The TRS is open to all overseas visitors and Australian residents.

The GST refund is calculated by dividing the total amount of the purchase by 11. The WET refund is 14.5 percent of the price paid for wine. For example, if you buy goods for a GST-inclusive price of $660 you will receive a refund of $60. If the $660 is made up of a camera ($460) and wine ($200), you will receive a total refund of $89 (total GST refund of $60 plus $29 WET refund on the wine).

Insurance

The Conference Organising Committee strongly recommends that you take out insurance for your travel and attendance at the Conference. The Conference cannot accept any responsibility for participants failing to arrange their own insurance.

Language

English is spoken in Australia and is the official language for the conference.

Mobile Phones

Australia operates on a digital network therefore analogue mobile phones are unable to be used.

Passport and Visa Important Information

All travelers to Australia, other than New Zealand, require a valid entry Visa prior to travel to Australia. Delegates should, in most cases, apply for a Short Stay Business Visitor visa (subclass 456).

Some delegates will be eligible to apply for an Electronic Travel Authority (http://www.eta.immi.gov.au). These include delegates from the following countries:

Andorra
Austria
Belgium
Brunei
Canada
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hong Kong
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Malaysia
Malta
Monaco
The Netherlands
Norway
Portugal
San Marino
Republic of Singapore
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
UK - British Citizen
UK - British National (Overseas)*
USA
Vatican City

*Holders of UK passports, which indicate their nationality to be British National (Overseas) can only be processed for an ETA if resident in and applying in Hong Kong.

Those delegates who are not from the above countries, will need to lodge a 456 visa application (http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/456.pdf) at the nearest Australian Mission.

Australian Immigration Laws are very strict; therefore check with your travel agent or nearest Australian Consulate.

If you require a letter of invitation for visa purposes, you must first register and pay to attend the conference and indicate on the registration form that you will require a letter of invitation.

The Conference Secretariat is unable to assist with processing or obtaining visa applications, other than verifying your intention to attend the Conference. Visas are granted at the discretion of the Australian Embassy.

Further information on passport and visa requirements can be obtained from http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/visiting_info.htm.

Privacy

Australia has strict laws which are designed to protect the right of the individual to privacy of their information. The Conference Secretariat complies with all this legislation and any Information collected in respect of proposed participation in any aspect of the Conference will be only used for the purposes of planning and conduct of the Conference.

Provision is made in the registration form for delegates to choose whether they wish for their details to be included in a 'List of Participants' of attendees.

Shopping

Shops in Newcastle are open from 0900 to 1730 during the week with late night shopping on Thursday. On Saturday and Sunday most shops open from 1000 to 1600.