Australia Embassy: 202-797-3000 Canberra GMT +10 hrs

Entry Requirements: - A visitor visa, valid for 1 year, available for multiple entries up to 3 months.
HIV Test: Required of all applicants for permanent residence age 15 or over. All other applicants who require medical examinations are tested if it is indicated on clinical grounds. Testing may be required of long-term temporary residents who are deemed at high risk of HIV infection.
Vaccinations: A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required of travelers older than 1 year if arriving within 6 days of having stayed overnight or longer in a country any part of which is infected.
Telephone Country Code: 61

Embassies/Consulates: U.S. Embassy: Moonah Place, Yarralumla; Tel: 61-2-6214-5600; Fax: 2-6273-3191; Web: www.usis-australia.gov)
Consulates: Level 59, MLC Centre, 19-29 Martin Place, Sydney; Tel: 2-9373-9200; Fax: 2-9373-9184; Web: www.usconsydney.org. Consulate: 553 St. Kilda Road, Melbourne; Tel: 3-9526-5900; Fax: 3-9525-0769; Web: www.usis-australia.gov/melbourne. Consulate: Level 13, 16 St. Georges Terrace, Perth; Tel: 8-9231-9400;Fax: 8-9231-9444; Web: www.usis-australia.gov/perth.
Canadian Embassy: Commonwealth Avenue, Canberra; Tel: 2-6270-4000; Fax: 6270-4081; E-mail: cnbra@dfait-maeci.gc.ca; Web: www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/australia.

Hospitals / Doctors:
Royal Melbourne Hospital (702 beds); most specialties and diagnostic capabilities; emergency services; Tel. (03) 347-7111
Traveller’s Medical and Vaccination Centre, Melbourne; Tel. (3) 9602-5788. Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney (1,532 beds); most specialties and diagnostic capabilities; emergency services; ICU; Tel. (02) 516-6111
Traveller’s Medical and Vaccination Centre, Sydney; Tel. (2) 221-7133
Royal Darwin Hospital (648 beds); most specialties and diagnostic capabilities; emergency services.
Royal Perth Hospital (1,072 beds); ICU, CCU, burn unit; 24-hour emergency; ambulance service; Tel. (09) 325-0101
Traveller’s Medical and Vaccination Centre, Perth; Tel. (9) 321-1977
Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Adelaide (Travel Clinic); Tel. 347-0296
Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane (1,104 beds); many specialties; emergency and ambulance services; Tel. (07) 240-2111

Accidents & Medical Insurance:
Accidents and injuries are the leading cause of death among travelers under the age of 55 and are most often caused by motor vehicle and motorcycle crashes; drownings, aircraft crashes, homicides, and burns are lesser causes.
Heart attacks cause most fatalities in older travelers.
Infections cause only 1% of fatalities in overseas travelers, but, overall, infections are the most common cause of travel-related illness.
MEDICAL INSURANCE: Travelers are advised to obtain, prior to departure, supplemental travel health insurance with specific overseas coverage. The policy should provide for direct payment to the overseas hospital and/or physician at the time of service and include a medical evacuation benefit. The policy should also provide 24-hour hotline access to a multilingual assistance center that can help arrange and monitor delivery of medical care and determine if medevac or air ambulance services are required.

Animal Hazards: Animal hazards include snakes (death adder, Australian copperhead, Australian coral, and others), centipedes and scorpions, and spiders (red back, northern funnel-web, mouse, and brown recluse). Fresh- and saltwater crocodiles occur in Australia, but only the saltwater variety has been known to attack humans. Male platypuses can inflict painful puncture wounds and should be avoided. Rogue scrub cattle (domestic animals gone wild) are particularly dangerous terrestrial animals and have been known to attack humans and vehicles without provocation.

Dengue Fever: Reported in parts of Northern Queensland and Torres Strait Islands. Areas of greatest risk are along the coast from Cornavon to Port Darwin to Townsville. Peak infection rates occur during October to March–April. The Aedes mosquitoes, which transmit dengue fever, bite during the daytime and are present in populous urban areas as well as resort and rural areas. Prevention of dengue consists of taking protective measures against daytime mosquito bites.

Giardiasis: Giardiasis is endemic in Tasmania and poses a risk to visitors, especially those who participate in wilderness activities such as bushwalking.

Hepatitis: Hepatitis A is endemic at low levels. Nonimmune travelers should consider hepatitis A vaccine. Hepatitis E may occur but has not been reported. The carrier rate of the hepatitis B virus in the general population is only 0.05%–0.1%. Vaccination against hepatitis B should be considered for stays over 3 months and by short-term travelers desiring maximum protection. Travelers should be aware that hepatitis B can be transmitted by unsafe sex and the use of contaminated needles and syringes.

Influenza: Influenza is transmitted from April through September in the Southern Hemisphere. The flu vaccine is recommended for all travelers over age 50; all travelers with chronic disease or a weakened immune system; travelers of any age wishing to decrease the risk of this illness; pregnant women after the first trimester.

Japanese Encephalitis (JE): Limited risk exists on the outer islands of the Torres Strait and possibly in the adjacent Cape York Peninsula of the mainland. Transmission is presumed to occur all year. Recommended for: those spending more than 1 month in the Torres Strait Islands only. Evening and nighttime insect precautions are recommended.

Malaria: There is no risk of malaria in Australia.

Marine Hazards: The box jellyfish, the most dangerous jellyfish in the world, and also the sea wasp are found in northern coastal waters. Four other varieties of jellyfish (jimble, Carukia, mauve stinger, and hairy stinger) should also be avoided. The jellyfish population appears to be increasing, due in part to overfishing of jellyfish predators, rising water temperatures, and pollution. Other hazards, including sharks, stingrays, and poisonous cone shells, are potential hazards in the coastal waters surrounding Australia. Swimmers should take sensible precautions to avoid these hazards.

Other Diseases/Hazards: Brucellosis (canned goat’s milk in Australia need not be pasteurized and is a potential source of illness), Barmah forest disease (mosquito-borne viral disease), HIV (low risk of transmission), leptospirosis, Ross River fever (viral epidemic polyarthritis; mosquito-borne; occurs throughout coastal Australia and in inland mosquito areas), melioidosis, and helminthic infections (endemic at low levels; hookworm disease, strongyloidiasis).

Rabies: There are no reported cases of indigenous rabies in Australia.

Tick-Borne Diseases: Queensland tick typhus has been reported in travelers to the northern beaches of Sydney Harbour; cases of scrub typhus are reported from the tropical rainforests of Litchfield Park. A new tick-borne rickettsial disease, Flinders Island spotted fever, is reported to extend down the southeastern coastal areas of mainland Australia to Flinders Island and northern Tasmania.

Travelers' Diarrhea: Low risk. Water in major cities and urban areas is potable, but in rural areas and settlements the water may not meet strict standards of purification. A quinolone antibiotic is recommended for the treatment of acute diarrhea.