know thy natives

Australia is a great country, but as a foreigner there are aspects of Aussie culture that can take one unawares. While Aussies love to pay homage to their frontier past and are generally more gregarious and easy-going that the average Brit, even in a fact-based field like IT there is a tendency to avoid confrontation and deal with tricky matters via "back channels". This can be frustrating if you are used to having a vigorous debate on the technical merits of a proposed solution.

Even though it is an English-speaking country (more or less!) you *will* experience culture shock so it is wise to swot up on the local culture so you know where they're coming from.

But looking on the bright side, an English "heatwave" is simply called "winter" in Brisbane.