Location and Travel

Millions of people choose to visit Melbourne each year and for very good reasons now voted the most liveable city for the last two years running.

First, it’s one of Australia’s most exciting destinations. A large modern city with a rich heritage, it bustles and pumps with a unique fusion of culture, cuisine and beauty. It’s also Australia’s sporting capital and the heartland of the nation’s fashion industry. Melbourne has it all and that’s why visitors from all over the world flock to enjoy every one of its cultutal offerings.

A lazy stroll around town will have you looking up and down and you’ll be enthralled by so many eye-catching elements. If it’s architecture you’re interested in, look up: the buildings form a rare collection of Gothic, Neo classical and Victorian styles.

At street level, a seemingly endless network of lanes and alleys bursts to life daily with hundreds of cafes, bars and coffee houses. Your food options are only limited by your taste buds. Every international cuisine is plated up with unparalleled excellence and the dining offerings keep the fussiest gastronome more than content. The food from all over the world is a reflection of the cosmopolitan nature of the city – it’s a true and proud expression of multiculturalism in a vibrant metropolis.

Late at night, the historic remaining alleys at the top end of town miraculously transform into a thumping nightspot with hundreds of bars and clubs pulsating till dawn.

If you’re after a more sedate pursuit during your time in Melbourne, just walk to the city’s perimeter and get lost in the magnificent gardens that surround the town in the clear springtime sunshine. Stroll north along the Yarra River and take in some of nature’s best or turn around and head south for yet another blast of culture and food at Southbank or Docklands. The options never stop.

Plan to spend some time here. If the famed shopping doesn’t get you in, the theatre district will be sure to have a top-line show playing. But museums might be your thing, or sport, maybe even a trip to the outlying mountains or wine regions of the Yarra Valley or Mornington Peninsula– they’re all close by.

Travelling to Australia

Passport And Visa

On 23 March 2013, the department implemented changes to the types of visas available to persons wishing to travel to Australia to attend, participate at, or compete in events being held in Australia.

Under Australia's universal visa system, all visitors to Australia must have a valid visa to travel to and enter Australia (other than New Zealand passport holders who will normally be granted a Special Category visa on arrival, provided they meet health and character requirements; and permanent residents of Norfolk Island who may be granted a Permanent Resident of Norfolk Island visa on arrival). For more information, see the fact sheet: http://www.border.gov.au/about/corporate/information/fact-sheets/47temporary-residence

There are many visa options available to people wishing to visit Australia. The appropriate visa option will depend, amongst other things, on the person's purpose for visiting Australia.

Click here for the new visa fact sheet, effective from 1 July 2013. This fact sheet includes information about the visa options available for those who are travelling to Australia as business visitors, including the new arrangements in place for online applications for the Visitor (Subclass 600) visa and the Temporary Work (Short Stay Activity) visa (subclass 400). For the purposes of attending this event, you may wish to consider applying for one of these visas, based on your role at the event.

Please note that only certain passport holders are eligible to apply for these visas online.

If your sole reason for coming to Australia is to attend this conference, please apply for this VISA.

For information on who can apply for the eVisitor (subclass 651) visa online, please go to: http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/651-

For any other circumstances, please view the below VISA's

For information on who can apply for the ETA (Subclass 601) visa online, please go to: http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/601-

For information on who can apply for the Visitor (Subclass 600) visa online, please go to: http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/600-

For information on who can apply for the Temporary Work (Short Stay Activity) visa (subclass 400) online, please go to: http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/400-

IMPORTANT:

We recommend that applicants applying for a paper-based visa lodge their application at least 6-8 weeks before their intended travel date to Australia. All travellers to Australia must have a valid visa before boarding their plane. Travellers to Australia cannot apply for a visa on arrival.

Quarantine Australia is free from many plant and animal diseases prevalent in other countries. Very strict quarantine rules apply to the importation of animals and plants which cannot be brought into the country without prior application. Animal and plant products are also restricted.	Insurance It is strongly recommended that delegates take out adequate travel and health insurance prior to commencement of travel. Further information can be obtained from your travel agent.
Currency Exchange Decimal currency is used in Australia (AUD) and currency units are dollars and cents. Australian notes are: $100, $50, $20, $10, $5. Coins are: $2, $1, 50, 20, 10, and 5 cents.	Invitation Letters Are available to download from your online profile once all funds have been paid.
Disabled Facilities If you require disability specific facilities, please notify the secretariat by indicating on your registration form.	Liability The Organising Committee and/or Congress Organiser shall not be held liable for personal accidents or losses or damage to private property of registered delegates of the Congress. Delegates should make their own arrangements with respect to personal insurance.
Disclaimer In the event of industrial disruptions, the Congress Organisers and Hosts cannot be held responsible for any losses incurred by delegates. The programme is correct at the time of printing, but the Congress Organisers and Hosts reserve the right to alter the programme if and as is deemed necessary.	Tax Australia applies a tax to the purchase of both goods and services called the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The rate of tax that applies to taxable products and services is 10%. Tax is already included in the advertised prices. Non-Australian delegates may be eligible for a refund of GST via the Tourist Refund Scheme.
Electricity The electrical supply is 240 volts, 50 Hz. The connection for appliances is a flat 3-pin plug. Most city hotels provide 110 volts for shavers.	Tipping Tipping is not as widespread or regulated in Australia as it is in other parts of the world. Tipping is your prerogative, a reward for service. It is customary to tip hotel porters, and a gratuity of about 10% is usual in restaurants if good service is received. NO service charge is added to hotel or restaurant bill.
Health Vaccinations are not required unless you have come from a yellow fever- infected country zone within six days prior to your arrival. You do not need any other health certificate to enter Australia. Australia has a high standard of hygiene and doctors and dentists are highly trained and hospitals are well equipped. In the event of illness, hotel staff can arrange a doctor for you.	Travel For international passengers, we suggest that you try to allow yourself at least a day in which to adjust to the time difference and relax after your flight, before the Congress commences. Travellers flying westward across the Pacific Ocean are reminded that they will lose a day by crossing the International Date Line. The 'lost day' will be returned on the return journey.