Introduction
Australia continues to be viewed as a highly desirable country for immigrants. Its outdoor lifestyle, beach culture and relative safety to raise a family are sufficient to make people relocate from distant countries to a continent still seen as "down under."
Even with the comfort of speaking English, immigrants will be surprised at the degree of culture shock! It is also a country that likes to consider itself as multicultural. To this extent we have included a message from the Federal Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship.
The highly successful hosting of the Olympics in 2000 certainly put Sydney and Australia on the map. Many of those backpackers now caught up in the corporate rat race would perhaps consider Down under as a place where they want to live!
The publication has a very simple objective. It wants you to have a "soft landing" in your new country of choice. There are many practical articles to provide sufficient background information to most questions. This may range from obtaining a driver's licence to advice on taxation. More importantly, it provides invaluable contact points. After all, the most difficult thing to bring is your trusted network from "back home".
Even with the ability to obtain vast amounts of information from the internet, experience from previous publications has shown that travellers find our book easy to slip into a briefcase or handbag and have readily available.
Finally, most articles submitted for this publication have come from immigrants who have not forgotten those early days of seeking information and adjusting to a new country. As you touch down in Australia , we say G'day from OzDownunder.
Clive Cooke
Publisher