Australians are usually humble, quite welcoming, polite and contact seeking when meeting strangers. Do not be surprised that strangers greet you, look you in the eyes and start a conversation with you in situations that you perhaps never had expected someone to do in your home country.
They value authenticity, sincerity, and loathe pretentiousness. Australians prefer people who are modest, humble, self- deprecating and with a sense of humour. They do not draw attention to their academic or other achievements and tend to distrust people who do. Australians place a high value on relationships.
Almost 94% of the population of Australia is of European ancestry. Over 97% of the population is made up of immigrants or the children of immigrants who arrived here during the last two centuries. 28% percent of people living in Australia today were born in a foreign country and migrated here.
The true Australian identity is a reflection of all that is good in everyone – it has a changeable expressive human face that seems to enjoy a laugh, with an ability to hope and contribute to a better future.
Australians are very friendly and easy-going people. In fact, Australians are renowned for their laid-back nature and unique sense of humour. Another thing Australians are known for is their love of sport, recreation and the great outdoors.
Let's face it, most of us are suckers for a sexy accent. According to a recent survey conducted by the popular dating website MissTravel.com, over 2000 American men and women regard Australian accents as one of the sexiest in the world.
In a 1950 copy of Meanjin, Phillips used the term 'cultural cringe' to define the penchant for Australians to see their artists and writers' work as inferior to anything from overseas, Britain and the United States in particular. As a consequence, many Australians in the cultural field spent time or moved overseas.
In addition to being herding dogs, Australian Shepherds serve as Seeing Eye dogs, hearing dogs, drug sniffing dogs, and search and rescue dogs. Because of their high intelligence, Aussies are well suited to do a wide variety of jobs.
In a nationally representative survey of Australian 15-year-olds, 87 per cent said they 'treat all people with respect regardless of their cultural background' and 85 per cent said they 'respect the values of people from different cultures', compared to the OECD average of 81 per cent and 79 per cent respectively.
According to Dr Tanya King, senior lecturer in anthropology from Victoria's Deakin University, “it's Australians' egalitarianism, sense of humour and informal language that are most commonly cited as examples of this attitude”.
Australian Shepherds are one of the most popular dog breeds, coming in at 16th on the American Kennel Club's most recent ranking. Aussie's are loved by many because they are smart, high-energy, versatile, loyal, and loving dogs.
Australia ranked near the top of the list in the 2022 World Happiness Report, with a happiness score of 7.162 (on the 0 to 10 scale), placing it as the 12th happiest country in the world out of 156 nations.
It's common and perfectly polite to address people by their first names (even your boss or people older than you). People often call each other “mate”. Communication: Australians are very casual, direct and humorous when communicating.
Australians respect people with strong opinions, even if they don't agree. Avoid discussions about the treatment of the aboriginal people. Don't comment on anyone's accent. Accents often distinguish social class.
It is considered impolite to ask a direct question about a person's salary or wealth. Inquiring about someone's weight or age is also highly inappropriate in many situations. Spitting in public is rude. If there is a line for something, always queue and wait for your turn.
Politics, Sex and Religion are 3 topics which, in a multicultural and liberal country like Australia, can spell trouble between roommates, classmates, work mates but even between friends. It is for that reason that these topics are referred to as taboo topics.
In this way, humility is essential to social interaction. Australians are often very modest about their accomplishments and commonly self-deprecate to avoid seeming pretentious. This can sometimes be taken to extreme lengths in social circles and workplaces.
What's Beautiful in Australia? Australians uphold “fit, healthy, and natural” as the attributes that make you beautiful. Vibrancy, warmth, and self-confidence also top the list of qualities deemed important. Healthy skin and beautiful eyes are seen as the most desirable physical traits.
If you find the British accent difficult to understand, it's likely you'll find the Aussie accent even harder to grasp as, for the most part, Australia is a melting pot of all the different regional dialects of British English.
The Australian accent is non-rhotic
This means that the pronunciation of the /r/ sound will never occur at the end of words. Where an American will say three separate sounds for the word car /kar/, an Australian native speaker will only say 2 /ka:/.
The Australian flag has the nation's vote for being the image or symbol about which we are most proud. 95% of Australians take pride in the national flag, which is enjoying increasing popularity, with half (50%) saying that they are extremely proud.
Australia is the fourth happiest country on the planet, making its lifestyle one of the most known and envied in terms of carefree living. No hectic pace from a big metropolis and a perfect balance between work, family, and leisure time.
Becoming an Australian citizen means that you are making an ongoing commitment to Australia and our shared values. It is also the beginning of your formal membership of the Australian community. It is the step that will enable you to say 'I am Australian'.