It is hard to distinguish the social classes in Australia. A person is not respected just for their social rank, but for their achievements or broad knowledge.

Australians are not so particular with their surnames or their social status. Unlike most of Asian countries, they only use their full name (including their social status) during formal occasions. Generally, people would call each other by their first names, so one will have a hard time discerning their status. Offices are becoming more and more open studio types so there are many expensive ways to signify that a person is of higher rank.

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A typical and traditional Australian family would be a 4 members family (father, mother, two children and a pet) living in a huge house. This family pattern is still found, but it is not as prevalent as before.

Inter-racial marriages are becoming more common nowadays. De facto marriage and single parents can be easily found too (1 in every 3 married couples divorce). De facto marriage is not the model family of the society. but they are recognized and given the same legal rights as married couples. Most of them prefer work over having babies.

Men and women are given the equal legal rights and with or without the presence of a father, mothers usually have their own jobs. Remarriage is a common thing and having a step family is not new anymore.

Families living with their grandparents are very unlikely and grandparents usually live in a granny flat (a guest house separated from the main house fully furnished) or in a small town with specially built houses for elders.

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"Fair go" and "Have a go" are the often used phrases in Australia and they show just how much Australians value a fair chance to give their best shot at something. Australians praise the efforts put in rather than value the results. Even if a person does not succeed, they will be respected if they have tried their best for they are taken as heroes. For instance, the highly respected people like Anzac soldiers, Ned Kelly, Eureka insurgents all lost their last battles.

Although there are no formality, Australians are strict with time managements. If a person comes too early for the appointment, they will have to wait till the exact time or if a person shows up late, they might have to listen to some harmless jokes about being late. (In some work places, a person can be reprimanded for tardiness.)

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In social events or in work places, Australians do shake hands with each other. However, as mentioned earlier, they really do not have any formality with greetings or in conversation. Most of the time, Australians will just introduce themselves and they don't feel offended when called by their first names.

True enough, it is quite normal to call their boss by their first names and even the Prime Ministers are called by their first names or nicknames (provided that they are not present) like the current Prime Minister, John Howard, is simply called Johnnie. On a work-related or formal occasion, necessary formality are required. In these circumstances, a person with higher rank is usually introduced first. Do not get confused when the boss at your work or your professor treats you like you are a friend. They are just being friendly and they do not mean anything special by it.

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Just like their attitude, Australians are pretty informal and casual with what they are wearing. If a school does not provide for prescribed uniforms, a person can wear whatever they wish to although it is an etiquette to avoid wearing what is too unbecoming and inappropriate.

• At workplace
  A clean suit is always preferred but this doesn't have to be the case for all the time. Just observe what other people wear and do the same. Women can wear trousers at work and it is always better to wear stockings when wearing skirts.
• Casual attire
  -- If work involves providing services or small trades, uniforms may have to be worn during the office hours .(i.e. black trousers a with white shirt, styles can be chosen by the workers) When working in an apparel shop, a person may have to wear their own clothes.
• Black clothes
  Black clothes are deemed normal. Although black is quite often worn at funerals, it does not represent the color of bereavement. The Little Black Dress is very popular women's costume at formal occasions like dinners and parties.
• At a pub, bar, or club
  Most of the pubs (a place where liquors are sold and consumed and some of them ever serve meals), bars and clubs in the cities have dress codes. Generally, the dress code applies only after 8 p.m. and this means men are not allowed to enter wearing shorts, sleeveless shirts and inappropriate shoes like rubber shoes and sandals. Pubs outside the cities are more lenient on the dress code while in some places, no dress code is enforced.

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Australian foods are highly influenced by the multicultural characteristic of Australian society. The most popular ones are Italian, Greek, Chinese, Thai, Malay, and Lebanese and they are often enjoyed at home as well.

Most of the supermarkets sell Indonesian, Asian and European spices. The special thing about Australian food is that they concoct their own recipes by mixing these different spices. Creating a new recipe by adding a new spice to an old recipe or removing old ingredients are parts of Australian foods. Adding Marinara (Italian sauce) or Satay (Thai sauce) to your food can create an unexpected taste. Localized versions of Asian and Indonesian foods use more meat, less spices and a serving increases as well. Australians are sensitive to chillis, so only a small amount is used as an ingredient. It is all right to order an entree/appetizer as an alternative for a main dish when a serving seems too big. It is all right to have left-overs at restaurants.

The main meal of a day is dinner (also called the tea) and the dinner time is normally from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. When a guest is invited over a dinner, the host prepares three or four course meals comprising appetizer, entree, main dish and desserts. On a normal day, only the main dish is prepared.

Meat is very much preferred in Australia and is normally cheaper and of high quality as well. However, restaurants do offer vegetarian dishes and there are special vegetarian restaurants too. Some Australians are vegetarians, not because of their religious practices but either because of their active participation in animal and environmental movements or because of their diet balance. Tourists more often than not are surprised to see Kangaroo meat on the menu. Kangaroo meat is one of the gourmet cuisines of Australia along with crocodiles even though they are not usually eaten at home.

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When invited over a party or a dinner, you have to bring a red wine or beers. Bringing desserts and chocolates do the trick as well. Don't be offended when the host does not bring out the wine you brought; It may simply mean that the host has already picked out a wine to complement the dinner or maybe they are having too much wine on the table already. In those cases, the wine will be kept for the next occasion. Wines do not have to the expensive and do ask what to bring before the party.

Sometimes, the host would put BYO (BYO grog/drink) sign on the invitation they've sent. BYO simply means bring-your-own, requesting each person to bring their own drinks. Most of the times, Australians do not mind bringing foods to a party to cut down the cost of the party. The most common item to be brought to a party is alcoholic drinks as it can be quite expensive to provide alcohol for a large number of people. The same principle applies to meat. There are no formal ceremonies involved in dinners, so feel comfortable to carry casual conversation before, during or after the dinner. Another useful tip at the dinner would be to wait until everyone is served at the table. Declining food or alcohol offered at table is also very informal. Just say no in a polite manner and they will not ask you for a while. To Australians, no means no, so if you want to have another drink, you need to say yes.

When hanging around with friends

When you go to a pub or club, you will encounter 'shouting' ritual. Shouting does not mean raising your voice. It simply means that each person who calls shouting buys a round of alcohol for their company. To save money on alcohol, a person only calls shouting among their company, not for all the people at the pub. In a house, however, shouting means somebody's turn to bring everybody a round of alcohol. Shouting is not some pickup line or a cheap trick to save money, but is an Australian way of sharing their love with their friends.

Australian government is very strict with drinking-driving. Designated drivers do not drink and bring everybody home safely when the night is over. Designated drivers take turns, so be prepared or volunteer to be one in order your friends to have some fun for the night. What should be done when everybody is drunken? Just grab a cab and come home safely!

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Australians are pretty sympathetic towards people whose first language is not English because at least 17 percent of Australians speak a language other than English at their homes.

Foreigners find it hard to understand Australian English because of their propensity to use idioms and slangs. Many American English words are differently used in Australia.

Australians love to make nicknames for people and things. Also, they love to abbreviate words such as "thinking" becomes "thinkin" and "good day" becomes the now famous Australian expression, "G'day". Rhythmic slangs which are not commonly used these days came from colonial era. For instance, "sauce" is called the "dead horse" while a "kid" is sometimes called "tin lid".

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Australia is one of the most diverse and multicultural countries. It is very open country and accommodates different cultures. Both the government and the society ensures the freedom of religion, language and private ownership of everybody.