At its meeting today, 3rd May 2011, the RBA decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 4.75 per cent. This was the expected result for this month. The next rate announcement will be on the 7th June 2011.

First Home Buyers Mortgages 7 April 2011

The average mortgage finance for Australian First home buyers in Feb 2011, as compared to February 2010, has again dropped slightly, down to $277,000 or about 2.7 times the average annual income for 2 full time adults workers ....more ...

London Property Prices versus Sydney Property Prices March 25th 2011

Greater London Average Detached house prices = GBP807,526 (A$1.29m) while Greater Sydney Median Detached House price = $550,000...

Australian Average Commute to work time March 10th 2011

Australian Average Commute to work time is 27 minutes...

Average Wage Increases for 12 months to Nov 2010

29th January 2011

Average Adult Earnings May 2010
$73,028 Male Full Time
$60,720 Female Full Time
Average Adult full-time non-managerial Earnings May 2010
$70,382 Male Full Time (40.3 hours per week)
$62,993 Female Full Time (38.0 hours per week)
The state by state figures can be seen... here .

Virgin Blue or Jetstar for Domestic travel ?

An opportunity arises when a person flies one direction by one airline, and then the return trip by the other, to evaluate the two airlines. Well, this just happened, and the difference can be incredible and expensive.(7 Dec) Watch this space... I am waiting for the airline response before publishing what actually happened...I am still waiting (22 Dec). Looks like Virgin Blue will be getting our future flights...23rd January 2011. Still no reply, other than the automatic "Your Message has been received" one. Jetstar is off my list of flight options. If it hadn't cost us money it may not be too bad, but at an extra $200 charge at check-in, on the way home ... never again. Purely because they are not prepared to reply.18th February 2011 - I got a reply, but a waste of time reply, and an insulting "we hope you will travel with us again" comment !!

Baskin Robbins to shut down in Australia November 2nd 2010

US owner of Baskin Robbins and Cookie Man loses licence to run 92 Aussie ice cream stores after ...

Victoria skilled state sponsored visa scheme November 1st 2010

Applications for Victorian Government state sponsorship will open under the State Migration Plan on 3 November 2010.

The Australian National Education Curriculum will be available for implementation from the 2011 school year by those schools that are in the position to commence it in time....more ...

IKEA has plans to open another six new Australian outlets Sept 2010

IKEA has plans to open another six new Australian outlets, three in Melbourne, two in Sydney and one in Brisbane....more ...

Northbridge, Perth, WA 30th Aug 2010

THE inner Perth suburb of Northbridge has been confirmed as the city's most violent area after dark......more ...

Average wages rise by over 5% 19th Aug 2010

The latest ABS average wages show that Full-time Male adult total earnings have increased to $1,406.70 pw from $1,336.40 12 months before, an increase of 5.26%...more ...

English Language Test requirements for some occupations 17 Aug

According to a newspaper report, anyone that has not completed both secondary education and nursing/midwifery education programs in Australia, will be required to demonstrate English language competence. more ...

Australian Driving experiences 17 Aug

Australians have lifted the lid on what stresses them out while driving, with almost all the drivers surveyed across the nation (99%) saying they have experienced unsafe and potentially life-threatening behaviour on our roads. more ...

CPI rises 3.1% 28 July

The ABS Consumer Price Index rose 3.1% through the year to the June quarter 2010 more ...

Average Earnings by Specific Occupation 15 July

The Australian Bureau of Statistics produces a report each year showing the Average Earnings and hours worked by Specific Occupations. Medical practitioners are at the top of this list, and Hairdressers are at the bottom...more ...

Tax Refund for School Uniforms 13 July

The Labor party has announced that the Education Tax Refund (ETR) scheme may be expanded to cover school uniforms from July 2011. ....more ...

First Home Buyers Mortgages 12 July

The average mortgage finance for First home buyers in May 2010, as compared to April 2010, has dropped slightly in most States. ....more ...

Unemployment Rate June 2010 8 July

More good news released by the Australia Bureau of Statistics show that the unemployment rate for Male full time workers has dropped again to 4.78% ....more ...

New Settler Arrivals to Australia dropping substantially from UK 6 July

Figures from an ABS report, issued 6th July 2010, shows the number of UK settlers arriving in Australia has dropped by almost 40% compared to the previous 12 months ....more ...

Taxmans targets in 2010 5 June

Teachers, Mechanics and Engineers have been warned ....more ...

Quorn is now in Australia 5 June

Quorn the Meat and Soya free food is now in Australia...more ...

Fixed Interest Mortgage Rates begin to reduce in Australia 3 June

The Major banks are beginning to cut interest rates on some fixed term home loans.more ...

Australian Retail Sales increasing in 2010 3 June

Australian retail sales increased by 0.59% in April 2010, following a similar increase of 0.75% in March 2010.more ...

2010 Mercer Quality of Living Survey 26 May

The 2010 Mercer Quality of Living Survey covered 221 cities and more ...

Bank Satisfaction Rates 23 May

A recent survey by the Finance Sector Union has shown that not everyone is dissatisfied with their bank in Australia. In fact, only 28% are dissatisfied. more ...

6.06% Rise in Average Annual Earnings in Australia. Feb 2010 20 May

Average Annual Income for All Australian Male Full Time workers based on Total Income, from the ABS Feb 2010 report, has risen from $68,468 in Feb 2009 by 6.06% to $72,618 in Feb 2010 more ...

Skilled Occupation List (SOL) July 2010 17 May

219 occupations have been removed from the SOL and they include: Cooks, Hairdressers and Pharmacists.These changes will come into effect on July 1st 2010.more ...

Unemployment Rates April 2010 17 May

The Unemployment rate for Australians looking for full-time work in April 2010, on a seasonally adjusted basis was:5.13% Males (5.08% March 2010)6.21% Females (6.11% March 2010)more ...

NAB - National Australia Bank 17 May

Winner of the 2010 CHOICE Award for Best Low-Fee Bank Account.The National Australia Bank is currently the best option for many people, due to it's NO MONTHLY FEES...more ...

Low Income Tax Offset 14 May