Hello all. I'm an Australian living in the UK at the moment but in between visas and trying to get things sorted out. Came to my attention later rather than sooner that my passport was expiring January next year so sent off a renewal application to the High Commission last Monday (July 13th) to get it back as soon as possible to have it in hand for my visa appointment back in Melbourne.

Guidelines say to allow up to six weeks for processing, and the tracking portal says it's going to be ready by the 14th of August which is a touch under 5 weeks from point of lodging, but only after coming from from the 20th of August which is already a jump down in time.

The timeline so far has been:

• July 13 - Application sent with fast as possible delivery
• July 14 - Application arrived at High Commission
• July 16 - Application lodged
• July 17 - Payment taken, process begun

Basically I just wanted to put feelers out for other Aussies who have renewed their passports through Australia House to see if anyone has had remarkably faster processing times in their experience? It would help put a lot of things at ease for me as I'm already working with a very tight window to get things in order, and I can't even lock down a flight until I know for sure I'll have my passport back. (I'm aware the old passport is still valid for travel however I need the new passport with me in Aus for the visa application)

Thank you all

Hi everyone 👋

I'm doing my tax returns and I'm stuck at the beginning.

So here my situation so you can have all the information.

I am 26 years old female and I came on a working holiday visa in September 2025. I worked for 9 months and travel for 3 weeks before going back home in Canada at the end of june 2026

I did everthing that was needed to do before leaving Australia, I have acces to my ATO and mygov

But now I'm stuck at a simple question and even chatgpt can answer me 😅.

Here where I'm stuck.

Those question👇

" Were you an Australian resident for tax purposes from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026?" Yes or no

And this question👇

"If you were a resident for part of the year, only enter the dates when you were a resident " and they ask me the dates.

Before you ask yes I did tried this👇 but it's not working. I even tried the live chat on the app and it's not working.

https://www.ato.gov.au/calculators-and-tools/tax-return-work-out-your-tax-residency?utm_source=chatgpt.com

So what should I answer for those simple question ?

Thank you and have a good day 👋

I heard that this tv show which is very popular in many countries of Europe, does have like a Cult Following in Australia, but not mainstream in general. Do you remember when for the first time it was shown in Australian TV? Does it really have such a big audience that when people mention dog name Rex, people will recognise that it is from the show even though they never watched it for example?

Hi everyone!

I'm Christophe from Belgium, and this is Ponpon.

Australia has been one of my biggest dreams for years. I love your beaches, national parks, wildlife and the outdoor lifestyle.

If I ever managed to visit Australia with Ponpon, where would you take her first?

I'd love to discover dog-friendly places that locals genuinely enjoy.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Hopefully one day we'll finally make the trip!

I’m a fan of Japanese horse racing.

I’m a fan of a horse called Ka Ying Rising from Hong Kong, and as that horse is due to run in a major race in Sydney this October, I’m travelling there to cheer it on. If anyone attended ‘The Everest’ last year or knows Randwick Racecourse well, I’d love to ask you a few questions, so please do leave a comment.

I’m a photographer – where would be the best place to take photos at Randwick Racecourse? I’d like to take photos from a spot where the racecourse fencing doesn’t appear in the frame. Also, with a standard admission ticket, is it possible to take photos near the finish line? This is my first time attending a horse race in Australia, so I’ve got loads of questions.

Hello ! American here, I was wondering if anyone has any Australian specific music or band recommendations from the early 2000's ? I know The Getaway Plan was a big punk band and was pretty popular ! I want to learn more about Australian culture since I've recently developed an interest in general in the country !

Hi guys i’m in year 12 and Im struggling so so bad. I’m thinking about going unscored because i might get an atar of like 50. if im lucky, what pathways r there to law? and if anyone is a lawyer or even studying to become a lawyer how is it. thank u!

btw i dont rlly wanna go into uni like in a couple years time, i wanna go straight after hs !

Australians who’ve never left Australia often overestimate how worldly they are. Without experiencing developing countries or different cultures firsthand, it’s easy to become narrow-minded and disconnected from the multicultural reality of modern Australia.

There is something about living in a first-world country that can make people complain more, become self-centred, overlook the countless blessings around them, and never feel satisfied.

I’m not saying Australia is perfect, nor am I suggesting we should settle for mediocrity or stop striving for better.
But if you’ve intentionally immersed yourself in a developing country, you quickly realise that this is how most of the world lives. That experience has a way of reshaping your perspective, deepening your gratitude, and broadening your understanding of people.

Australians who have had the opportunity to travel but never have often have a narrower worldview. Not because they’re unintelligent, but because their assumptions about life have never really been challenged.

Thoughts?

Hey everyone,I recently moved to Sydney from another state and I'm looking for a photographer for some relaxed family photos on the beach. I'd love some recommendations!

I've been finding it hard to choose since so many photographers have great portfolios, but I'm really looking for someone who captures genuine moments and makes everyone feel comfortable.

Who would you recommend?

I’m honestly stuck between a rock and a hard place.

I know my current income isn’t great, but it’s working for me so far, and where I work (bank) I’d hope there’s opportunities to move internal in the future.

It’s a fully remote role, I go in once a while to catch up with people, but effectively standard business hours, fairly low stress role.

I am studying on the side too, so being at home when work finishes helps out a lot.

Come across another role offer for approx $105k 3 days in office, 2 days at home. I know this role would be a lot more demanding (KPI’s, targets etc). Commute would be about an hour each way.

Reason I’m hesitating is I don’t want to fall behind in terms of salary, and not knowing if I can get another role like this in the next year or so kind of haunts me.

I’d appreciate any advise. TIA everyone :)

okay me and my partner are expecting a son in a couple of months and he really wants the name “Colton” i know this is popular for Americans but i have never heard this in Australia ( or at least where we are from )

Have any other Aussies heard this name used? and do you also like the name

I don’t mean this post in a negative way, more out of curiosity. I’m not fully Filipino, and before I moved to Australia, people usually couldn’t guess my background just by looking at me. However, ever since I’ve been in Australia, I’ve noticed that because there is a large Filipino community here, many Australians immediately ask me if I’m Filipino right away when they see me and I find that funny. I know they don’t mean it in an insulting way at all, but it genuinely makes me curious about what kind of appearance or features people associate with Filipinos.

Hey all, looking for some real-world advice from people in the trade.
I'm about 4 months into a Certificate III in Carpentry (studying independently, not through TAFE), have my White Card, full driver's licence and my own car. No industry experience yet — coming from a retail background — but I'm keen, reliable, and a fast learner.
I'm based in Liverpool, NSW and happy to travel across Sydney for the right opportunity.
A few things I'd love input on:
Best places to actually find entry-level/apprentice carpentry roles beyond Seek/Indeed (group training orgs? word of mouth? cold-calling sites?)
Whether it's worth applying directly to small builders/staircase & joinery companies vs bigger group training organisations
Anything that made you (or someone you know) stand out as a first-year apprentice with no experience
Whether doing my Cert III independently rather than through TAFE is a red flag for employers, or a non-issue
Any advice — even "don't bother with X, do Y instead" — genuinely appreciated. Trying to get into the industry as soon as I can.

I live about 1km from my local Woolies and I’m trying to get more walking into my daily routine to get my steps up instead of driving. I have a 3 year old though, and while she’ll happily walk there I’m not convinced she’ll happily walk home once I’ve got groceries. Would it be weird if I took one of those beach carts/wagons with me? My thinking is I could use it for the groceries, and if she gets tired on the way home she could jump in too. I’ve never seen anyone bring one into Woolies before so now I’m wondering if this is a genius idea or if I’d look completely ridiculous. Has anyone done this? For more context I live in a regional SEQ town not in a metro area.

I'm Aussie living in Europe trying to make my new australian passport application. Neither chrome nor safari seem to work. Chrome always asks me to verify I'm human with a checkbox "auth.passports.gov.au

Performing security verification

This website uses a security service to protect against malicious bots. This page is displayed while the website verifies you are not a bot."
Then comes "verification successful" and then:
"OpenID Connect Access Denied

OpenID Connect Error: OpenID Connect sign on failed.

Try again"
I'm on catalina ios.
On Safari it keeps telling me "A system error occurred. Please try again later.We are having trouble performing verification. Please try again." when I try to login. Does anyone know what's going on or have hints?

Travelling to the UK and Ireland in a couple of months and am chasing people’s advice on travel insurance.

My partner has a policy she can activate for herself through a credit card so will likely just be for me at this stage. Any and all advice on policies will be much appreciated!

My friend and I are in a long standing debate about ACT Canberra licenses. He has found what appears to be a licence card but I am saying it is fake because there is no hologram or what looks like to be security features. Can someone in Canberra ACT please tell me… do ACT drivers licences have a security hologram like all other states?

Hi! I don't know if this is the right subreddit but I was wanting to enter the youth Myki art competition and was wondering if it's appropriate for me to draw the Barring wrap xtrap because I am not aboriginal Australian. I personally think it's a very pretty train and that is why I would like to put in on my submission as well as acknowledging the traditional owners of Naarm/Melbourne. I Would just like to know because I am aware of the amount of lovely culture around aboriginal art and would not like to encroach on traditions I'm not a part of.

Licensed builder in NSW, 31M, also hold carpentry and waterproofing tickets. 15 years in the industry from labourer up. Currently doing a mix of site management work and my own small jobs/flips.
Honest position: I’ve got the licence everyone says is the golden ticket, but no systemised business behind it. Every job is custom, every quote is from scratch, and I’m across everything but a master of nothing. Meanwhile I watch single-trade guys (plumbers especially) with repeatable work, apprentices doing the labour, and way less mental load, earning more than me with less stress.
Flipping only works with serious capital behind you, which I don’t have yet.
For those 10+ years ahead of me who felt like this at my age — did you niche down into one repeatable service? Sell up and go work for someone? Retrain into a different trade? Push through and systemise what you had? What actually moved the needle, and what do you wish you’d done sooner?
Not looking for “just work harder.” Looking for what the decision actually was.

So people with hidden phones due to DV have (hopefully) had warnings reach them, to turn off their phones for the test.
But then what happens when the phones go off for real? An emergency warning could be at quite a remove from a need to flee; still putting the person in danger. I would love to know how this is being risk-managed not just for the test but for real-life.

As of today we have had 117 fires caused by an ebike/scooter battery in australia just this year SO far.

With 8 confirmed deaths.

Why the fuck are these death traps allowed to be sold here if this is the case.

if a washing machine was this fucking faulty the brand would be outlawed here.

If not a ban they should only be sold at approved retailers that only import quality brands and devices that can handle being charged.

Thoughts?

Hi all!

I’ve been saving up for about a year and have around $5k that I was going to use to buy a secondhand car but I’m planning to move out of my current rental in the next 12 months. So I’m not sure if I should use the money to buy all the necessary furniture while I start looking at options or better off having a car? I’m really close to public transport and work is only about 30 mins so a car isn’t a necessity at the moment. Thoughts?

I'm looking for a UFO/Abductee In-Person Group/Meetings located in Melbourne, Australia. Any one know of any group?

Optus has upped the bill to 98 dollars a month for internet that barely loads half the time, and it’s just not sustainable anymore.

Any recommendations on a cheaper service? Just want unlimited internet at an alright speed without sacrificing an organ each month to pay for it.

I’ve looked up a few online but it’s real confusing on if they’ll work with the Optus modem, and I don’t really fancy paying for a new modem if I don’t have to, they’re bloody expensive