Destination: South Australia
General Things to Do Weather Time Health Education
Welcome
Our Adelaide team extend a warm greeting to you and welcome you to our great nation and in particular, South Australia.
If you intend to relocate to Australia and have not yet arranged for a home visit and customised moving quotation, please complete our online Contact Request Form. Once we receive your completed form, one of Wridgways experienced moving consultants will contact you, and arrange for a representative to visit you in your home, anywhere in the world. You will then receive a firm, customised moving quotation.
Wridgways offer comprehensive moving and relocation solutions. Not only can we provide moving, storage, insurance and packing services, we can also help you find a new home, temporary accommodation, deliver cultural transition programs, find suitable schools for your children and introduce you to your new city with our orientation service.. just to name a few. Contact our Adelaide office or our Relocation division to find out more about our extensive services.
General
A sense of history, fine wine, food and culture can all be found in the City of Adelaide - the capital of South Australia and home to more than a million residents.
The Adelaide Festival of Arts and the Festival Fringe bring the City a world-class extravaganza every two years. These and other fabulous festivals offered every year, give Adelaide its title as the 'Festival City'.
Galleries, museums, fun shopping, eateries galore, scenic gardens, great coffee and the friendly Adelaide people, make this South Australian city worth a long and satisfying visit.
Things to do... Places to visit
Want to explore Adelaide but don't know where to begin? Like most Australian cities, Adelaide is well serviced with public transport to make getting around easy, cheap and accessible.
Or better still, why not take advantage of a FREE service provided by the Adelaide Greeters! Whether you are arriving from Overseas, Interstate or Intrastate, why not experience a warm and friendly welcome from an 'Adelaide Greeter'? This community service will match you with an Adelaide Greeter who shares your interests and speaks your language. You and your Greeter will spend up to 4 hours together, getting to know Adelaide, exploring the City from a local perspective. They will explain how the Public Transport system works, and perhaps over a coffee, individual questions can be answered, and a pleasant experience shared. Their aim is to ensure you have a pleasant experience in Adelaide and help you discover their beautiful city. The service is available 7 days a week, between the hours of 9am and 5pm. It is a pre-booked service. Bookings are required a minimum of three days in advance, and can be made by telephone, facsimile, or online.
Adelaide is the wine capital of Australia. In fact six out of the top 10 Australian wines are made within a few hours drive of the city centre.
Perhaps a spot of shopping is in order? Well look no further than Adelaide's Rundle Mall.
Rundle Mall is the shopping heart of the City of Adelaide. The Mall is a shopper's paradise with over 600 retail stores including David Jones, Myer, Harris Scarfe, Toys R Us, Rebel Sport, and Hoyts cinemas. Many unique and exclusive stores are located within the precinct providing a great range of exciting merchandise.
You will enjoy exploring the 14 arcades and centres that link to Rundle Mall providing a range of shopping experiences including over 160 specialty fashion stores. It is also the venue for many performances and events, from fashion parades, to buskers and street performers, take in the enticing tastes and smells of the Central Market and at the end of the day, enjoy the stimulating nightlife of Hindley Street and the West End.
You're just 20 minutes from the tranquillity of the Adelaide Hills to the east, while a selection of superb sandy beaches, including Glenelg, awaits to the west.
» Adelaide Tourism Info
Weather & Climate
Adelaide enjoys warm summers, beautiful springs, mild autumns and crisp but not too cold, winters.
Renowned for its variable climate, Adelaide is said to often experience four seasons in one day!
The average daily temperature in Adelaide during the summer months, is 24 degrees celcius (79 degrees F) and 16 degrees celcious (59 degrees F) during the winter months.
Adelaide's summer extends from December to February and is warm to hot. Autumn is mild and extends from March to May, winter is cool and sometimes cold and extends from June to August and spring is usually variable but mostly mild and extends from September to November.
The warmest Adelaide months are generally January and February, which are often dry and can sometimes rise up to the high 30 degree Celsius range. As compared to the other extreme, June and July are the coldest months and September is the wettest.
Time
South Australia is on Australian Central Standard Time (GMT +9.5 hours). Daylight Savings Time is in effect in South Australia from early spring to early autumn, during which time clocks are set forward one hour (GMT + 10.5). Australian states and territories have varying policies on Daylight Savings so double-check when you're crossing state lines.
Health
Australia offers a high standard of medical care and facilities. All cities offer privately funded doctors surgeries, hospitals and clinics as well as Government funded facilities. Most Australians are covered by private health insurance to avoid the long waiting periods associated with certain treatments, but many also enjoy the government funded public health system referred to as Medicare.
Medicare is Australia's universal health insurance scheme and provides access to free treatment in a public hospital and free or subsidised treatment by practitioners such as doctors, including specialists. Australia's public hospital system is funded jointly by the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments and is administered by State or Territory health departments. Contribution to the health care system is made through taxes and a Medicare levy which is based on taxable income.
Are you eligible for Medicare?
People who reside in Australia are eligible if they meet any of the following four criteria:
- they hold Australian citizenship
- they have been issued with a permanent visa
- they hold New Zealand citizenship, or
- they have applied for a permanent visa, restrictions apply to persons who have applied for a parent visa (other requirements apply).
However, for new arrivals to Australia it is interesting to know that The Commonwealth Government has signed Reciprocal Health Care Agreements with some countries. Under these arrangements, residents of these countries are entitled to restricted access to health cover while visiting Australia. For further information,
» visit the Medicare website
Ambulance services are offered Australia-wide and provide emergency services, clinical care, paramedic training and non-emergency transport. It is among the best in the world in providing state-of-the-art emergency care.
The state government provides free services to some pensioners and Senior Card holders, however, this service is generally not free of charge in Australia. It is suggested you contact your state ambulance authority and discuss the option of membership subscription with them as soon as possible.
Dental services are extensive in Australia and dentists operate within private practices in most communities throughout the country. Dental services are not free, but can be partly or completely covered within a private health fund membership or dental protection plan.
To obtain details of your closest dentist, visit:
» www.dentist.com.au or
» Dental Services Australia.
Further information about Health in Australia, is available on the Internet at the following related links:
» Public Health System in Australia
» Medicare public health system
» Private Health Insurance Administration Council of Australia
Education
The school system in Australia is divided into two sectors; government-run or "free-of-charge" public, education system and the independent or "private" education system.
South Australia's state schools are coeducational. Children may begin their education with kindergarten and/or preschool, in preparation for primary school. Preschool provides a year of non-compulsory education, for four and five year olds.
By law, children must attend school between the ages of 6 and 15. Primary school is the first compulsory stage and covers Years 1 to 7. Children usually commence Primary school in the year of their sixth birthday and continue this level of education for seven years.
After completing Primary school, most children attend secondary or commonly referred to as High school. High school offers years from Years 8 through to 10, children often commence their High school education aged between 12 and 13 years. On completing Year 10, students have the option of continuing to Years 11 and 12 or leaving school.
The school year usually runs from late January to mid-December. It is divided into two semesters, with two terms in each and vacation breaks for Easter, winter, spring and summer.
Secondary Schools
Choosing a secondary school for your child can be a daunting task, particularly if you are moving from an overseas country. For parents who are new to Australia, it may be difficult to know what questions to ask to make an informed decision.
If you require assistance with school searches, please contact our Adelaide office or our Relocation Division. We also suggest you visit the numerous education websites available for further details, please see links provided below. We hope it will help you as parents, make the important decision your child's secondary education.
We suggest that before you begin your school search, you clearly establish what your educational priorities and educational requirements, for your child are. Consider the individual personality, strengths, weaknesses, skills, likes, dislikes and needs of your child. This will enable you to create a clear picture of the kind of school that will reflect your educational values and will best suit your son or daughter.
The South Australian secondary school year is broken into two semesters and four terms. Semester 1 commences in January and concludes in June and Semester 2 commences in July and concludes in December.
If you are planning to transfer to South Australia from interstate or overseas you, or your school, will be required to provide the school principal with all school reports and certificates, as evidence of your child's previous schooling and level achieved.
Further information about the full range of South Australia's education services is available on the Internet at the following related links:
» South Australian TAFE College
» Study Adelaide
» Catholic Education South Australia
» National Catholic Education Commission
What does education cost?
South Australian State schools generally do not charge annual tuition fees. The parents and citizens' associations of most schools, however, do request that parents/caregivers donate a financial contribution. The amount varies from school to school.
In most schools, parents are responsible for providing such items as stationery and uniforms. Parents also bear the costs of sending their children on school excursions and to camps and for participating in extracurricular activities.
Private school fees vary from approximately AUD$1,000-$6,000 per year for Catholic and smaller private schools and up to AUD$5,000-12,000 for the larger private schools.
