Mail
Every town of any size will have a post office , and where there isn't one there'll be an Australia Post agency , usually at the general store. Post offices and agencies are officially open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. Agencies might have an hour off during the day for lunch or close early, and big city GPOs sometimes open late or on Saturday morning. Out in the country it's rare to see postboxes, so you'll usually have to take your mail to the nearest post office or agency.

Domestically , the mail service has a poor reputation, at least for long distances: it can take a week for a letter to get from Wittenoom (WA) to Wagga Wagga (NSW), though major cities have a guaranteed express delivery service to other major cities - worth the expense for important packages. On the other hand international mail is extremely efficient, taking five to ten days to reach Europe, Asia and the US, depending on where it's posted. Stamps are sold at some newsagents and general stores, as well as post offices and agencies. A standard letter or postcard within Australia costs 45¢; printed aerogrammes for international letters anywhere in the world cost 70¢; postcards cost 95¢ to the US and Canada, $1 to Europe; regular letters start at $1.05 to the US and Canada, $1.20 to Europe. If you're sending anything bigger in or outside Australia, there are many different ways to do it, all at different prices; get some advice from the post office. Large parcels are reasonably cheap to send home by surface mail, but it will take up to three months for them to get there.

You can receive mail at any post office or agency: address the letter to Poste Restante (add "GPO" or "Central Post Office" for cities, unless you have the address of a particular branch), followed by the town, state and post code. You need a passport or other ID to collect mail, which is kept for a month and then returned; it's possible to get mail redirected if you change your plans - ask for a form at any post office. Some smaller post offices will allow you to phone and check if you have any mail waiting.

Most hostels and hotels will also hold mail for you if it's clearly marked, preferably with a date of arrival, or holders of Amex cards or travellers' cheques can have it sent to American Express offices.

Phones
The two major phone operators in Australia are Telstra and Optus, though all public phones are Telstra-operated and their rates, on a day-to-day basis, are pretty similar. Post offices (but not agencies) always have a bank of telephones outside; otherwise head for the nearest bar or service station - you'll even find solar-powered, satellite-connected booths in the Outback. Public telephones take coins or Telstra phonecards , which are sold through newsagents and other stores for $5, $10, $20 or $50. You can make international calls from virtually any of them as from a private phone. Many bars, shops and restaurants have orange or blue payphones , but these cost more than a regular call box, and international dialling is not advised because they'll start to gobble money the moment you're connected, even if the call goes unanswered. Whatever their type, payphones do not accept incoming calls.

Crediphones accept most major credit cards such as Amex, Visa and Diners International, and can be found at international and domestic airports, central locations in major cities, and many hotels.

You can make reverse charge calls through the operator, but it's easier with Country Direct which, for the price of a local call, will connect you directly to an operator in the country you're calling. Cash is not needed, as the call is charged to the receiving number or to your own phone credit card. Country Direct calling cards are available through hotels, travel agents and tour operators.

Rates for calls within Australia are cheapest in the evenings from Monday to Saturday, and all day Sunday. Local calls are untimed, allowing you to talk for as long as you like; this costs around 17¢ on a domestic phone, though public phones may charge 50¢. Many businesses and services operate free call numbers , prefixed tel 1800, while others have six-digit numbers beginning tel 13 that are charged at the local-call rate. Numbers starting tel 0055 are private information services (often recorded), costing between 35¢ and 70¢ a minute, but with a minimum charge of 40¢ from public phones.

International calls are charged at a flat per minute rate depending on the country called, whatever the hour or day of the week that the call is made. All incur a connection fee of 22¢, then it costs 37.4¢ per minute to the UK; 31¢ to the US; 44¢ for Canada; and 31¢ for New Zealand. If you plan to speak for a while, you can save money by buying half-hour blocks to all the above countries for $6.60 by dialling tel 0018 (instead of tel 0011), then the country code and number. Hang up within the first minute and you only pay a $2 connection fee, otherwise you'll be charged for the full half hour; speak for over thirty minutes and you'll pay double.

The Internet
Like everywhere else, internet availability has boomed over the last few years in Australia. Larger cities have internet cafés , typically charging around $4 to $6 an hour (though they sometimes offer half-price discounts early in the morning); and many places to stay - especially hostels - also provide terminals for their guests at similar rates. Otherwise, try local libraries , who almost always provide free access, though time is generally limited to one hour and you'll generally have to sign up in advance on a waiting list. In Tasmania, most towns now have an Online Access Centre , which provide internet access and word processing facilities for $5 per half hour, with a volunteer to help you out if needed.