McBurney & Partners' office is conveniently located in the Sydney Central Business District (CBD) near Circular Quay (the gateway to Sydney) and Wynard (the transport hub of Sydney). The office is within easy walking distance of famous landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Centerpoint Tower and The Rocks Area.

Sydney is the capital city of New South Wales and is situated on the eastern coast of mainland Australia. Australia is an island continent with an area of 7.69 million square kilometres and is the sixth largest nation after Russia, Canada, China, the United States of America and Brazil.

The population of Australia is now estimated at just over 20 million people drawn from diverse backgrounds. The first Australians being the indigenous Aborigines followed by European settlement in the late 1700's and today's community where approximately 23 per cent were born in another country and just over a quarter of the population have at least one parent who was born overseas.

Australia has a non-discriminatory migration policy and places emphasis on attracting new migrants who have education or work skills that will contribute to Australia's economic growth.

Due to Australia's geographical location, the Asia Pacific region has long been the focus of its foreign policy however Australia looks beyond the region to play an active role in the development of solutions to global economic, social and strategic problems.

A competitive environment, Australia has a high-growth, low-inflation, low-interest rate economy. Policy reforms have been pursued vigorously to ensure that the economy is globally competitive and remains an attractive destination for investment. Australia has become a significant player in world financial circles as a result of its strong domestic and international economic record. The Australian Stock Exchange is the second largest equity and options exchange in the region (after Tokyo) and the Sydney Futures Exchange remains the largest and most innovative in the region.

Australia is being recognised increasingly as a regional financial centre, with:

• A well-regulated and sophisticated financial system
• Deep, liquid and transparent markets offering a wide range of sophisticated products including equities, bonds and managed funds
• World-class telecommunications
• A multilingual and highly skilled workforce
• A world-class system of financial regulation

Australia is one of the most stable economic, political and social environments in the region, which has led us to increased investment from overseas in recent years. As a result of major diversification in Australia's export base, Australia is now not only a commodity exporter, it also has sophisticated manufacturing and service industries.

Tourism
Tourism is one of Australia's largest and fastest-growing industries. Generating more than $16 billion in foreign exchange earnings a year, inbound tourism contributes three per cent of Australia's gross domestic product.

The Australian landscape is highly distinctive with vast stony deserts in The Red Centre, sweeping plateaus and plains, broad sandy beaches on the coastal fringes, deep rainforests in the tropical north, lush river areas and fertile primary production centers in the Murray - Darling River Basin and rugged mountain ranges such as the famous Blue Mountains west of Sydney and the Snowy Mountain Range.

The climate ranges from wet and humid tropical conditions in the far north, through warm and temperate on the central east and west coasts, to cooler conditions in the southern coastal areas and Tasmania. All parts of Australia enjoy warm summers and relatively mild winters and it seldom snows in or near the large centres of population.

Sporting Life
Australia is a competitive sporting nation and world leaders in cricket, football, tennis, golf and water sports. The general population leads a healthy outdoor life with children encouraged to participate in sport from an early age.

Australia and in particular Sydney, became the focus of attention in the sporting world by successfully hosting the 2000 Summer Olympics.

All forms of the performing arts, including music, theatre and dance, have strong followings in Australia and have reached new levels of sophistication and excellence in recent years. Australian feature films have enjoyed remarkable international success.

Today
Australia's spectacular natural environment, multicultural communities, food and wine, the friendliness of its people, combined with its weather and lifestyle make it one of the world's most popular tourist destinations. These qualities also make it one of the best places in the world in which to live and conduct business.

The information presented above was summarised from a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade publication "Australia in Brief". Commonwealth of Australia copyright reproduced by permission. More information may be obtained by visiting their website www.dfat.gov.au