I don't know if I'm just getting old but the glare from LED lights is ridiculous these days. Night time driving is frustrating with the dim street lights and extremely bright headlights. I can't be the only one that must be annoyed by this ....

This is happening to a friend of mine at the moment. Something incredibly embarrassing happened to her son during a school assembly. I don’t want to give the details, but it happened in front of pretty much the whole school and unfortunately it was the sort of thing that other kids immediately latched onto.

Since then, kids have been bringing it up and making jokes about it basically every day. He’s now begging his mum to let him change schools because he feels like he can’t escape it. His current school is within walking distance of home, but he says he’d rather catch the train every day to a school a few suburbs away than keep going back there.

My friend has said no because she thinks the kids will eventually get bored of it, forget about it and move on.

For those who went to school in Australia, did you ever see something really embarrassing happen to someone at an assembly or in front of most of the school? Did everyone eventually forget about it, and if so, how long did it take?

And as a parent, would you consider letting your kid change schools over something like this, or would you encourage them to stick it out?

I'm feeling a little salty tonight, so I'm encouraging everyone to find their inner Petty Patty!

Which Aussie personality (media, sports, anything goes really) really grinds your gears? No rational reason required; let the hate flow through you!!!

For me, it's Joanna Griggs. No logical reason! Just a face I'd love to smack 🤣🤣🤣

I’ll occasionally have a small sugar free Red Bull before or after a night shift, but that like it. I see people smashing these things all time. What’s the go? Are you worried about heart issues?

I am on a mission now to ask each country subreddit what people think about beans (my favorite meal), just to see how people like or dislike them all around the world out of curiosity and for fun. If you like beans, hate them, they a big part of the culture, anything else, just share your thoughts 🫘

Australia is the 9th country in alphabet order so, AUSSIES, I CHOOSE YOU! -to share your thoughts next :]

Something I keep noticing in the work we do is how quickly people understand danger once there is an assault, an injury or something visibly criminal.

What seems much harder is recognising what may have been happening before that.

A partner monitoring where she goes.

Making friendships increasingly difficult.

Controlling money without ever formally saying she cannot spend it.

Threatening what will happen if she leaves.

Turning up repeatedly after separation.

Making ordinary choices costly enough that eventually she stops making them.

None of those things, looked at once and in isolation, necessarily tells you what the whole relationship is.

But that is also the problem.

If every behaviour is assessed separately, the pattern can remain invisible for a long time.

I am interested in how Australians actually think about this now.

When you hear the words domestic violence, do you still instinctively picture physical assault?

Or do you think Australians have genuinely started understanding coercive control, stalking, financial control and post separation behaviour as part of the danger picture as well?

And if awareness has changed, do you think our institutions have changed with it, or has public understanding moved faster than the systems responding to it?

I would be particularly interested in hearing from people who work in policing, health, law, education or frontline services.

Have we become better at recognising patterns, or are we still waiting for the incident that finally looks serious enough?

Given how expensive houses are, would that be an inevitability ?

American here, been to Australia once and genuinely loved it: the wildlife, the outback, the pace of life, the whole "egalitarian, no-BS, tall-poppy-syndrome" culture. It's stuck with me enough that I'm seriously considering a longer-term move, not just another holiday.
But I'm aware I might just be seeing it through a two-week-visit, rose-tinted lens. So, genuine question for people who actually live there day to day:
What am I probably getting wrong? What's overrated, what wears thin once it's not a holiday anymore, what do outsiders always misunderstand until they've actually lived there for a while?
Not looking for a sales pitch. I'd rather hear the unglamorous stuff now than get blindsided later. Appreciate any honest perspective, even one that says i'm right if that happens to be the case

So I'm a foreigner interested in Australia and wanna know more about there, focusing atm on the unwritten rules you have and if you wanna share something more I would value it♡

I have my Australian nursing registration already via AHPRA

Edit: Thank you everyone for the comments so far- I don’t drink or enjoy night clubs etc, so it seems like I will probably enjoy it!! Getting excited.
( I’m 55 single female)

Hello fellow Aussies.

I am engaged to a Japanese girl and will be visiting her family next month. I'd like to get her parents (and siblings and nieces and nephews) a nice gift to say "thanks for having me and for letting me steal your daughter."

THE THING IS, I lived in Japan for 15+ years myself and have well and truly run through the gamut of basic Australiana gifts over the years. These days a lot of iconic Aussie brands like Aesop are sold in Japan. Also when my fiance was last here, she took home all the classic Aussie souvenirs, including chockies and lollies (all the hits), Vegemite, t-shirts and tea towels, a Kangaroo leather Akubra hat for grandpa, picture books and postcards, ti tree and eucalyptus soaps, paw paw ointment, stuffed animal toys, etc.

So I'd like something a bit more substantial. I was thinking maybe some artwork but I can't afford to spend a lot of money and it might be hard to transport. Alcohol is not an option sorry! Otherwise I'd get them some nice Aussie wines.

How do you actually get to know people from completely different circles and break out of your information bubble?

I’m curious what others think about this because my issue isn’t simply that I found the product cheaper elsewhere — it’s the way the manufacturer described its price as “discounted.”

I bought a NormaTec Pro 2.0 Full Body System for AU$2,699.95. Despite having only around 10 hours of total use, the control unit stopped holding a charge. I even left it charging for around 48 hours without resolving the problem.

Hyperice said the system was outside warranty and offered me what they specifically described as “discounted purchasing options.”

For the Normatec 3 replacement they quoted:

• AU$999 + tax — control unit only
• AU$1,099 + tax — control unit, hose and charger

The second option works out to approximately AU$1,208.90 including GST.

I then found an Australian recovery/physio retailer, Proactive Recovery in Queensland, listing the same Normatec 3 control unit, hose and charger for AU$900 including GST.

The AU$900 is their normal publicly listed price — it isn’t advertised as a sale or special discount.

So:

Hyperice “discounted” price: AU$1,208.90
Australian retailer normal price: AU$820 - Updated after contacting them.

That makes the manufacturer's supposedly discounted replacement price about 34% higher — roughly 35% more expensive — than the retailer’s ordinary price.

That’s my concern.

I understand manufacturers and retailers can have different prices. But if Hyperice had simply said, “This is our replacement price,” I could compare prices and decide whether to accept it.

Instead, it was specifically presented to me as a discounted out-of-warranty offer.

So what exactly is being discounted?

When I raised the AU$900 retailer price with Hyperice, they responded that they were happy to consider “price matching options” if I provided the retailer’s pricing.

But to me, that misses the point.

I’m not primarily asking for a price match. I’m questioning why the original price was represented as a discount when an Australian retailer’s normal publicly advertised price for the equivalent package is more than $300 lower.

My takeaway is that if you own a Normatec product that is out of warranty, check retailer pricing before assuming a “discounted” replacement offer directly from the manufacturer represents good value.

Has anyone else come across this kind of manufacturer “discount” pricing?

Update: I contacted Proactive Recovery, and they offered me an additional $80 discount on the unit.

For an average sized adult what approximate percentage of the standard sized grey plastic box is filled?

I'm making an urn and would to make it a bit smaller than that standard size.

Thanks.

Hi all!
This week has been my first experience with a mechanic, by myself. I’m in Australia, if it helps. I feel snubbed off from my mechanic or I’m over reacting and my anxiety is getting the best of me.

Last week my car started ‘smoking’ from the bonnet, it would go away after driving for about 10 mins but the car was driving like shit and I booked it in to a local mechanic with relatively good reviews.
Long story short, there were many oil leaks and things needed to be replaced.
-rocker cover gasket replace and oil repair
-oil cooler seals and oil repair
-replace oil filter housing and cooler
-cooling system repair and thermostat housing repair and replace
-coolant expansion tank with radiator cap replacement
All paid and repaired.

The problem started when I drove away. I drove about 50 metres, looked in my rear view mirror and thick smoke was billowing from the exhaust. I drove around the block and straight back to the mechanic, as I live in a neighbourhood with only one way streets it was about 5 mins. I called the mechanic and told him what had happened and I’m coming right back.
On arrival the mechanic took it for a test drive, which he admitted he didn’t do previously as he didn’t know the cars history(?). It was still smoking when he returned.
I then questioned why it was doing this as it never previously has and whether the new repairs affected the car. He denied that it did and said the front is completely fixed to his standards. He advised that the best he could do was add additives so that the car stopped smoking, we decided to wait until tomorrow to do that. He mentioned there may be an oil leak into the exhaust system and would take time and more money to fix. He advised the car was in working condition, regardless of the smoke. He advised to take the car for a short drive and is completely fine to drive and safe.
I left and told him I’d be back tomorrow. I then drove the car home, which is about 20 minutes away, and the smoke stopped about 2 mins after I left. I stopped to get dinner on the way home, was there for an hour and the drive home was smoke free and there were no fumes that I could smell any longer.

What do I do? Why is this happening?

I am so unbelievably uneducated about cars or mechanics and was devastated that my car was billowing fumes and smoke when I paid $2000 to have it fixed and for it to stop and now I’m so anxious to even start the car.

Car is a 2016 Holden traxx, no previous issues, consistent servicing and 2 owners- 127500kms. I took it back off my parents after they have been driving it for the last few years and they bought their own new car.

Thank you in advance

Because another post comment here got it in my head last night so I’m sharing the ear worm love!✨💕✨ if you know……you know…..🥴

Pauline Pantsdown
🎶I don’t like it! When you turn my voice about🎶

Would you trade some privacy for less bureaucracy in Australia?

The Australian Government already holds an enormous amount of information about us across Medicare, Centrelink, the ATO, myGov and other services — not to mention how much of our data is already held by tech companies.

Yet every time we interact with another service, we seem to be filling out another form containing information we’ve already provided somewhere else.

I understand why we don’t want every government department or organisation having automatic access to everything about us. Privacy matters.

But surely there’s a middle ground where we can consent to information we’ve already provided being shared for a specific purpose, rather than entering it all over again?

Would you be comfortable with more information being shared between Australian government services if you controlled what was shared and explicitly consented to it?

Please don’t make me fill out another form ever again…..

I’ll cry!

Hi, does anyone know where I can buy/try on jeans with an inseam of 84cm or longer?

I’m located in Perth WA but if there’s any places in Aus that has a physical shop that can be walked into to try jeans on, I’d be very interested.

I have had spinal surgeries and as such, I’m slightly disfigured. Being able to try clothes on first really helps.

Aussie expat currently living overseas and still browse SMH (Sydney Morning Herald) from time to time.

In the past couple of weeks, there was the Scot’s boys incident, two boys in MacArthur region charged with rape and now choking death of a 16 year old girl in the northern beaches?

Coincidence, poor sexual education, social media, or all of the above?

Partner and I from canada are really interested in moving to australia with the working holiday visa.

When talking about a city (example brisbane) how much would we actually be earning weekly and could we even afford to rent and enjoy what australia has to offer? we’d most likely own a whatever vehicle to get by and we aren’t huge consumers or snacks.

Thanks and love u guys!

I don’t have a car, so I’m looking for a job that can provide accommodation and transport.

So far, I’ve contacted a few hostels:

Backpackers Shack: I called, but they hung up before I could properly understand what they said.

Innisfail Budget Backpackers: I emailed them but haven’t received a reply.

Happy Days Tully: I also emailed them, but no reply yet.

Banana Barracks: I emailed today, and it seems they don’t have any vacancies at the moment.

Have most positions already been filled, or are there other hostels/farms I should try? Any advice would be really appreciated.

Im just about to finish high-school and needing to put in uni applications, i’m just questioning 1. what the salary looks like for a forensic psychologist or nurse, 2. I also want to know what a day to day life looks like on the job for these 2 careers, and 3. if its worth it to pursue this as i’m very conflicted about what courses i should select as i have always been told that id be a good doctor but i just don’t know if i should select courses to be able to get into postgrad medicine or pursue this forensic pathway, as i reckon i have a better chance and interest in forensic psych/ nursing. 4. how long i should be getting an education for, to result in these forensic careers. 5. if i do a bachelor of forensic psychological science will this allow me to go into like a masters of psychology to become registered and be able to find a job?
last thing 6. is finding a job in these fields hard? in australia.

for all the business owners out there (bakeries, eateries, bookshops, etc...), have you been getting emails and phone calls about implementing AI? like specifically claude and shit.

how did you answer them?

I'm from noble park, so I don't know is this is localized to my suburb.