Strange Australian Laws

Whether you’re a true blue Aussie or just in town for a visit – there’s plenty to love about Australia. However, outside of the beautiful beaches and spectacular scenery, Australia’s unique history has left a rather bizarre and strange collection of rules and regulations that govern different regions. In fact, many of these laws are still enforced today.
Here are some things to be aware of if you’re travelling inter-state or coming from abroad:

1. How many Melburnians does it take to change a light bulb? – there’s been a lot of controversy that certainly had Members of Parliament in upheaval, but the law remains in effect that only a licensed electrician is allowed to change a light bulb in the state of Victoria. While your standard Melbourne electrician isn’t typically inundated with requests to change light bulbs in residential homes, many commercial operations will regularly require electrical services which include lightbulb changes to comply with OH&S. If you are looking for an electrician to change your light globes, they’ll charge a standard 1 hour call out fee for the job.
2. Watch where you walk in Queensland – if you are staying in the area, you might want to watch where you’re walking. That’s because all footpaths in Queensland are generally shared between pedestrians and cyclists or some are for cyclists only and no pedestrians are allowed. On shared paths, pedestrians are required to keep to the left of the road and if they do cross the bike path,they must do so as quickly as possible. If you’re staying Townsville accommodation or anywhere else in Queensland, keep an eye out for signs indicating where you can walk.
3. Taxis carrying a bale of hay – stemming from the old horse and cart days, taxi cabs in Queensland were originally required to carry a bale of hay to make them suitable for passenger transport. Of course, these days you’ll be hard pressed to find a taxi with their own straw bale in the boot parked outside Maroochydore hotels, but this law has reportedly never acutally been repealed. (If you believe what you read on the internet!)

What other unusual laws do you know about in Australia? Have you ever been fined for something unusual?

Bio: Paige Green writes for Quickbeds, Australia’s leading resource for hotel deals and last minute accommodation. She’s currently appealing an infringement that was issued to her for riding her bicycle on a horse path in Sydney.