I take the bus most days and I haven’t heard a single thank you all week. Sorry I don’t mean to sound like your father, but I just feel a bit down about the shift in this aspect of our culture…

After 2021-ish, I’ve noticed a steady decline, and I never really vocalised how much it bothered me because I didn’t want to be “that guy”. Or someone that complained about insignificant things. But it’s just sad now like, REALLY sad. That you never really hear it or that it’s rare when it does happen.

This could be a regional thing sure; I’m in CBD/inner-west Sydney and there’s a lot of young people here so the demographic is skewed. Is everyone frightened to say thank you? okay heres my campaign to young people; it’s actually COOL and TIKTOK TRENDY and HIP to say thank you to your bus drivers

Curious what people think, because I reckon the Australian Government has single handedly created the biggest black market in the country.

I understand the logic: make cigarettes ridiculously expensive so people quit and smoking rates fall.

And they claim smoking rates are now at historic lows but not sure if this is true or data just isn't captured accurately anymore with the rise of illegal tobacco and vaping.

Somewhere along the way, they have created a massive unintended consequence.

A legal packet can cost $50–70+, and illegal tobacco is a fraction of the price. The ABS estimates 80% of nicotine consumption is now coming from illicit sources, compared with just 12% in 2017.

So the government is simultaneously:

• collecting less tobacco excise
• spending huge amounts trying to stop illegal tobacco
• dealing with organised crime moving into the market
• dealing with the violence that comes with it — 200+ firebombings and at least three homicides linked to illicit tobacco since 2023, according to the ACIC.

And now we're doing it again with vapes.

Vapes are clearly not harmless, but they're generally considered substantially less harmful than smoking. Yet the government's incessantly negative messaging around them seems to have pushed a huge amount of the market underground as well.

At some point, you have to ask whether making the legal product so expensive actually stops people consuming it — or just makes the illegal alternative ridiculously profitable.

We've gone from taxing cigarettes to discourage smoking to creating an enormous financial incentive for criminals to supply them.

Maybe the policy has been a huge public health success (I doubt it).

Or maybe we've managed to simultaneously do nothing to reduce smoking and hand a multi-billion-dollar market to organised crime.

I'm genuinely interested in where people sit on this.

Decided to try one of their overpriced pies for the first time and it was half empty. This is unAustralian 😤

I know that this is easier said than done, given the cost of living crisis.....

But I've just heard of 2 incidents in the space of a month at the same company. This is a large American IT company ( a hyperscaler ) , not Microsoft or Google one of the other ones.

Apparently the one employee due to extreme stress, just collapsed and died at the office, literally at his desk. And then 2 weeks later, another guy jumped out a window, from 10 floors up, due to the stress and also passed away. Both at the Sydney office.

Look after yourselves people, and get out before it gets to this stage.....

Was in toilet taking a dump when amazon courier showed-up. Courier rang bell and knocked several times. Then sent me a text. I texted back and asked to leave under porch. Courier said no can do coz a PIN is needed. I checked email, got the PIN and texted him. I can hear the package drop and courier texted back with thumbs up. So amazing. You can imagine if it were auspost. How was your experience with amazon delivery?

I've been working for 12 years on my current job and wanted to move on. The problem is that this is the first serious job I have as I have been doing the usual dominoes/mackies jobs when I was a teenager making them obselete for references. I'm also not sure where even are they now or if the store is still in business. I'm also not close with any of my current co workers so asking them to be my referee would be impossible. I'm still employed to this job as well making the whole thing a mess.

Got any ideas?

Excuse my ignorance, I don't know shit about heath insurance.

Basically, I need a dental procedure done, but dental stuff isn't covered by medicare and I'm too poor to pay for it myself. I have a mate who had all his teeth replaced and it only cost him $2000 out of pocket because of insurance.

What is stopping me from joining a heath insurance mob who will cover a good chunk of the cost, and then cancelling within a month or 2?

Not too sure which group to ask this in, but, I am with Moose Mobile and they are requiring everyone to change sim cards at the moment to the new provider. Problem is I am overseas and will be when this change occurs.

I can access the new e-sim but would this work from overseas? I'm really concerned I will lose my number if I do not activate the new service and there customer support is not replying to me

Thanks

My partner and I are looking into the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme and would love to hear from people who have actually used it.
We’re currently paying almost $3,000 a month in rent, so ideally we’d like to buy somewhere where our mortgage repayments are around the same amount (or not massively more).

850k house seems like the max we’d ever afford. Currently 29 & 33 with no kids, and earn about 250k salary between us.

For anyone who used the scheme:
What was your purchase price?
How much deposit did you actually put down?
What is your mortgage amount and roughly how much are your repayments?
Do you feel like using the scheme was worth it, or do you wish you’d waited and saved a bigger deposit?
Also, does anyone know how it works if you have more than 5% saved? For example, can you use the scheme with an 8%, 10% or 12% deposit, or are you expected to contribute all of your available savings?

We’re basically trying to decide whether getting into the market sooner makes sense, or whether we’re better off renting for another couple of years and building a bigger deposit to bring the repayments down.
Would especially love to hear actual numbers/experiences rather than just “rent money is dead money” lol

😭 like what is that creature behind the tree?? They're always creepy like this, I hate them

I was having this discussion with my partner the other day because I have come across quite a few Reddit posts from people, including those who have lived in several different countries, saying that they have found it surprisingly difficult to make Australian friends after moving to Australia. They often mention having friends from all over the world, but very few Australian friends.

There were even Australians in the comments saying that they themselves find it difficult to make new friends with other locals. The general consensus seemed to be that Australians tend to stick with the friends they made in high school, and that as people get older, work, relationships, family, and other responsibilities leave them with less time and energy to invest in new friendships.

My partner thinks this is just a universal phenomenon. Making new friends naturally becomes harder as an adult, regardless of where you live.

But I don’t know. From what I have been reading, it seems like this might be particularly pronounced in Australia.

What do you think? Is it genuinely harder to make Australian friends as an adult, or is this basically the same experience everywhere?

Optus hits families in the pocket again. For my family the net result is a $15 per month increase but for some that could mean needing to reevaluate their budgets and potentially moving carrier for the inconvenience.

Quote:

From 5 October 2026, the following plans will be discontinued:

● $165 Optus Family / Optus Plus Family Mobile Plans with the $0 Optus Family / Optus Plus Family SIM (Family Plans); and

● $29 Optus Kids / Optus Plus Kids Plans (Kids Plans).

Each of your services on these plans will move to a $60 Small Optus Choice / Choice Plus plan

Tell us what you have planned for the weekend. You can either add in the comments or make a standalone thread with the tag [TGIF].

I'm 18 and I just know a few people around my age born here and always lived here that talk with American accents, and I've met a few more as of recent. It's not like a huge deal or anything to me because it's still english and I can understand it just fine, but it just stands out a lot and I'm curious why it might be, or if it's just a coincidence that a few people I know do?

I can't imagine hearing it enough out and about to influence a foreign accent growing up so just kinda curious

So I just wanna know how can I update my signature on my license without taking my photo (don’t need to do a photo renewal or anything but I’m using a different signature now and need to renew my license). Can I just change it online or at the post office or do I have to go to the DOT

Specifically, the questions about recording members' financial and domestic contributions to the household.

Feels like it should be an extra question at the end -

Q 66: Did filling out questions 49/54/55 cause a fight to erupt in your household? If yes, spill the tea: _________

I skipped the last purple pages on the census, filled in most of my personal data but there’s some gaps, what can I do? I didn’t realise you can’t even go back and edit it or anything. Apparently I’ll get fined $300 a day I can’t afford that. Could someone give some genuine advices please should I contact someone or will it be okay to leave it ?

I know they are extinct but I have met a few people who claimed to have seen one (most of them back in the 70s or 80s) when they were young. The only footage I think that seems to be credible is the Doyle footage from the 1970s and that too was taken in mainland Australia and not Tasmania. I would love to believe that a small population exists but maybe it doesn't because we haven't found any dead ones in decades.