Sydney is a cosmopolitan world city surrounded by the iconic beaches, World Heritage areas, lush hinterland and acclaimed wine regions of the State of New South Wales. It is a gateway to Australia economically resilient, politically stable and globally competitive business environment.

Central Business District (CBD)

The CBD is home to Sydney's major shopping centres, hotels and entertainment venues, as well as many of its important financial and business institutions. The architecture ranges from contemporary chic to important historical buildings.

The ICGN convenes the world’s premier international event on corporate governance taking place in 13-15 July, 2009 at the Hilton hotel Sydney, Australia before the PRI Annual Conference.

Darling Harbour (including Cockle Bay Wharf, King Street Wharf)

Darling Harbour is one of Sydney's most popular recreation spots was once a busy harbour and industrial region redeveloped in 1988 with shops, more than 50 restaurants, cafes and bars, museums and entertainment. Many Sydney cruises leave from Darling Harbour, and the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre fronts its waters. Cockle Bay and King Street Wharfs are home to a number of most highly awarded Sydney’s restaurants and the harbor host to over 700 events in an average year.

Chinatown

Sydney has a large Chinese community, originally made up of Cantonese speakers from southern China who arrived in the 1850s Gold Rush era and stayed. Sydney's Chinatown is a bustling enclave of restaurants, shops and supermarkets on the southern fringe of the city area between George Street and Darling Harbour. Near China Town the Chinese Garden of Friendship was designed by Sydney's Chinese sister city, Guangzhou in China offering a rare insight into Chinese heritage and culture.

The Sydney Opera House

The Sydney Opera House has become, with the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney's best-known landmark and international symbol. It is nonetheless a fascinating building and heart of the city's cultural scene. It opened with a concert hall, an opera theatre, a drama theatre and a recital hall, as well as restaurants and bars.

Taxes in Sydney

A Goods and Services Tax (GST) of 10% is included in the price of all goods and services sold in Australia. It is automatically charged, so you do not need to add this to your bill.

If you leave Australia within 30 days of buying goods in Australia, you may be exempt from paying GST. You can take advantage of the Tourist Refund Scheme (TRS) to claim back the GST you have paid, and also claim back any Wine Equalisation Tax (WET) you paid. TRS only applies to goods that you can carry as hand luggage, and other conditions do apply.

Tipping

Sydney does not operate on a tipping culture. You may tip to show your appreciation for good service, but it is not a requirement anywhere. Giving a small tip (10% of the bill) in a restaurant is in order if the service is very good. It is also fairly common practice to tip bellhops in international hotels a few dollars, some hotels discourage tipping so don't be offended if they refuse to take it.

The Great Barrier Reef:

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world and cited as one of the natural wonders most in danger from climate change.

The Great Barrier Reef is composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for 2,600 kilometers. The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland in northeast Australia the world's biggest single structure made by living organisms. It supports a wide diversity of life, and was selected as a World Heritage Site in 1981 and labeled as one of the 7 natural wonders of the world and the Queensland National Trust has named it a state icon of Queensland.

A large part of the reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which helps to limit the impact of human use, such as overfishing and tourism. Other environmental pressures to the reef and its ecosystem include water quality from runoff, climate change accompanied by mass coral bleaching, and cyclic outbreaks of the crown-of-thorns starfish and also affects the population and available habitat of sea turtles and other sea creatures and bird populations.

If you have any questions, please email us at events@unpri.org.