Australian English dictionary

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• visa grant notice

  noun

  The official letter confirming a visa has been granted and showing its conditions.

  Keep a copy of your visa grant notice.

• visa medical

  noun

  A health examination required for some visa applications.

  Book your visa medical with an approved clinic.

• visa refusal

  noun

  An official decision not to grant a visa.

  The letter explained the reasons for the visa refusal.

• voluntary school contribution

  noun

  A payment public schools ask parents to make that is not compulsory.

  The voluntary school contribution helps pay for resources.

• wage theft

  noun

  When an employer does not pay workers what they are legally owed.

  Wage theft is a serious problem in some industries.

• waiting list

  noun

  A list of people waiting for a service, such as surgery in a public hospital.

  He has been on the waiting list for six months.

• waiting period

  noun

  The time you must wait after taking out insurance before you can claim certain benefits.

  There is a twelve-month waiting period for some dental work.

• walkabout

  noun

  A journey on foot traditionally undertaken by some Aboriginal people; informally, something or someone that has wandered off.

  My keys have gone walkabout again.

• wallaby

  noun

  A smaller kangaroo-like marsupial.

  A wallaby stood at the edge of the bush.

• waratah

  noun

  An Australian flowering shrub known for large showy flower heads.

  We saw a waratah on the bushwalk.

• warranty

  noun

  A promise from a business to repair or replace a product if it has a problem within a set time.

  The laptop has a one-year warranty.

• water bill

  noun

  A bill for water use, paid by owners and sometimes partly passed on to tenants.

  Tenants may pay water usage charges on the water bill.

• water restrictions

  noun

  Rules limiting certain uses of water during specified conditions.

  The garden watering schedule follows water restrictions.

• wattle

  noun

  An acacia plant, many species of which grow in Australia.

  Yellow wattle flowers appeared in spring.

• Welcome to Country

  noun

  A formal welcome delivered by an authorised Traditional Owner or Elder.

  The event began with a Welcome to Country.

• Westie

  nounoffensive

  An often derogatory word for a person from the western suburbs of a city, especially Sydney.

  He jokes about being a Westie from Penrith.

• wheelie bin

  noun

  A large wheeled rubbish or recycling bin.

  Put the wheelie bin out tonight.

• whinge

  verb

  To complain persistently, often about minor matters.

  Stop whinging about the weather.

• whinger

  noun

  Someone who complains frequently.

  Nobody likes a constant whinger.

• white card

  noun

  Evidence of general construction induction training for building-site work.

  You need a white card before entering many construction sites.

• WHS

  noun

  Work Health and Safety, the laws and practices that keep workplaces safe.

  The new employee completed WHS training.

• wombat

  noun

  A stocky burrowing Australian marsupial.

  A wombat crossed the road at dusk.

• wop-wops

  noun

  Chiefly New Zealand slang for a remote area; uncommon in Australia.

  They live out in the wop-wops.

• workers' compensation

  noun

  Insurance payments for workers injured or made ill because of their job.

  He received workers' compensation after a back injury at work.

• Workforce Australia

  noun

  The Australian Government's employment service that helps people find work.

  He registered with Workforce Australia to look for work.