Australian English dictionary

Browse A–Z

• biometrics

  noun

  Personal physical data such as fingerprints and a facial photo, collected for some visa applications.

  Applicants from some countries must provide biometrics.

• biosecurity

  noun

  Rules and checks that stop pests and diseases entering Australia, including limits on food, plants and animal products.

  Biosecurity rules mean some foods cannot be brought in.

• birth certificate

  noun

  An official document recording a person's birth, used as proof of identity.

  A birth certificate is a primary ID document.

• bloke

  noun

  A man, often referred to casually.

  That bloke helped me change the tyre.

• blood test

  noun

  A test of a blood sample to check health.

  The doctor asked me to have a blood test.

• bludge

  verb

  To avoid work or effort.

  He tried to bludge while the others cleaned.

• bludger

  noun

  A person perceived as avoiding work or relying unfairly on others.

  Calling someone a bludger can be insulting.

• blue

  noun

  An argument or physical fight in Australian informal speech.

  The neighbours had a blue over the fence.

• blue card

  noun

  A Queensland working-with-children clearance card under the relevant scheme.

  She applied for a blue card for the role.

• bluebottle

  noun

  A small blue sea creature with stinging tentacles, common on Australian beaches.

  A bluebottle stung my leg at the beach.

• bluey

  noun

  An Australian nickname with several meanings, traditionally sometimes for a red-haired person.

  Bluey was his nickname at school.

• body corporate

  noun

  An organisation responsible for shared property matters in certain strata or community schemes.

  The body corporate approved the maintenance plan.

• body corporate fees

  noun

  Fees paid for the management of shared property under an owners corporation or similar body.

  Body corporate fees are due quarterly.

• bogan

  nounoffensive

  Informal and potentially insulting label for someone seen as unsophisticated.

  Avoid calling a stranger a bogan.

• boil water notice

  noun

  An official instruction to boil water before drinking it.

  Residents received a boil water notice.

• bond

  noun

  Money held as security for a rental tenancy, subject to local rules.

  The tenant paid a bond before moving in.

• bond claim

  noun

  A request to get the rental bond money paid back at the end of a lease.

  Both parties signed the bond claim form.

• bond lodgement

  noun

  Depositing a rental bond with the state government bond authority.

  The agent must lodge the bond within a set time.

• bonza

  adjectivedated

  Very good or excellent; informal and somewhat old-fashioned.

  The team had a bonza season.

• bottle-o

  noun

  Shop that sells takeaway alcoholic drinks.

  There's a bottle-o near the supermarket.

• bottlebrush

  noun

  A plant with dense cylindrical flower spikes resembling a bottle brush.

  Bottlebrush flowers grew along the driveway.

• bowlo

  noun

  An informal name for a lawn bowls club.

  We had dinner at the local bowlo.

• BPAY

  noun

  A system for paying bills through online banking using a biller code and reference number.

  Pay the electricity bill with BPAY.

• break lease

  verb

  To end a fixed-term rental agreement before its agreed expiry, possibly with conditions or costs.

  She asked about the cost to break lease.

• brekkie

  noun

  Breakfast.

  We had brekkie before work.