Australian English dictionary

Browse A–Z

• carer's leave

  noun

  Leave taken from personal leave to care for a sick family or household member.

  He used carer's leave to look after his sick daughter.

• cark it

  phrase

  To die or to stop working completely (informal).

  The old car finally carked it.

• cash in hand

  phrase

  Being paid in cash without proper records, tax or super, which can be illegal.

  Cash-in-hand jobs often skip super payments.

• casual employee

  noun

  A worker without guaranteed regular hours who usually gets casual loading instead of paid leave.

  Casual employees can be offered shifts week by week.

• casual loading

  noun

  Additional pay component for certain casual employees.

  The advertised hourly rate includes casual loading.

• Catholic school

  noun

  A school run by the Catholic education system, usually charging lower fees than other private schools.

  Their daughter goes to a Catholic school.

• CBD

  noun

  Central business district of a city.

  The office is in the CBD.

• census

  noun

  An official count of the population and information about households, held every five years in Australia.

  Every household must complete the census.

• census date

  noun

  The last day you can withdraw from a university subject without paying fees or getting a fail.

  Drop the subject before the census date.

• Centrelink

  proper noun

  Australian government service for certain payments and support.

  She updated her details with Centrelink.

• certified copy

  noun

  A copy of a document signed by an authorised person to confirm it matches the original.

  Upload a certified copy of your passport.

• change of address

  noun

  Updating your address with government agencies, banks and other services after moving.

  Notify Medicare of your change of address.

• change of mind

  noun

  Returning an item simply because you no longer want it, which shops do not have to accept.

  Many stores don't give refunds for change of mind.

• cheeky

  adjective

  Playfully disrespectful or bold, often in a likeable way.

  That was a cheeky reply, but everyone laughed.

• chemist

  noun

  Pharmacy; shop supplying medicines.

  The chemist closes at six.

• Chemist Warehouse

  noun

  The name of an Australian retail pharmacy chain; a proper brand name.

  She checked prices at Chemist Warehouse.

• chicken salt

  noun

  A seasoned salt mixture commonly sprinkled on hot chips.

  Would you like chicken salt on your chips?

• Child Care Subsidy

  noun

  Government help paid to childcare providers to reduce fees for eligible families.

  The Child Care Subsidy lowered our daycare fees.

• childcare centre

  noun

  A service providing care and early education for children.

  We toured a childcare centre near home.

• chippy

  noun

  Carpenter.

  The chippy is building the deck.

• chock-a-block

  adjective

  Completely full or crowded.

  The train was chock-a-block this morning.

• chockers

  adjective

  Completely full or very crowded.

  The car park was chockers by noon.

• chook

  noun

  Chicken.

  We bought a roast chook for dinner.

• chuck a sickie

  phrase

  To take a day off work claiming illness, often when not genuinely sick.

  He joked about chucking a sickie on Friday.

• chuck a wobbly

  phrase

  To have an angry outburst or tantrum.

  Dad chucked a wobbly when the car broke down.