Elements of Local Australian Culture

1. Popular sports: Australian rules football, rugby, cricket, golf, soccer, rowing, cycling, netball, surfing, tennis, and many others.
2. Music: Modern music tends to follow trends of the U.S. and the U.K. Indigenous music is best characterized by the didgeridoo, a wind instrument like a natural wooden trumpet. Some well known performers are ACDC, Keith Urban, Kylie Minogue, etc.
3. Food: Some iconic Australian foods include vegemite (yeast based sandwich spread), macadamia nuts, jaffas (chocolates with an orange flavored shell), etc. Kangaroo meat is readily available in Australia, but is not the most commonly eaten meat. Indigenous Australians have a hunter-gatherer diet which includes kangaroo and emu meat and bush berries and fruit.
4. Major religious beliefs and/or spiritual: The major religion in Australia is Christianity, but is also diversified with Islamic, Buddhist, and Jewish beliefs. There's an increasing percentage of Australians who have no religious beliefs and Indigenous Australians follow the animist spirituality of the Dreaming.
5. National holidays and traditional customs: Some national holidays include New Year's Day, Australia Day (January 26 and celebrates the establishment of the first English colony), Labor Day, Easter, Anzac Day (25th April and similar to veteran's day in the U.S.), Queen's Birthday, Christmas, and Boxing Day (post-Christmas sales and a significant sporting event day).
6. Popular TV shows, movies, and stars: Some popular TV series are The Neighbours, Home and Away, Australia's Next Top Model, and many other reality TV series. Notable Australian movies entail Moulin Rouge, Crocodile Dundee, Happy Feet, Red Dog, etc. Australian movie stars include Heath Ledger, Nicole Kidman, Geoffrey Rush,  Cate Blanchett, Eric Bana, Hugh Jackman, Naomi Watts, Chris Hemsworth, Mel Gibson, and many, many more.
7. Online news sources: The Australian http://www.theaustralian.com.au/, http://www.news.com.au/, Herald Sun http://www.heraldsun.com.au/, Sydney Morning Herald http://www.smh.com.au/, Australian Broadcasting Corporation http://www.abc.net.au/
8. Online forums for expatriates
9. Type of Government and leaders: There are three branches to the Australian Government which include the legislature (or parliament), the executive, and the judiciary. The six Australian states also have the power to make their own laws. Local governments  have a legislature and an executive branch, but no judiciary branch. The Australian Prime Minister is Julia Gillard. There is one federal parliament lead by the Prime Minister, six state parliaments lead by Premiers, and two territory parliaments lead by Chief Ministers. There is an Opposition Leader in each Parliament.