As an Australian I feel it is my duty to educate those here on AFF who don't know much or nothing about Australia so if they ever come to this lovely (snake and spider infested) country then they won't feel like bogans.

So let's begin with 20 down to 1 with 20 being the least important to 1 being vital. I'll attempt to inject humor into it which may be dry so bear with me.

15. Steve Irwin does not represent the average Australian male:

As much as it appeals to women to think that there are men who are willing to risk their lives for others the truth is not every guy dresses in olive green overalls and wrestles crocodiles. I can tell you who you may consider him to represent:

Tradies

Tradies or Tradesmen are considered one of the most masculine target groups of Australian culture. They wear shorts which are short for men, singlets or shirtless take your pick and the steel cap boots. Not every tradie is a hunk like this one here except if you want to pick up a tradie then always look out for the apprentice or assistants. 80% of the time they are guaranteed to be decent looking I kid you not.

14. Australians tend to be racist

Most westernised countries tend to be racist and ist in their humor to a degree except Australians tend to take it a bit far:

This prank is from a popular television series called 'Chasers War on Everything' and they got into a lot of trouble for it... Maybe it was because the guy tried to impersonate a terrorist and people actually were gullible enough to believe it. Not all Australians are racist, if they don't make fun of a different race then they'll joke about:

1. The opposite
2. Or our politicians

Either way you can stand up against it or laugh it off, your call.

13. We do not have a particular 'race'

We're similar to England and America, we have a wide variety of different people and cultures living in the one area. Most 'white' Australians came from the long lines of convicts that were brought to the country for slave labour. But if you want the closed thing to a native then it would be:
The indigenous. They have strong belief in the dream time and get in touch with nature more than those who live in the city. There's been a lot of heartache for them through persecution and segregation but our ex Prime Minister Kevin Rudd did his best to ease the pain through a public apology which was well received.

12. American dollar = Australian dollar = WTF?

If you went to a shop in Sydney, found a jacket you liked and then wanted to pay for it using this:

Guess what they would laugh at you. Just because we both use dollars doesn't mean that it would be accepted. What we use is more flamboyant and colourful

Here's what our 5 dollar note looks like with that you can buy a soft serve cone, a small burger and small fries from the loose change menu at macdonalds and still have change XD. Please use this or any of the other notes we use and NO we don't have 1 dollar notes.
 

11. We make fun of New Zealand

For us New Zealand is our little sibling nation, it's three quarters smaller than Australia and has other quirks which I do not know all about. The main joke we have here down under is:

At least we can make wooly jerseys for winter. Yeah we think there's more sheep than people in NZ and there are a lot O_o

10. IT DOES NOT SNOW ON CHRISTMAS DAY

While there are parts of the world who wake up to this:

Our Christmas however...

It gets hot. Really REALLY HOT! When it gets hot you either prepare to be sizzled, strip down or run for cover (literally) because we consider ourselves blessed if we have an air conditioning unit in our house.

9. We use a lot of slang.

Simple terms you may hear include:

• Mate: a friend of yours
   
• Barbie: barbeque
   
• Bloody: used to emphasize a point (e.g. "the food is bloody horrible")
   
• G'day: in other words "Good day" it's normally said when first greeting someone.
   
• Muso: a musician
   
• You right?: "Are you alright?"
   

8. For more intermediate there is:

• Kiwi:  a person from New Zealand
   
• Ambo : a paramedic/ Ambulance officer
   
• Tassie: Tasmania
   
• Prang : a car crash
   
• Prezzies: presents or gifts
   

7. And there are very advanced terms (I lie not all of them are)

• Barra: a barramundi fish
   
• Yobbo: someone who is considered stupid, loud or uncultivated. The people who walk into shops with no shoes... Yeah
   
• Snags: sasuages
   
• True blue : to describe someone or something who is genuine
   
• She'll be right: "it will be alright"
   
• Loaded: to describe someone wealthy or drunk
   
• Hoon: a stupid or uncultivated person
   
• Drongo: a stupid person
   
• Bastard: meant to be endearing but well...
   
• Fair dinkum: true or genuine
   
• Ocker: an unsophisticated person, normally used for males
   
• Rack off: same as f*** off
   
• Sheila: a woman

6. We do have a few folklore legends.

The most common one being the bunyip.

It's an indigenous myth and not cute or cuddly like a unicorn. No apparently this thing lived in the water and came out at night to eat people. There's no real image for a bunyip since there's too many varieties, but they all eat people! Scary stuff hey?

Another mythical creature is the yowie, similar to big foot in a way. I don't know much about it except for the chocolate which I used to love

5. Sydney is the capital of Australia

GOTCHA. No if you say it is you're an idiot. Yes it's a city but no it's not the capital. The capital is Canberra where we 'can'

4. We are full of snakes and spiders and stuff

Imagine waking up and having something near you on the wall:

Ugh whenever I come across these in the house I go

Better yet I may come across one of these

I can tolerate the snakes such as:

ACTUALLY NO THESE CAN BE DEADLY= AVOID AT ALL COSTS

Phew much better these ones do bite but it won't kill you.

By all means if you ever see:

Run for dear life! This is the most deadliest snake in Australia, don't be stupid and pick it up just get out of there.
 

3. We have creepy fish here too

ugly and pretty dangerous. This is what we call a stone fish don't step on them.

Plus be mindful of
Better yet stay away from the beaches.

2. Watch out for Drop bears

This is no joke. Actually it is fooled you!

These are a dangerous threat to campers and everyone who goes out into the bush. They like to drop from the trees and devour the heads, necks of innocent people. I would show this graphic but it's rather gruesome. So look up and stay alive.

And now for the most important thing.

1. We do not travel anywhere on kangaroos.

I smh everytime I get asked if we do. How do people even expect us to ride them? On their back? How do we hold on? In their pouch? No technically we cannot the Simpsons proved that there's yuck stuff in the pouches. So you can try but expect to be kicked out of every wildlife reserve and zoo for doing so (if it doesn't kick you in the gut for trying to mount it. No suss joke here)

I hope you found this informative if not plain strange. Do feel free to ask me any questions or anything else if you have any enquiries.