Invitation from Dr. Laurie Besley, NMI Chief Executive and Chief Metrologist

Invitation from Mr. Alan E. Johnston, CIML President

Accompanying Persons' Program

A program of sightseeing tours for Accompanying Persons can be downloaded as a PDF file by clicking on the link below:

Arrival & Transport to/in Sydney

Located in Mascot NSW, Sydney Airport is approximately 8 km from the city center. It is easily accessible by all modes of transport including car, train, taxi or bus. Click here for the Airport web site, which also gives details of transport to and from the city. The Airport Link web site also gives practical information.

MonoRail and Metro Light Rail

The Monorail is one of only a few elevated transport systems in the world that operates through the heart of a major city. The Monorail also delivers hundreds of Sydney’s commuters daily from Pyrmont and Ultimo to the centre of the City. The Metro Light Rail is Sydney's newest transport system and is, without a doubt, the most pleasant way to travel from the city to Sydney’s inner west. Visit the Metro MonoRail web site

Climate

October in Sydney is the Spring season and the average temperature is generally about 18 °C (range from 14 °C to 22 °C). There are about 11 mean rain days per month in October.

Currency, Banking, Credit cards

Australia's currency is the Australian dollar, or "buck", divided into 100 cents and shown on currency tables as AU$ or AUD. Plastic notes with forgery-proof clear windows come in $100, $50, $20, $10 and $5 denominations, along with $2, $1, 50¢, 20¢, 10¢ and 5¢ coins. All the major banks have a branch in the city centre: ANZ, HSBC, Westpac, The Commonwealth Bank, St. George and National Bank. Opening hours are 9:30am to 4:30 pm Monday to Thursday, and 9:30 am to 5:00 pm on Fridays. Automatic Teller Machines (ATM’s) are available 24 hours at most banks, but you should avoid using them late at night, for security reasons.

Electricity

Electricity in Australia is 240 Volts, 50 Hz. Plugs and sockets are of this type:

Internet access

A number of computers will be made available in the "Boardroom", in the Star City Hotel, for delegates to access the internet. A Wifi connection will also be available in the meeting room.

Languages

The official languages spoken during the Conference and CIML Meeting will be French and English; simultaneous interpretation will be available between them.

Lunches and refreshment breaks

Buffet lunch will be served to Delegates (and Accompanying Persons if they wish to attend) throughout the week. Refreshment breaks will also be served in the morning and afternoon each day.

Medical / vaccinations

In general, no special immunizations or medications are necessary for travel to Australia. However, insect repellents and other measures to prevent mosquito bites are strongly advised for many areas, especially the Northern Territory and Western Australia, because of the risk of Murray Valley encephalitis, Ross River virus infections, and other mosquito-borne illnesses. More information is available on this web site.

Meeting documents

Delegates should please note that no paper documents will be available for the CIML Meeting; all the CIML Meeting documents will be made available for download via the CIML Meeting Agenda page which Delegates are invited to visit frequently to be sure of having the most recent versions and the latest details.

Paper documents will be available for the Conference, and will be mailed out to Delegates prior to the event.

Time zone

Sydney time is UTC + 10 hours (daylight savings time will be in force in October so the difference will be 11 hours). Local time, and various other information concerning Sydney (and all other cities in the world) can be found at the World Time and Date web site.

Tipping

There are no mandatory gratuities or built in restaurant service charges of any kind in Australia (although a 10 % Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be included in the total figure on your bill). Tipping is not expected anywhere, and historically has not been the norm, though it is becoming more widespread in restaurants (if the service is good).