December is a high season in Australia. We strongly recommend to reserve your flights and accommodation as early as possible.
Visa Information
If you do NOT have an Australian or New Zealand passport and are not presently in Australia, then you will need a visa to attend the conference. There are two alternatives depending on your country of residency and citizenship.
Option 1
Citizens of some countries may be eligible to obtain an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA). These countries are listed at www.eta.immi.gov.au/ETAAus1En.html.
The list includes countries such as:
Andorra | Germany | Luxembourg | Singapore |
Austria | Greece | Malaysia | South Korea |
Belgium | Hong Kong SAR | Malta | Spain |
Brunei | Iceland | Monaco | Sweden |
Canada | Ireland | Netherlands | Switzerland |
Denmark | Italy | Norway | United Kingdom |
Finland | Japan | Portugal | USA |
France | Liechtenstein | San Marino | Vatican City |
For more information on the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs' Electronic Travel Authority system, visit the Electronic Travel Authority site at www.eta.immi.gov.au.
Option 2
Alternatively, you will need to apply for a short stay business visitor visa (subclass 456) by downloading a form from www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/456.pdf or a tourist visa. For details of applying a visa, contact your travel agent or Australian consulate in your country.
Obtaining a visa is a lengthy process so please allow plenty of time. We strongly recommend you to start the process as soon as possible.
We can assist the process by providing an Invitation Letter. For the process to commence, you should register for the conference as soon as possible. After the registration, please contact the Organising Committee of ISAAC 2008 by email at "isaac08 [at] it.usyd.edu.au" with the following information.
- Full name
- Department
- Organisation
- Full Street Address (Post Office Box is not accepted)
- Country
- Phone
- Fax
- Date of Birth (dd/mm/yy)
- Passport Number and its expiry date
- Issuing authority for passport
- Your registration information details (registration number)
- Author information: if you are presenting a pepr, your paper number
- Other reason for attending:
How to get There
For International Traveller
It is best to fly to Brisbane International aiport, then take a train/bus/taxi to Gold Coast.
Alternatively, you can fly to Sydney or Cairns International Airport, then change to domestic flight to Gold Coast.
Note that if you fly to Sydney international airport, you will need to allow enough transfer time, say 3 hours, to clear the custom and then transfer to the domestic terminal by a shuttle bus.
For Domestic flight to Gold Coast
Please check the following airline websites for flight details:
- Qantas: www.qantas.com.au
- Jetstar: www.jetstar.com.au
- Virgin Blue: www.virginblue.com.au
From Brisbane Airport To Gold Coast
Website of Brisbane Airport: www.bne.com.au/content/home_v4.asp?
The options for travelling to the Gold Coast are via coach, taxi or airtrain. The journey takes approximately 75 minutes. Transport information is available at "Public Transport" in the above website.
CoachTrans
Website: www.coachtrans.com.au
Phone: +61 7 3358 9700 or 1300 664 700
Email: reservations [at] coachtrans.com.au
Cost: $39.00 one way, $70.00 return
Frequency is almost hourly commencing at 6am with the last three buses leaving at 9:00pm, 10:00pm and 11:00pm. Pre-booking can be arranged and is recommended for early and late arrivals.
Yellow Cabs
Phone: 131 924
From Brisbane Airport to Surfers Paradise, approximate cost is $160.00 for a taxi.
Airtrain
Website: www.airtrain.com.au
The Airtrain service leaves from Brisbane Airport every half hour throughout the day between 6.00am and 9.30pm for Robina Station, Gold Coast. With two express trains each hour direct to the Gold Coast, Airtrain is the most reliable and frequent option to reach the Gold Coast from Brisbane Airport.
The Airtrain stops at 3 stations on the Gold Coast: Helensvale, Nerang and Robina - the best station for your transport to the conference venue is Nerang.
If you are travelling from the Airport to the Gold Coast and know the station to get off at, you can book a single or return journey via the website.
Airtrain Connect
Website: www.airtrain.com.au/products_airtrainconnect.php
The AirtrainConnect service involves a train ride to a Gold Coast station, and then a chauffered transfer to your accommodation or place of business. When you arrive at the Gold Coast station, your driver will be waiting with your name on a sign to drive you the rest of the way.
This service is available to be booked 24 hours a day. If your arrival into Brisbane Airport is outside train operating hours (6:00am - 7:30pm), it can secure a coach transfer for you at the same rate as a normal AirtrainConnect. Bookings for the AirtrainConnect service that are outside of the hours need to be made at least 48 hours in advance. Bookings that start at the Gold Coast need to be made at least 6 hours in advance.
From Gold Coast Airport To Surfers Paradise
Website of the Gold Coast Airport: www.goldcoastairport.com.au/
Approximately 30 minutes to Surfers Paradise. Transport information is available at "Ground Transport Information" in the above website.
Gold Coast Tourist Shuttle
Website: www.gcshuttle.com.au/
Phone: +61 7 5574 5111
It operates door-to-door transfers. Approximate cost is $18.00 (one way). Pre-booking is recommended and can be performed online at the site above.
Regent Taxi Cabs
Phone: 131 008
From the airport to Surfers Paradise, approximate cost is $40.00 (one way). Available immediately outside the terminal.