Perth Business Tips

(Perth, Western Australia - WA, Australia)

Perth is one of Australia's prominent main financial, commercial and industrial cities and Perth is home to many major corporations, international companies, mining and mineral head offices and impressive, modern buildings. St. George's Terrace is the hub of Perth's Central Business District (CBD) and this financial area is a pleasant mix of old buildings and striking, modern architecture. Perth city centre is nearby, together with the important areas of Hay Street and Murray Street.

Home to an excellent travel network, including harbours and Perth Airport - the fifth largest airport in Australia, Perth is also an important transport hub, with good connections to Western Australia, which add greatly to its wealth and popularity. Perth has many world-class business facilities, meeting rooms and good conference facilities throughout central Perth, including state-of-the art video communication technology.


Tourism and leisure, retail and shopping, hospitality and the spreading campus of Perth University also contribute to Perth's thriving economy. As a result, Perth has a huge selection of world-class shopping centres, restaurants, street cafés and bars in and around central Perth and Western Australia. There are numerous historic tourist attractions, museums and monuments in and around Perth city centre. Perth's buoyant hotel industry also reflects the high number of tourists travelling to Perth and central Perth is full of hotels and guesthouses, often with exceptional views of Perth and Swan River.

Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre

Address: Cloisters Square, Perth, 6850, Western Australia
Tel: +61 (0)8 9338 0300
The Perth Convention Exhibition Centre, in the heart Perth city centre, is close to many of Perth's largest hotels and attractions. Regularly hosting many of Perth's largest conventions and exhibitions, the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre has provided an enormous boost to Perth's economy, generating millions of Australian dollars.

Business Hours and General Etiquette

Most offices and businesses in Perth and Western Australia open on weekdays from around 09:00 to 17:30, and most of Perth's banks operate from 09:30 to 16:30 Monday to Thursday, remaining open until at least 17:00 on Friday. Many of Perth's largest banking branches have extended opening hours, generally between 08:00 to 18:00 during the week. Perth has numerous ATM cashpoint machines located throughout Perth city centre, providing a useful way to exchange currency. Most shops, restaurants and hotels in Perth accept credit cards, including Visa, MasterCard and American Express.

Perth's shops and shopping centres generally open from around 08:00 or slightly later until 17:00 or 17:30 on weekdays and many shops in Perth extend their opening hours on Thursdays, staying open until around 21:00. Shops in Perth usually open throughout Saturday and although a number of Perth's shops do close on Sunday, some shops open in central Perth, particularly around the Forrest Chase area of Perth .

Working lunches are a successful way to do business in the city of Perth and locals in Perth are quick to use first-name terms when appropriate. Some of Perth's most exclusive restaurants have a fairly strict dress code, although the majority of Perth's restaurants are fairly informal, with a relaxed dress code and atmosphere.

Currency

Currency in Perth and Australia as a whole is decimal, with the Australian dollar as the basic unit of currency. One Australian dollar has 100 cents and the notes come in $100, $50, $20, $10 and $5 denominations. Coins come in 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, $1 and $2 amounts and transactions involving 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 or 9 cents are either rounded up or down to the nearest multiple of 5 cents.

Greeting Someone

A brief and friendly handshake is usually the customary greeting in Perth and generally throughout Western Australia. It is acceptable to address new acquaintances on first name terms in the busy city of Perth and businessmen and women in Perth are usually very amenable.

Smoking

Many of Perth's restaurants and cafés operate a very strict 'no smoking' policy, although some do cater for smokers in different areas. Most of the offices and businesses in Perth are 'non-smoking' and many locals in Perth are quite strongly anti-smoking. As a rule, it is best to only smoke when in the company of like-minded people in Perth and it is often sensible to check with those nearby before you start to smoke.