press rank #39 · ~$2,400/mo

Can you live unwatched in Australia?

Assistance and Access Act compels decryption help.

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The privacy scorecard

State surveillance2/5
Facial recognition2/5
No national ID4/5
Data-protection law3/5
Encryption1/5
VPN freedom5/5
Democracy5/5
Free expression4/5
Cash still works3/5
Financial privacy2/5
Crypto freedom4/5
Easy to stay2/5
Off-grid living5/5
10 cameras / 1,000 people press rank #39 ~$2,400/mo national average

Childhood vaccines: required to enrol at school

Nothing is compulsory in law. No Jab No Play closes the childcare door and No Jab No Pay closes the wallet, which for most families is the same thing.

If you skip them: No childcare place in five states, and the loss of the childcare subsidy and Family Tax Benefit A.

Exemptions: Medical only, recorded on the national register. Religious and philosophical exemptions were abolished.

Source: NCIRS, plus Georgetown AMP EID, survey of national legislation, 2024

Legal & financial exposure

Facts about the law, not a privacy score: whether each one helps or hurts depends on what you are trying to do.

Reports your account balances abroad (CRS)

Extradition treaty with the US

Crypto capital gains are taxed

Capital Gains Tax applies, with a 50% discount after 12 months.

ISPs must retain your connection logs

The metadata retention law requires providers to store data for 2 years.

3 of 7 signals are unverified for this country: not shown, rather than guessed.

56 real places in Australia

Facial recognition, Bitcoin friendliness and cost vary by city even inside the same country.

Sydney

~$2,600/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Melbourne

~$2,450/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Brisbane

~$2,250/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Perth

~$2,250/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Adelaide

~$2,150/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Gold Coast

~$2,200/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Canberra

~$2,400/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Newcastle (AU)

~$2,150/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Wollongong

~$2,400/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Hobart

~$2,500/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Cairns

~$2,450/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Darwin

~$2,300/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Weigh Australia against your own threat model

Surveillance, speech, money: filter thousands of real places across every country and see where Australia actually ranks.

Browse every place

Not just privacy?

Arcadia matches the same real places against how you actually want to live: weather, cost, healthcare, schools, internet.

Find where to live on Arcadia

Country-level estimates for orientation, not legal advice. Surveillance law changes fast: verify anything you would act on.