Hey there
jezbowman, I got my UK PPL a few years ago and it was not until this last Christmas that I flew in Australia. I did a pretty thorough (2 hr) flight test and was issued the "Special Pilot" license. I did this in NSW so haven't flown in Qld.
I agree generally with the above comments: do expect the flight test to be thorough, but have no fear: anyone with a UK PPL will breeze it. You will find yourself having a lengthy (1hr plus) briefing before flight though as you'll need to understand a number of differences. Airspace and charts are very different. For example, there is special airspace around places like Archerfield known as "GAAP". A bit like Class D, and no big deal really, but it generally includes lanes of entry/exit that you must be familiar with for example. These will be shown to you in flight as well during your check (at least they were at Bankstown/Sydney). There are other airspace differences, including "MBZ" mandatory broadcast zones etc. None of it difficult - in fact its a good system - but you need to be familairised with it.
As mentioned, the charts are pretty different. There's a whole set of them and you should buy them ahead of time if possible so you can familiarise yousefl with them. They are not all same scale as our maps either, using smaller scale close to major cities and towns, and there's a special publication called ERSA which is a bit like Pooley's that you must have as well. YOu can buy these online from Air Services Australia Publications - see
http://www.airservicesaustralia.com/publications/ - but you won't have enough time before you leave, and you will be able to get them all at Archerfield. But still try to get them all a few days before flying so you can pore over them before you get in the air!
Another important thing to understand is how to get weather and NOTAM information in Australia. There are lots of ways to do this, you need(ed?) a special Telstra phone card when I was there so you can get by voice of fax from absolutely any remote place you happen to be in. There is also another Airservices Australia website for this:
http://www.airservicesaustralia.com/brief/index.htm.
SARWATCH has already been mentioned. You'll be shown how to file for SAR at the club (can be done through a dedicated online system, much like a regular fltplan, or by phone. DON'T FORGET TO CANCEL YOUR "SARTIME" WHEN YOU LAND!!!!
You will have a great time!!! Let us know all about it with some PIREPs when you get back then, and post some photos!
Andy
