Hey Creampuff - you would just love flying in NZ then! They want a QNH readback with just about every frequency change.
Really!, that's news to me.
FTDK
You can still rock up to any control zone boundary in New Zealand without a flight plan and ask for a clearance thru or into the zone for landing. No stress. You can do it in some parts of OZ to as far as I know, but I have been told that the "rules" do change from place to place.
A visual approach is just that, own nav to finals or downwind and unrestricted descent unless otherwise instructed, a clearance readback is required.
My rules for reading back, if it's a clearence or instruction readback it back, if it's information acknowledge receipt.