BuzzFeed Australia Style Guide
This is an addendum to the BuzzFeed Style Guide and the BuzzFeed UK Style Guide for posts written in Australian English.
Follow the BuzzFeed UK Style Guide for anything not covered here. BuzzFeed Australia's preferred dictionary is Macquarie.
Use the British/Australian spelling of words such as "colour", "travelling", "centre", and "analogue", and spell words like "apologise" and "realise" with -ise, not -ize. Note that there are certain differences between British and Australian English, however; for instance, BuzzFeed Australia follows Macquarie by preferring "program" to the British "programme" in all instances.
Also:
Ls or Ps abbreviation for a learner or probationary driver licence.
World War I or First World War, not World War One
A
Anzac, Anzacs, Anzac Day (i.e. Australian and New Zealand Army Corps)
Aria Awards, Arias (music awards presented by the Australian Recording Industry Association; the Australian equivalent of the Grammys and the Brits)
asylum-seeker (someone who has applied for asylum in a country not their own and who is awaiting a decision as to their status as a refugee)
B
bloody (colloquial, intensifier signifying approval or disapproval)
bludger (colloquial, a lazy person who lives off the generosity of others)
bogan (colloquial, mildly derogatory, a person, generally from an outer suburb of a city or town and from a lower socioeconomic background, viewed as uncultured)
bonzer (not bonza) (colloquial, excellent)
boofhead (colloquial, a fool, typically a male)
bro, bra, budda, brudda (all are acceptable, male friend or relative)
burl ("Give it a burl!") (colloquial, to make an attempt)
C
cab sav (colloquial, cabernet sauvignon)
chardy (colloquial, chardonnay)
Chrissie pressie (colloquial, Christmas present)
cossie (colloquial, abbreviation, swimming costume)
coward punch (term adopted by the Australian media and lawmakers to refer to king hit/one-punch assaults)
D
daggy (colloquial, 1. dirty; slovenly; unpleasant. 2. conservative and lacking in style, especially in appearance)
deadly (colloquial, excellent)
derro (colloquial, a vagrant, especially one with an unkempt or unhealthy appearance)
devvo (colloquial, abbreviation, devastated)
dole (payment by the government to an unemployed person)
doona (a bedspread)
Down Under (colloquial, Australia)
durry (colloquial, a cigarette)
E
esky (colloquial, a portable icebox)
F
festy (colloquial, abbreviation, infested, dirty or nasty)
footy, football (both terms can refer to either Australian rules football or rugby league, but not soccer)
Fuckin' 'ell (colloquial, a curse that indicates surprise)
G
g'day (colloquial, abbreviation, good day)
galah (1. a small cockatoo endemic to Australia. 2. colloquial, a fool, who is more often than not an empty-headed individual)
goon (1. a thug. 2. a stupid person. 3. cheap wine)
goon bag (colloquial, the bladder from a cheap cask of wine)
H
houso (colloquial, derogatory, a person who lives in a housing commission home, typically funded by state or federal government; use with care)
I
idiot box (colloquial, a television set)
J
jackaroo (a young man working on a sheep or cattle station)
jillaroo (a young woman working on a sheep or cattle station)
K
kindy (abbreviation, kindergarten)
kindergarten (first year of schooling, term used in ACT and New South Wales)
L
larrikin (colloquial, an uncultivated, mischievous, often good-hearted person)
M
Macca's (colloquial, abbreviation, the fast-food chain McDonald's)
maggot, maggoted (colloquial, the state of being when you've imbibed a bit too much)
mozzie (colloquial, abbreviation, mosquito)
N
nah (colloquial, no)
nark (colloquial, 1. an informer. 2. a complaining person. 3. someone who is always interfering and spoiling the pleasure of others; spoilsport.)
nipper (colloquial, a junior lifesaver)
O
ocker (colloquial, the archetypal uncultivated Australian)
one-punch law (a law creating a special category of manslaughter for perpetrators of fatal king hit assaults, with harsher penalties than are possible for manslaughter)
onya (colloquial, good on you!)
outback, the (remote, sparsely inhabited country often romanticised in Australian literature and film)
P
pants (trousers; rarely underwear)
pash (colloquial, to kiss, passionately)
pash rash (colloquial, the rash around one's lips when the kissing was too prolonged and perhaps too passionate. Typically suffered during school years 8-12)
pav (colloquial, abbreviation, pavlova, a dessert made of whipped, cooked egg whites and sugar)
pinger (an ecstasy pill)
pollie speak (colloquial, a term used to describe political spin or talking points used by politicians at public or media events)
pot (also called a handle or middy. A glass of beer of approximately 285ml)
prep (first year of schooling, term used in Queensland, Tasmania, Victoria)
pre-primary (first year of schooling, term used in Western Australia)
program (in all instances)
Q
quid, make a (colloquial, money)
R
rack off (colloquial, "go away, please")
ranga (colloquial, derogatory, a red-headed person)
rekt (abbreviation, wrecked; colloquial, exhausted; ill or weak because of fatigue or overindulgence in food, drink, etc.)
rellies (colloquial, blood relatives, family)
root (colloquial, 1. an act of sexual intercourse. 2. a sexual partner, e.g. she was an easy root)
ropeable (colloquial, extremely angry or bad-tempered)
S
schoolie (chiefly in Qld and NSW, a high school student who has completed their final exams)
schoolies week (a week in which aforementioned schoolie travels to a designated place to party/holiday together)
schooner (a glass of beer of approximately 425ml)
scull (colloquial, to consume [a drink] at one draught)
servo (colloquial, abbreviation Service station)
shorts (short trousers; not underwear)
soccer (a game commonly referred to as football in pretty much all other countries in the world bar the US)
Speedo (a brand of swimming costume)
speedos (a close-fitting swimming costume made of some synthetic fabric and used especially in competitive swimming, for men comprising a pair of briefs. Also known as budgie-smugglers)
Straya (vernacular, Australia)
strewth (colloquial, abbreviation, an exclamation expressing surprise)
T
tinnie (colloquial, 1. a can of beer. 2. a boat with an aluminium hull)
tinny (colloquial, lucky)
tracky dacks (colloquial, sportswear, tracksuit pants)
tradie (a tradesperson)
try-hard (a person who attempts to make friends and influence people without success)
U
un-Australian (not Australian in character)
undies (colloquial, abbreviation underwear)
wag (colloquial, to not attend school or work, not to be mistaken for the acronym)
V
vego (colloquial, a vegetarian)
W
wog (colloquial, derogatory, loosely used to describe someone foreign in origin, especially of Mediterranean or Middle Eastern appearance; use with care)
X
XXXX (pronounced Four X, a brand of beer popular in Queensland)
Y
yakka (colloquial, typically associated with the phrase "hard yakka", physical labour)
year 1-13 (schooling for those ages 6-18)
Z
zonked (colloquial, exhausted. Also zonked out)
Acronyms that will be familiar to an educated Australian audience do not need to be written out in full, especially if they're better known as acronyms. These include ABC, AIDS, CEO, HSC, MTV, PETA, PMS, TED. Use your judgment.
If an acronym is six letters or longer, only the initial letter is capped, so write Unicef, Unesco, etc. These shorter exceptions also take only initial caps: Anzac, Anzacs, Anzac Day, Arias.
Job titles are generally lower-case, so write prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, minister for the arts Mitch Fifield (or arts minister Mitch Fifield), and senator Penny Wong.
However, military and police ranks are treated as honorific, so cap when used before a name at first mention: Colonel James Mustard (thereafter "Mustard" or "the colonel"), DCI Gene Hunt (thereafter "Hunt", "the DCI", or "the detective chief inspector"), etc. Abbreviations such as PC for Police Constable and Lt for Lieutenant are acceptable, but do not abbreviate Police Commissioner.