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Below you will find a general overview of how and what to pack for your Australian trip.
This article was written by Kaitlin Duck Sherwood, 1994.

Packing For A Trip

Here are my own personal opinions about what to take on a trip.
The number-one rule in packing for a trip, unless you have hired several football players to carry your gear for you, is to pack lightly. You will be moving your luggage into the trunk of your car, out of the trunk of your car, through the airport, off of the luggage carousel, to the train station, to the bus stop, onto the bus, off the bus, back two kilometers because you overshot your stop, up six flights of stairs, and onto the dresser. While this might be great exercise, you might rather save your energy for climbing up to the top of the cathedral.
Leave the bowling ball at home.

Absolutely Here are things that it is difficult to imagine not packing:

Toiletries
Toothpaste
Toothbrush
Contact lens equipment and spare glasses
You might also wish to consider disposable contact lenses, especially if you are going to be going somewhere with poor water supplies (e.g. camping).
Makeup (for business trips)
Razor
Hair care equipment (brushes, comb, blow dryer)
You might wish to consider growing a beard, letting your leg hair grow out, and/or getting a crewcut (yes, women too!) if you are going on a long, low-budget trip.

Condoms

These might be unavailable or difficult to obtain where you are going, especially in Catholic countries.

Business/calling cards

If you are travelling on business, the utility of business cards should be obvious. Small cards with your name and address can be very handy for tourists as well, to give to the people you make friends with along the way.

If you are doing a low-budget trip, you should also bring cleansing products:

Soap (in a plastic bag)
Shampoo (or shave your head and use bar soap)
Towel
If you will be looking at ceilings (like on a castle or church crawl), bring a small mirror so that you won't strain your neck.

Clothes

My rule of thumb is to take enough underwear for one week, or for the length of the trip plus two days, whichever is shorter.
If you are travelling on business, you can probably take two suits and rotate between them. Try to take different colors of shirts/blouses; mixing and matching might fool people into thinking you brought more clothes than you did.
If you are going on an extended trip, pick one color and stick with it. If you are part of Generation X, rejoice, as black travels very well. You can get horse slobber all over your black jeans, and as long as nobody stands too close, you'll look fine.
Plan on inclement weather. It will happen, and everybody there will say, "Oh, it almost never rains/snows/hails/blows/floods like this! This is very unusual weather."
In particular, be prepared for it being colder than you expect.
A polypropelene shirt is a wonderful thing to take travelling with you: it is light, very warm (even when wet), and dries quickly. Packing a Gore-Tex shell is another good way to save a vacation; Gore-Tex rain pants wouldn't hurt.
(Californians and other desert denizens, take note: what will dry out overnight might take two days to dry out in wetter climates!)
I also recommend bringing a pair of flip-flops (also called thongs or shower slippers). Not only can they come between you and the strange things that may be growing in the bathroom of the place you ended up in, but if your shoes get wet, this gives you something that you can wear while they dry.

Miscellaneous

Day pack

If you are doing any sort of sight-seeing, take some sort of small backpack or fanny pack. You will want to carry maps and perhaps phrase books, guidebooks, water bottles, sunglasses, and so on.

Neck wallet or money belt

This is especially important on the hostel/train circuit. Keep most of your money hidden away underneath your clothes. If you are as paranoid as I am, you might even want to go to a two- or three-level system: keep passport, airline tickets, and the bulk of your money in a money belt, about US$50-100 in a neck wallet, and about US$5-10 in your jeans pockets.

Tiny flashlight

This is optional, but you can get really tiny flashlights, and they can come in very handy.

Tape and magic marker

This is very useful if you are shipping a bicycle or anything else in a box.

Earplugs, waterbottle (with water!), chewing gum, food

These can make your plane trip much more enjoyable. Aside from being noisy and prone to pressure changes, airplane cabins are very dry, and you will tend to dehydrate if left in one long enough. The gum helps with depressurization, and airline food is, well, about as good as airline food.

Passport

Even if you are inside the country, it is a good idea to take your passport with you. It is light and you never know when your company is going to want to send you to China, the Feds (or Mafia) are going to catch up with you, you're going to fall in love with a sexy Italian, or your rich great-uncle in Ghana is going to die.

Watch with alarm

A cheap digital watch with an alarm is small, light, and very useful.

Outside Your Country

Phone beeper

If you have an answering machine or voicemail to check while abroad, you will probably need a small electrical device to generate the appropriate phone tones for your country. (In the US, you can get these devices cheaply at Radio Shack.)

Electrical transformers/plug adaptors

Most places in the world have different plugs and different power supplies. If you want to use your computer/modem/electric razor/alarm clock abroad, you will need to get equipment to translate from "your power" to "their power".

Leave It Behind!

Do not pack camp fuel or even an empty fuel container. In some countries, the airlines get upset about even the SMELL of fuel. (I am not joking.) If you plan on camping, bring a stove that does not have an integrated fuel canister and leave the fuel at home.
It is a very good idea to avoid controlled substances. You probably do not want an extended vacation in another country's jail system, even if room and board is free.
If you are travelling internationally, be very hesitant to take anything for anyone else, especially if you do not know them well. At best, the airlines will ask you lots of questions about what you are taking. At worst, the airplane will explode and you will die. (The Lockerbie crash, if I recall correctly, was caused by an explosive device carried on by a passenger for her fiancee. Nice guy.)

How To Put Your Stuff In Your Luggage

Whatever you pack your gear in, be sure to clearly label your luggage on the outside with your name, address, and phone number. (You might want to use a business address or PO Box instead of your home address.) Also put a piece of paper inside with the same information, in case the tag gets stripped off.
If you are travelling internationally, you should pack your own gear, then either lock it or keep it close to you at all times. If someone else packs your gear or you are separated from it, the best that could happen is that the airline will grill you about your luggage and possibly go through it. The worst that can happen is your airplane exploding from a bomb you inadvertantly brought on.

Organizing The Space

You will undoubtedly want to organize the space in your luggage so that items are easily accessibly once you get to your destination. Plastic Bags are Your Friends when it comes to this. You can pack your undies in one bag, your socks in another, your toiletries in another, and so on. (Don't forget to pack an extra bag for your dirty laundry!)

Avoiding Wrinkles

My former neighbor tells me that the best way to avoid wrinking suits is to roll them up carefully, then put them in a plastic bag.

Avoiding Breakages

If you are travelling with anything breakable, surround it with soft and squishy items. Put your CD player inside a plastic bag, then put it inside a plastic bag filled with your socks. Put your Listerine bottle inside your one of your boots.
You might also want to put your breakable item inside a cardboard box stuffed with foam or packing "peanuts", then putting that box inside your suitcase.
The best way to avoid breakage is to take the item as carry-on, if possible.

Maximizing Space Utilization

If you are having trouble fitting everything in, look for ways to use nooks and crannies. Fill the area around books with socks. Put your modem cables inside your shoes.
Also, you can cheat a little bit on the carry-on. Wear your jacket on the plane instead of putting it in your suitcase. (This is not a bad idea anyways, since airplanes are frequently cold.) Put your toothpaste, earrings, modem, or even a few pairs of underwear in your coat pockets.

Ducky