Melbourne is Australia's most liveable city ¹⁾. However, visitors from interstate, and particularly overseas, should be aware of risks and hazards when visiting Melbourne that may be less prevalent or severe elsewhere.

International travellers should consult their government's travel advice for visiting Australia (e.g. USA, UK, Canada, New Zealand / Aotearoa).

If you require urgent assistance from the police, ambulance, or fire service, the emergency telephone number in Australia is 000.

International travellers should have travel insurance to cover the potential cost of medical treatment in Australia.

The AMAS conference and workshop venues are air conditioned, as are Melbourne's trams, trains, and buses, so you can expect to be about 20-25°C for much of your stay in Melbourne. However, visitors may be exposed to the elements when travelling to, from, or between the conference, workshops, or various social events, or if you go out to explore the many delights Melbourne has to offer.

In February, the weather in Melbourne is usually warm, but can be unpredictable and extreme. Visitors are encouraged to check the very latest Melbourne weather forecast when packing for their trip, and throughout their stay (see the Bureau of Meteorology smartphone app). The daily temperatures in Melbourne in February have an average maximum of 26.7°C (80.1°F) and minimum of 14.4°C (57.9°F). However, in February it is not unusual to encounter temperatures in the 30 – 40°C range (86 – 104°F), followed by thunderstorms and rain. You should definitely bring sunscreen ²⁾, and maybe an umbrella.

In Australia, we're exposed to some of the harshest and most dangerous levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the world ⁴⁾. For best protection, the Cancer Council recommends a combination of sun protection measures:

1. Slip on some sun-protective clothing that covers as much skin as possible.
2. Slop on SPF 50 or SPF50+, broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen. Put it on 20 minutes before you go outdoors and every two hours afterwards. Sunscreen should never be used to extend the time you spend in the sun.
3. Slap on a hat – broad brim or legionnaire style to protect your face, head, neck and ears.
4. Seek shade.
5. Slide on some sunglasses – make sure they meet Australian Standards.

The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) provides the measured and expected UV index, and tells you when you need to protect yourself from the sun in this very nifty SunSmart widget:

Visitors who suffer from asthma or hayfever (allergic rhinitis) should be aware that they may be subject to high airborne pollen count while staying in Melbourne. The combination of high pollen count and thunderstorms can cause thunderstorm asthma, which can be sudden, serious and even life-threatening. Please refer to the Victorian Department of Health for information on how to manage hay fever, reduce symptoms, stay informed about pollen counts and forecasts, and find links to relevant services and resources.

The air quality in Melbourne is usually good (check now). However, Melbourne can be affected by smoke from bushfires in southeastern Australia, even when they're many hundreds of kilometres away. Historically, the worst bushfires occur in February.

Visitors with asthma or other respiratory ailments are strongly encouraged to consult the EPA AirWatch site prior to travel and plan accordingly. For more information about the health impacts of smoke, and how to prepare for and cope with a smoke event, please consult the EPA website.

The Melbourne skyline on a typical day, taken from Brighton. Photo courtesy Visit Victoria.	The Melbourne skyline blanketed in smoke during the 'Great Divide Complex' bushfires in summer of 2006-2007. Photo by Melburnian, via Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 3.0.

In the parks and gardens around Melbourne, visitors can expect to encounter many lovely native birds, possums, bats, flying foxes, spiders, snakes, bugs and insects, and other interesting wildlife. Visitors should not feed, handle, or otherwise approach wildlife. According to the City of Melbourne:

All Australian native animals are protected under the Wildlife Act 1975. It is an offence to take, harm or disturb wildlife. Hunting, trapping or injuring animals, including possums and ducks, in public parks and gardens is illegal and fines apply.

Visitors should be aware that many Australian snakes are venomous, and many Australian spiders are poisonous. If you are bitten or stung by a snake or spider, please consult the Victorian Poisons Information Centre (VPIC), which can be reached by calling 13 11 26. If you have a medical emergency, call 000 for an ambulance.

Artist: Arthur Bartholomew, Museums Victoria, https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/items/1121522	Spider Identification Chart, AustraliaWide First Aid, https://www.australiawidefirstaid.com.au/resources/charts

Ants, bees, jellyfish, blue-ringed octopus, wasps, and a range of other stinging animals can also cause painful swelling and potentially life-threatening allergic reactions. If you are bitten or stung, consult the Victorian Poisons Information Centre (VPIC), which can be reached by calling 13 11 26. If you have a medical emergency, call 000 for an ambulance.

Flying foxes are adorable, in their own way ⁶⁾. However, these flying mammals carry very serious human-transmissible diseases. If you are bitten, scratched, or come into contact with saliva from a bat or flying fox, you should immediately flush the area with soap and water for 15 minutes, apply antiseptic, and seek urgent medical care. For more information, please refer to Wildlife Victoria.

Grey-headed flying foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus) waking up on a dead eucalyptus tree in Yarra Bend State Park, Victoria. During the day, the animals sleep, and in the evening they gather in large flocks and go to the parks of Melbourne, where they find juicy fruits of various trees. Photo (C) 2023 Dmytro Leontyev, via Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 4.0	Grey headed flying fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) flying over parklands in Brisbane, Queensland. Photo (C) 2019 Andrew Mercer (http://www.baldwhiteguy.co.nz), via Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 4.0.

In addition to being very annoying, mosquitos in Victoria can carry serious diseases, including Ross River virus. For more information, please refer to the Department of Health webpage for mosquito-borne diseases.

Just kidding. There are usually no crocodiles in Victoria, unless you count the big fella in the aquarium. He's called Pinjarra.

There are sharks though, and not just in the aquarium. According to the Victorian Fisheries Authority:

While the risk of a shark attack is extremely low, it is important to be mindful of sharks when entering the water. Shark attacks in Victoria are uncommon and there has been no fatality in this state for more than 35 years.

In the past decade, there have been 7 reported injuries ('minor lacerations') from shark bites in Victoria ⁷⁾. If you're going into the water, Be SharkSmart.

Over 300 people drown each year in Australia, most often swimming at the beach ⁸⁾.

Also, if you're visiting the beach, be SunSmart, and remember your sunscreen and hat.

Melbourne and many of its suburbs have large public swimming pools (search here), as a safer and less gritty alternative to swimming at the beach ⁹⁾. These also have lifeguards, but no rips or sharks. Some are covered or indoors, and therefore have much lower UV risk.

Under Victoria's Tobacco Act 1987 (the Tobacco Act), smoking and the use of e-cigarettes (vaping) is prohibited in all enclosed workplaces and certain public spaces where members of the public gather, including (but not limited to):

• in all outdoor dining areas
• at train stations, tram-stop platforms, tram and bus shelters, and on trains, trams and buses
• in outdoor drinking areas if any part of that area is within 4 metres of an outdoor dining area, unless separated by a wall of at least 2.1 metres high

For more information, please refer to the Victorian Department of Health.

If you're taking some time off before or after AMAS for some sightseeing, there are many lovely attractions of rural Victoria, including:

• the wineries of the Yarra Valley,
• the amazing wildlife of Healesville Sanctuary, including the Spirits of the Sky bird show,
• the lush temperate rainforests of the Dandenong Ranges, including the Puffing Billy narrow-gauge steam railway,
• the penguin parade of Phillip Island,
• the 6000-year old Budj Bim Gunditjmara aquaculture system,
• the historic gold-rush towns of Ballarat, Bendigo and the surrounding goldfields region,
• the (nearly) endless beaches, cliffs and/or forests of the Mornington Peninsula, Gippsland, Surf Coast, or Great Ocean Road, or;
• the rugged wilderness of the High country or the Grampians

You can get to most ¹⁰⁾ of these destinations using Victoria's regional public transport network, V/Line, by train or coach, departing from Melbourne's Southern Cross Station. For more information, see Escape with V/Line. For accessibility information, see V/Line's accessibility page.

If you're travelling out of town by car, please follow the advice for tourists from Transport Victoria. Plan your trip to avoid driving in the countryside near dawn, or in the evening. Kangaroos often jump in front of cars. Wombats can also surprise.

Also, when travelling outside of metropolitan Melbourne in February, you need to be acutely aware of bushfire safety. Refer to Visit Victoria's bushfire safety guide.