What does electrical plugs look like in Australia?

Answer 1

You can see the Australian plug at the related link below (along with a lot of other useful information).

Essentially, there are two flat prongs that make a kind-of upside-down "V" shape, like this: / \ . If the outlet is grounded, there is another flat prong, vertical, between and below them, almost like this: / | \ .

Note that Austrailian power uses 240 volts (the voltage) at 50 Hz (the frequency). In the U.S. (and almost all of North America), regular wall sockets are 120 volts at 60 Hz, and the plugs are two vertical prongs for ungrounded sockets: | | and add a round pin below and between them (| . |) for grounded plugs. You can buy physical adapters fairly cheaply - $10 each or less - at places like Wal-Mart, Target, Radio Shack, etc., but they don't convert the voltage and frequency - they just let you plug a U.S. plug into an Australian (and New Zealander and Papua New Guinean) outlet. Many electronic items now are "dual voltage", meaning that they automatically detect the voltage and frequency they're plugged into and use that, so a simple adapter would work fine. To find out, check the label on the part that plugs into the wall or where the cord goes into the device, to see what voltage the device accepts. If the device requires 120V, 60Hz, then you will need to buy a converter, which will change the voltage and frequency. These often run $25 or more, but usually include several adapters, as well.