UAE, Hong Kong and Russia best for tax

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Hong Kong and Russia have the most attractive personal tax regimes, according to a survey by investment services firm Mercer.

Mercer's Worldwide Individual Tax Comparator Report found Australia ranked in the middle of the pack.
Belgium, Denmark and Hungary had the least attractive personal tax regimes.

The survey of tax and benefits systems across 32 markets quoted tax rates based on the average for a middle manager earning $91,000 per annum.

The survey also found married employees with two children were better off than single employees.
The Mercer report said single managers could do best in terms of net income in the UAE, which did not assess any income tax and only required that employees make a contribution of five per cent of gross salary in social security contributions.

The next best tax regime was Russia, which applied a flat tax of 13 per cent.

Hong Kong was third, requiring 14.2 per cent of gross base salary to be paid in tax and social security contributions.

Australia and India were tied in 14th place, with a tax rate of 29.1 per cent.

Mexico (8th), Brazil (9th) and Argentina (10th) led the American counties.

European countries - other than Russia - dominated the ranks of countries with the least attractive tax regimes.

Ireland was 18th, Spain 19th, Switzerland 21st, France 22nd and Germany 29th.

At the bottom were Hungary (30th), Denmark (31st) and Belgium (32nd), where single managers would have to pay tax and social security contributions of 48.5 per cent, 48.6 per cent and 50.5 per cent respectively.

Senior consultant Brian Waite said going to countries with low or zero tax rates was an important incentive for employees to work abroad.
In high-tax destinations, expatriate employees had to get compensation packages that would at least match their purchasing power at home.

Mercer researcher Niklaus Kobel said marital status was often a major factor in determining local tax rates.
In Hong Kong, a married manager with no children would pay 11.5 per cent in tax - lower than the rate for a single person - and a married person with two children would be taxed at only 8.9 per cent.

(Source: smh)

Don't be trapped into flood damaged cars

NRMA says the following may help to identify any water damage:

• Water or condensation in exterior lights
• 'Tide marks' at the carpet and door trims
• Dampness or musty smells
• Shrunken carpet
• Missing or ill-fitting drain plugs
• Surface rust at brackets under dash and under seats, although some light rust here is considered normal for older cars
• Difficult-to-operate door locks, ventilation controls and switches

An owner who wants to keep a flood-damaged vehicle should:

• Free drain holes from obstructions
• Check for dampness or mould and replace carpets if affected
• Listen for noises that get louder with speed and time, which could indicate imminent bearing or driveling failure

(Source: "Open Road")

More Aussies are millionaires

By Teresa Ooi
October 19, 2007 07:20am

THE ranks of Australia's millionaires swelled by 10.3 per cent to 161,000 last year, with them amassing a fortune of $US510 billion ($570.1 billion).

Their fortune was the third highest in the Asia-Pacific region after Japan at $US3.7 trillion and China at $US1.7 trillion.

Almost half of Australia's millionaires made their money by owning businesses or selling them. About 16 per cent racked up their dollars on the buoyant stock market. Only 13 per cent inherited their wealth.

More than 75 per cent of the country's millionaires are men, with an average age of 50. Only 15 per cent are women, compared with Taiwan's 43 per cent and China's 38 per cent.

"This implies that there is still a glass ceiling in Australia, as we do not have as many women executives earning the big incomes in the top echelon," Capgemini financial services group wealth management head Gregory Smith said.

About 46 per cent of Australia's wealthy are aged between 41 and 55. Only 6 per cent are younger than 40.

China has the largest proportion of young millionaires, with 28 per cent of its 345,000 wealthy people younger than 40, according to the Asia-Pacific Wealth Report produced by investment bank Merrill Lynch and Capgemini.

Australia's new millionaires are worth at least $US3.2 million each - well below Hong Kong's new rich, who have average wealth of $US5.4 million, China's $US5 million and Singapore's $US4.9 million.

Australia has 1120 super-rich - those with more than $US30 million in financial assets.
"While the number of ultra-rich in Australia grew by only 0.7 per cent - slightly lower than the global average of 1 per cent - we still had our fair share of super-rich," Smith said.

"Like most super-rich around the world, they have a complicated lifestyle, with yachts, butlers and several homes across the globe.

"While they enjoy and celebrate their wealth by buying jewellery, baubles, art and vacations, there is a growing concern for the next generation and a growing tendency to give back to society - very much like what Bill Gates has done for charity.

"After acquiring their big yachts and private jets, they plan to give their wealth to the next generation and grandchildren. They are also becoming more altruistic."

This inter-generational transfer of wealth has spurred many wealth financial advisers to have a mature manager team up with a younger colleague to educate and advise the children of the super-rich who will inherit the wealth.

Many are starting to conduct wealth seminars aimed at the younger generation so they don't blow away their family inheritance.

Merrill Lynch global wealth management first vice-president Peter Opie said that with the super-rich becoming more interested in philanthropy, many wealth advisers were thinking of expanding their services to include investment advice in philanthropic enterprises.

(Souce: News.com.au)

What is man's ultimate embarrassment? :)

Answer:

Running into a wall with an erection and breaking his nose.

Cool Packaging - photos

Living Green: Ranking the best (and worst) countries (3)

Cities Overall

1. Stockholm, Sweden

2. Oslo, Norway

3. Munich, Germany

4. Paris, France

5. Frankfurt, Germany

6. Stuttgart, Germany

7. Lyon, France

8. Dusseldorf, Germany

9. Nantes, France

10. Copenhagen, Denmark

11. Geneva, Switzerland

12. Zurich, Switzerland

13. Glasgow, United Kingdom

14. Barcelona, Spain

15. New York, United States

16. Brussels, Belgium

17. Hamburg, Germany

18. Hong Kong, PR China

19. Newcastle, United Kingdom

20. Tokyo, Japan

21. Helsinki, Finland

22. Washington, D.C., United States

23. Chicago, United States

24. Vancouver, Canada

25. Dortmund, Germany

26. San Francisco, United States

27. London, United Kingdom

28. Perth, Australia

29. Melbourne, Australia

30. Manchester, United Kingdom

31. Graz, Austria

32. Berlin, Germany

33. Ottawa, Canada

34. Wellington, New Zealand

35. Amsterdam, Netherlands

36. Atlanta, United States

37. Marseille, France

38. Vienna, Austria

39. Rome, Italy

40. Sydney, Australia

41. Prague, Czech Republic

42. Brisbane, Australia

43. Denver, United States

44. Berne, Switzerland

45. Singapore, Singapore

46. Houston, United States

47. Bologna, Italy

48. Montreal, Canada

49. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

50. Toronto, Canada

51. Cape Town, South Africa

52. Seoul, South Korea

53. Milan, Italy

54. Curitiba, Brazil

55. San Diego, United States

56. Madrid, Spain

57. Los Angeles, United States

58. Budapest, Hungary

59. Calgary, Canada

60. Phoenix, United States

61. Johannesburg, South Africa

62. Sao Paulo, Brazil

63. Athens, Greece

64. Tel Aviv, Israel

65. Chennai, India

66. Cracow, Poland

67. Taipei, Taiwan

68. Bangkok, Thailand

69. Guangzhou, PR China

70. Mumbai, India

71. Shanghai, PR China

72. Beijing, PR China

Living Green: Ranking the best (and worst) countries (2)

Countries Overall

1. Finland

2. Iceland

3. Norway

4. Sweden

5. Austria

6. Switzerland

7. Ireland

8. Australia

9. Uruguay

10. Denmark

11. Canada

12. Japan

13. Israel

14. Italy

15. Slovenia

16. France

17. Netherlands

18. Portugal

19. New Zealand

20. Greece

21. Germany

22. Latvia

23. United States

24. Lithuania

25. United Kingdom

26. Belgium

27. Argentina

28. Croatia

29. Spain

30. Hungary

31. Albania

32. Estonia

33. Slovakia

34. Costa Rica

35. South Korea

36. Cuba

37. Belarus

38. Czech Republic

39. Bosnia and Herzegovina

40. Brazil

41. Panama

42. Armenia

43. Chile

44. Paraguay

45. United Arab Emirates

46. Macedonia

47. Bulgaria

48. Poland

49. Kuwait

50. Oman

51. Russia

52. Peru

53. Colombia

54. Malaysia

55. Guyana

56. Romania

57. Trinidad & Tobago

58. Georgia

59. Kazakhstan

60. Moldova

61. Thailand

62. Tunisia

63. Mexico

64. Libya

65. Ukraine

66. Sri Lanka

67. Lebanon

68. Venezuela

69. Ecuador

70. Turkey

71. Jordan

72. Algeria

73. Kyrgyzstan

74. Azerbaijan

75. Bolivia

76. Gabon

77. Dominican Republic

78. Syria

79. El Salvador

80. Saudi Arabia

81. Jamaica

82. Indonesia

83. Iran

84. China

85. Nicaragua

86. Namibia

87. Philippines

88. Egypt

89. Mongolia

90. Viet Nam

91. Myanmar

92. Honduras

93. Botswana

94. Turkmenistan

95. Tajikistan

96. South Africa

97. Guatemala

98. Cambodia

99. Uzbekistan

100. Bhutan

101. Laos

102. Morocco

103. Ghana

104. India

105. Congo

106. Cameroon

107. Uganda

108. Nepal

109. Papua New Guinea

110. Gambia

111. Bangladesh

112. Madagascar

113. Senegal

114. Togo

115. Pakistan

116. Kenya

117. Rwanda

118. Guinea

119. Zimbabwe

120. Zambia

121. Nigeria

122. Sudan

123. Tanzania

124. Benin

125. Central Africa Republic

126. Malawi

127. Mauritania

128. Yemen

129. Angola

130. Côte d'Ivoire

131. Democratic Republic of the Congo

132. Haiti

133. Mali

134. Guinea-Bissau

135. Mozambique

136. Burundi

137. Chad

138. Burkina Faso

139. Sierra Leone

140. Niger

141. Ethiopia

Living Green: Ranking the best (and worst) countries (1)

Just because a country or place is environmentally “fit” doesn’t mean you’d want to spend your life there – think jungles or the Antarctic. But finding the perfect balance between what’s green and what’s livable could lead you to paradise. Aiming for that ideal, we researched the world’s greenest countries while also ensuring they were ones where people could thrive. Along the way, we also unearthed the worst places in the world to live.

We analysed data from top sources covering 141 nations to rank the planet’s greenest, most livable places.

How Countries Rate

1 Finland
2 Iceland
3 Norway
4 Sweden
5 Austria
8 Australia
19 New Zealand
23 USA

Bottom 5

137 Chad
138 Burkina Faso
139 Sierra Leone
140 Niger
141 Ethiopia

The world’s greenest, most livable cities

Using different data, we analysed 72 major international cities, ranking them in terms of being green and livable.

5 Best

1 Stockholm
2 Oslo
3 Munich
4 Paris
5 Frankfurt

5 Worst

68 Bangkok
69 Guangzhou
70 Mumbai
71 Shanghai
72 Beijing

How Australasia ranked

28 Perth
29 Melbourne
34 Wellington
40 Sydney
42 Brisbane

(Source: Readersdigest.com.au)

Reader's Digest study says Finland best for living

Reuters
Thursday, October 4, 2007; 7:06 PM


HELSINKI (Reuters) - The Nordic countries are the world's greenest and, despite the cold winters, Finland is the best country to live in, according to a Reader's Digest study released on Friday.

Finland was followed by Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Austria.

"Finland wins high marks for air and water quality, a low incidence of infant disease and how well it protects citizens from water pollution and natural disasters," the study said.

The United States was 23rd on the list of 141 countries, Britain was 25th and China 84th. Nations at the bottom of the table were all African.

Stockholm scored as the best city to live in out of 72 major metropolitan hubs, followed by Oslo, Munich and Paris. Four German cities won a spot in the top 10 list. New York was 15th and London 27th.

The dirtiest cities were in Asia, with Beijing, host of next summer's Olympic, at the bottom because of its air pollution.

The study was conducted by U.S. environmental economist Matthew Kahn, who looked at issues such as quality of drinking water and greenhouse gas emissions as well as factors such as education and income.

Give up sugar to live longer

Passing on sweets and avoiding vitamins could help you live longer, German researchers have discovered.

They found that restricting glucose - a simple sugar found in foods such as sweets that is a primary source of energy for the body - set off a process that extended the life span of some worms by up to 25 per cent.

The key was boosting the level of ``free radicals'' - unstable molecules that can damage the body and which people often try to get rid of by consuming food or drinks rich in anti-oxidants such as vitamin E, they said in a study published in the journal Cell Metabolism.

Restricting glucose first spurred the worms to generate more free radicals, but then they quickly built up long-lasting defences against them, said Michael Ristow, an endocrinologist at the University of Jena and the German Institute of Human Nutrition, who led the study.

``During the process, the worm generates more free radicals, which activates defences against free radicals within the worm,'' he said in a telephone interview. ``The bad thing in the end promotes something good.''
The body needs glucose, but taking in too much was unhealthy, Ristow said.

Scientists have long known that restricting calorie intake in worms and monkeys increases longevity, and the study narrowed that idea further, to glucose.

The study also for the first time points to a possible reason why antioxidants - long thought to promote health - might do more harm than good, Ristow said.

The German team used a chemical that blocked the worms' ability to process glucose in a treatment that extended their life span by up to 25 per cent, the equivalent of 15 years in humans.

The worms unable to depend on glucose increased energy power sources in certain cells for fuel. That activity produced more free radicals, which in turn generated enzymes that strengthened long-time protection against the harmful molecules, Ristow said.

However, antioxidants and vitamins given to some worms erased these benefits by neutralising free radicals and preventing the body from generating the defences, Ristow said.

``These latter findings tentatively suggest that the widespread use of antioxidants as human food supplements may exert undesirable effects,'' the researchers wrote.

(Source: smh.com.au)

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Ingredients
250g good-quality dark chocolate, roughly chopped
150g unsalted butter, chopped
2/3 cup caster sugar
125g almond meal
5 eggs, separated
Icing sugar to dust
Ice cream to serve

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease a 23cm springform tin with butter and line base with non-stick baking paper.

Combine the chocolate, butter and sugar in a medium heatproof bowl. Place over a saucepan of simmering water (make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water) and stir frequently until melted and smooth. Transfer the chocolate mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the almond meal. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, and beat well with a wooden spoon after each addition.

Place the eggwhites in a separate clean bowl. Use an electric beater to beat until firm peaks form. Add a third of the eggwhite to the chocolate mixture and use a large metal spoon to fold in until combined. Fold through the remaining eggwhite.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Smooth the surface with the back of a spoon. Bake in preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, until crumbs cling to a skewer inserted into the centre. Remove from the oven and cool in the tin.

Dust the cake with icing sugar and serve with ice cream.

(Source:Kidspot Daily)

Apple juice may protect against asthma in kids

A daily dose of apple juice could keep the wheeze away in children, according to a report from the UK

A large-scale study in the UK suggests that kids drinking a daily a serve of apple juice might be at lower risk of asthma.

Involving 2,640 children aged five to ten years, the study, by researchers including Dr Seif O Shaheen, from the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London, analysed fruit intake and asthma symptoms.

While apples alone were not associated with lower asthma symptom incidence, apple juice – specifically made from concentrate – was a different matter. Those drinking apple juice daily were shown to have a 47 per cent lower risk of wheezing than those who only drank a serve less than once a month.

The researchers surmised that the antioxidants contained in fruit may ease inflammation, the trigger to asthma, and also counteract oxidative damage caused by toxins such as pollution.

As Shaheen stressed, though the results do not show a definite link between apple juice and lowered risk, the findings do reveal an association, which her team intend to further investigate through clinical trials.

(Source: Blackmore website)

Fw: Sex frog

A blonde goes to her local pet store in search of an 'exotic' pet. As she looks about the store, she notices a box FULL of live frogs.

The sign says:

"SEX FROGS"

Only $20 each!
Comes with 'complete' instructions.

The girl excitedly looks around to see if anybody's watching her. She whispers softly to the man behind the counter, "I'll TAKE one!"
As the man packages the frog, he quietly says to her, "Just follow the instructions!
The blonde nods, grabs the box, and is quickly on her way home.

As soon as she closes the door to her apartment, she opens the instructions and reads them very carefully.
She does EXACTLY what is specified:
1. Take a shower.
2. Splash on some nice perfume.
3. Slip into a very sexy nightie.
4. Crawl into bed and place the frog down beside you, and allow the frog to do what he has been trained to do.

She then quickly gets into bed with the frog and to her surprise . . . NOTHING happens!
The blonde is very disappointed and quite upset at this point. She re-reads the instructions and notices at the bottom of the paper it says, "If you have any problems or questions . please call the pet store."

So, she calls the pet store. The man says, "I'll be right over."
Within minutes, the man is ringing her doorbell.
The blonde welcomes him in and says, "See, I've done everything according to the instructions. The damn frog just SITS there!"

The man . . . looking very concerned, picks up the frog, stares 'directly into its eyes' and STERNLY says:

"LISTEN TO ME!!
I'm only going to show you how to do this
ONE ... MORE ... TIME!!!"

Party Perfect - Pavlova

Ingredients
6 large egg whites
Pinch of salt
300g caster sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cornflour
1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
300ml pouring cream

Method
Preheat oven to 120C.
Trace around a 24cm dinner plate or cake tin onto baking paper and place the baking paper onto a baking tray.
Combine eggwhites and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk until stiff peaks form. Gradually add sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating constantly, but gently, until the mixture is glossy and can be held upside down without the mixture falling out. If you overbeat the foam will dry out.
Whisk in cornflour and vinegar.
Shape mixture on baking tray, keeping within the circle.
Smooth the mixture into a cake shape and remember to flatten the top.
Place in oven on the bottom shelf and immediately turn the heat down to 110 C and bake for 1 hour.
Turn off the oven and allow the pavlova to cool inside the oven until the oven is cold. This can take a few hours.
Remove the pavlova and carefully remove the baking paper from its base.
Whip the cream, cover the pavlova with cream and add seasonal fruit such as strawberries, kiwi fruit, berries and drizzle with passionfruit.

Green Chicken Curry

Ingredients
1 breast and 3 thigh fillets of chicken
300ml tin coconut milk
2 tbsp peanut oil
1/2 onion, very finely chopped
6 green shallots, chopped
1 stalk lemon grass
1 clove garlic
2 tspn green curry paste
2cm piece fresh ginger
2 kaffir lime leaves
1 can straw mushrooms, with half the juice from the tin
3 small branches fresh green peppercorns
50ml Thai fish sauce
2 red chillies

Garnish
1 cup fresh coriander
5 tbsp peanuts1/2 small cucumber, diced

Method
Slice the chicken into bite-sized pieces
Do not shake the coconut milk, instead carefully spoon 2 tbsp of the the thicker part into the bottom of a saucepan and heat along with 2 tbsp peanut oil.
Saute the onion, lemon grass and garlic for a minute, then stir in curry paste.
Add the ginger, lime leaves and then the straw mushrooms, cover with remaining coconut milk and half can of mushroom brine.
Simmer 3-4 minutes, then season to taste with the fish sauce.
Stir in the peppercorns and shredded chillies and simmer just below boiling point until chicken is cooked (about 8 mins).
Spoon over cooked rice in wide soup bowls and top with garnish.

Sydney grabs 'expensive' title

(http://www.news.com.au/)
From correspondents in London
June 18, 2007 10:31am
Article from: Agence France-Presse

MOSCOW remains the most expensive city in the world for expatriate staff, while Sydney is only slightly less expensive than New York, according to a survey by British human resources firm Mercer HR.
But London leapt three places from fifth to second in the last 12 months, with Seoul in third, followed by Tokyo and Hong Kong.
The cheapest city was Paraguay's Asuncion for the fifth year running.
The findings use the United States' most expensive city, New York, as a benchmark and compare the cost in 143 cities of more than 200 items, like housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.
Expats face higher living costs in Australia than New Zealand. Sydney maintains high positionSydney is the most expensive city in the region (21st, 5.1 per cent less expensive than New York); Wellington is the cheapest in the region at minus-28.2 per cent (111th).
Moscow was 34.4 per cent more expensive, up just under 11 per cent on last year. Mercer said the rise was due to the appreciation of the rouble against the US dollar which with soaring rents had driven up the cost for expats.
London saw an even bigger leap - just under 16 per cent - making it now 26.3 per cent more expensive than the US city with which it is often compared because of rent hikes, a strong pound and weak US dollar.
Seoul was 22.4 per cent more expensive, Tokyo 22.1 per cent and Hong Kong 19.4 per cent.
European cities rank highEuropean cities featured prominently in the top 10: Copenhagen was the sixth most expensive at plus-10.2 per cent, Geneva seventh at plus-9.8 per cent, Zurich ninth at plus-7.6 per cent and Oslo 10th at plus-5.8 per cent.
The Japanese city of Osaka was eighth at plus-8.4 per cent.
Others more expensive than New York were Milan (11th at plus-4.4 per cent); Saint Petersburg (12th at plus-3 per cent); Paris (13th at plus 1.4 per cent); and Singapore (14th at plus-0.4 per cent).
This year's list showed significant changes in rankings, particularly in Europe due to a strengthened euro and weak US dollar, Mercer said.
In turn, US cities and those in countries whose currency is pegged to the dollar, fell down the list. The least expensive city in Europe for expats is Sofia in Bulgaria.
Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro are the most expensive cities in South America.
Chinese cities moved down the ranking. Beijing was 20th (4.1 per cent less expensive than New York), Shanghai 26th (minus-7.9 per cent)
Mercer attributed this to a decrease in the value of the Chinese yuan against the euro.
Rising property prices caused Indian cities like Mumbai - up to 52 from 68 last year - to move up the ranking, it said.

Public Holidays of Australian

Today is Anzac holdiay, another day I can get up as late as I like.
April is a good month as there are altogether 3 public holdiays: Good Friday, Easter, and Anzac Day.

In Australia, public holidays are varied from state to state.

In NSW, we have the following public holidays:
January:
1st-New Year's Day
26th-Australia Day
April:
Good Friday (the Friday before Easter) (Sometimes in March)
Easter Monday (Sometimes in March)
25th-Anzac Day
June:
11st-Queen's Birthday
October:
First Monday-Labour Day
December:
25th-Christmas Day
26th-Boxing Day

I didn't include the Easter Saturday and Banking Holiday in above as Saturday itself is a holiday and my work place doesn't have the banking holiday :(

So you can see there are not so many public holidays (only 9) as you expect in Australia.

Public Holidays of other states in Australia can be found through:
http://www.australia.gov.au/302

Yamaha piano serial number

I'm currently looking forward to buying a used piano.
It's said Yamaha is one of the best brands to buy.

By searching Google, I found the following link can tell when was the Yamaha made by checking the serial number of the piano:

http://www.yamaha.co.jp/english/product/piano/about/s_num/s_num.html

FW: Gender bender

Male or Female?
You might not have known this, but a lot of non-living objects are actually either male or female. Here are some examples:

FREEZER BAGS: They are male, because they hold everything in, but you can see right through them.

PHOTOCOPIERS: These are female, because once turned off; it takes a while to warm them up again. They are an effective reproductive device if the right buttons are pushed, but can also wreak havoc if you push the wrong Buttons.

TIRES: Tires are male, because they go bald easily and are often over inflated.

HOT AIR BALLOONS: Also a male object, because to get them to go any where, you have to light a fire under their butt.

SPONGES: These are female, because they are soft, squeezable and retain water.

WEB PAGES: Female, because they're constantly being looked at and frequently getting hit on.

TRAINS: Definitely male, because they always use the same old lines for picking up people.

EGG TIMERS: Egg timers are female because, over time, all the weight shifts to the bottom.

HAMMERS: Male, because in the last 5000 years, they've hardly changed at all, and are occasionally handy to have around.

THE REMOTE CONTROL: Female. Ha! You probably thought it would be male, but consider this: It easily gives a man pleasure, he'd be lost without it, and while he doesn't always know which buttons to push, he just keeps trying.

Vehicles excluded from second-hand warranty

Commercial

Commercial vehicles are excluded from the statutory warranty. Basically, a commercial vehicle is a motor vehicle constructed or adapted principally:
to carry goods
to carry 10 or more adults
for industrial or agricultural use.
‘Dual-cab’ or ‘crew-cab’ vehicles are commercial vehicles.

Note: The following are not commercial vehicles, and (subject to age, distance and price) will be covered by warranty.
1.A utility, station wagon or panel van: that is the same make as the factory-produced motor car; in which the part of the body form, forward of the windscreen and the greater part of the mechanical equipment are the same, or substantially the same, as in the motor car.(Holden Commodore or Ford Falcon station wagon or utility).
2.A motor vehicle that is adapted for camping use (for example, a campervan).
3.A four-wheel drive with at least one forward-facing rear passenger seat ie. most of the normal long wheel base four-wheel drive passenger vehicles (apart from dual and crew cabs which have been excluded).

The definition of commercial vehicle does not apply to the Suzuki Hatch and Mighty Boy because their cargo space is not considered to be constructed or adapted principally to carry goods.
These and similar vehicles are considered to be covered by warranty if the criteria of distance travelled, age and price (luxury vehicle) applies. The fact that a vehicle may be used for 'commercial' purposes (courier, taxi, etc) after purchase does not void the statutory warranty.

Luxury vehicles

A luxury motor vehicle is a vehicle where the cash price exceeds a prescribed amount. The prescribed amount is the motor vehicle depreciation limit under the Income Tax Assessment Act and is set in the annual Federal Budget.
For the purpose of the Motor Dealers Act the figure effective as at 1st July 2002 was set at $57,009. Vehicles sold above this price are not covered by a Statutory Warranty or the Motor Dealers Compensation Fund.

Other vehicles not covered by statutory warranty

These are:
A trailer (which includes a caravan).
A motor vehicle or a second hand motor cycle that cannot be registered on New South Wales roads.
A substantially demolished or substantially dismantled motor vehicle.
A four wheel drive vehicle that has no forward facing rear passenger seat.

(Source: Office of Fair Trading NSW)