I suppose "stability" is one upside of a government supported quasi-monopoly. Australian banks are an absolute disgrace. I say that as an Australian who returns home from time to time. Charging $2.50 to withdraw money from an ATM?? They get away with gouging customers in ways that simply couldn't happen in the UK or US.
2. Only if you use an ATM not run by your bank or not in your bank's network. There's near enough always going to be a cluster of four ATMs corresponding to the four big banks in any area, at least one of which will be free to withdraw from.
3. Get an account with ING Direct and they will refund you any ATM fees, even those charged by other companies.
Disgrace? Please.
I've shuttled back and forth between the two countries for seven years now, and I can tell you, unequivocally, that you're speaking out of your bumhole.
Visa PayWave transactions in Australia, in July 2014: 58 million
All contactless transactions in the UK, in September 2014: 32 million
And with ING Direct offering 2% cashback (and some banks doing a promotional 5%) on all contactless transactions under $100 things are good. And in the UK contactless is limited to less than A$40, while in Australia it's A$100.