Tip number one - stay away from Sydney. It's just another big city with a bridge and a pointy building, and it's the most expensive place in the entire country.
Tip number two - stay away from the Gold Coast for similar reasons (without the bridge or pointy building).
Try the Sunshine Coast. It's about an hour north of Brisbane (capital city of Queensland), has some of the world's best beaches, nice scenery, great weather etc. Plenty to do round there, and there's several small cities in the area to choose from. Noosa is the "tourist centre" of the Sunshine Coast, but Caloundra and Maroochydore offer just as much, quick travel to Noosa if you want to do the restaurant strip along Hastings St etc, and much more reasonable prices.
