Hi Kevin, For sentence (1), you use "been" to emphasise on the fact that you were in Australia in the past. For sentence (2), you use "gone" to emphasise on the fact that you travelled (eg flew on an aeroplane) to Australia in the past. The focus is slightly different. Hope this helps. Cheers, Lance

Hi Kevin, To me, a native speaker of British English, 'I have been to Australia' means you were there at some point in the past but aren't anymore, whereas 'I have gone to Australia' means you are still there but are talking to someone who isn't there, for example 'I'm not at work at the moment because I have gone to Australia.' Maybe the usage is different in other regions. Best wishes, Melanie