Hi and Welcome Koolio
The best thing to do before you buy a scope is find your local Astronomy Club or Society and go along to one of their viewing nights. That way you will get a chance to see different types of scope and what you can expect from them.
If your budget is $700 - $800 I would recommend an 8" or 10" Dobsonian plus accesories such as a telrad, planisphere and a copy of Astronomy 2007. If you don't have a good pair of 7 x 50 or 10 x 50 binoculars then add those in too.
Tripod mounting an 8" or 10" Newtonian would add to the cost, I would suggest starting with a Dobsonian as it will be easier to use as a beginner.
From Sydney I would expect you will get alot of light pollution which will deeply cut into your seeing. However whereever you use your scope don't expect to see what you see in colour photos in books or on web sites. These are stacked multiple images of long exposure and our eyes just cannot see that well. Nebulae will appear black and white and stars will always just be points of light.