From the Google Blog:

Many Australians have used our maps and satellite images, so today we’re especially excited to launch Google Maps Australia. We’ve expanded service to include Australian business listings, driving directions, and support for Google Mobile Maps in Australia.

As mentioned earlier, the maps.google.com.au domain has been live for a while now, but it’s now ‘official’.  The site’s still got the beta tag on it though.  Much easier to find a coffee now!

The business directory info is coming from True Local, which is a News Ltd. company.  I would imagine that this is going to put a serious dent in the Yellow Pages once people get used to using it.

The driving directions also work for New Zealand too, but the business search doesn’t yet.  I imagine they’re still negotiating with a local business directory.

Good stuff Google.