Cursor AI Rules for Australian Developers

Cursor's AI is trained mostly on American codebases. That means it defaults to MM/DD/YYYY dates, USD currency, and American spelling. Annoying if you're building for Australian users.

Here's how to fix it with custom rules.

The Australian English Rule

Create .cursor/rules/aussie-english.md:

# Australian English Standards ## Date Format - Use DD/MM/YYYY (e.g., 29/04/2026) - Never use MM/DD/YYYY - For display: "29 April 2026" or "29 Apr 2026" ## Currency - Use $AUD or just $ with Australian context - Format: $1,234.56 (comma thousands, period decimal) - GST-inclusive pricing is standard ## Spelling - colour, honour, favourite (not color, honor, favorite) - organisation, realise, analyse (not -ization, -ize) - centre, metre, litre (not center, meter, liter) ## Terminology - "mobile" not "cell phone" - "postcode" not "zip code" - "surname" not "last name" - "car park" not "parking lot" - "footpath" not "sidewalk" ## Time Zones - Default to AEST/AEDT (Sydney/Melbourne) - Be aware of state-based time zone differences - SA and NT have half-hour offsets

Quick Install

Or just run:

npx skills-au add aussie-english -a cursor

This installs a complete Australian English skill with all the rules above plus more.

Testing It Works

After adding the rule, ask Cursor:

"Generate a date picker component"

→ Should default to DD/MM/YYYY format

"Format this price for display"

→ Should use $1,234.56 format

Bonus: State-Specific Rules

If you're building for a specific state, add context:

# NSW-Specific Rules - Stamp duty thresholds for NSW property - NSW Fair Trading requirements - Sydney time zone (AEST/AEDT) - NSW public holidays

More Cursor Skills

We have 23 Australian skills that work with Cursor — tax, compliance, government services.

Cursor Setup Guide →