Purchasing an unlocked phone from overseas

LTE Find the right iPhone for the right country or region. - http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/

E.g.,

Using American iPhone 5 in Europe - https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4593901 - Yes, but no LTE support.

Some carriers will not accept unlocked phones - https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4530650?answerId=20359060022#20359060022 - E.g., "Virgin Mobile, like all CDMA carriers, will only activate devices on their network that were initially sold for use on their network."

Warranty restriction! - http://www.apple.com/legal/warranty/products/ios-warranty-document-us.html - "IMPORTANT RESTRICTION FOR iPHONE, iPAD AND APPLE TV SERVICE. Apple may restrict warranty service for iPhone, iPad and Apple TV to the country where Apple or its Authorized Distributors originally sold the device." <-- Read this as they almost certainly will refuse to do warranty coverage except where you bought it. The phone would have to be sent to a friend in in the country of purchase to handle any repair claims because Apple will not handle international shipping.

Remember, you will have to pay US taxes and likely also customs duty to Oz.

------>Some carriers will not accept unlocked phones - https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4530650?answerId=20359060022#20359060022 - E.g., "Virgin Mobile, like all CDMA carriers, will only activate devices on their network that were initially sold for use on their network."

Not in Canada. Under CRTC regulations, this is completely illegal. If they even get a whiff of this occurring the hammer comes down and it comes down brutally hard.

The rest of it is true. We've had people say that can't access LTE with phones bought overseas or in a different region other than their own.