Australia is very geologically stable and we can build them in areas that aren't heavily populated vs Japan which is on the rim of fire and packed to the gills with people.
An Australian earthquake: the 1989 Newcastle earthquake
On 28 December 1989, an earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale hit Newcastle. The epicentre was 15 km south-southwest from the city centre. This earthquake caused widespread damage, damaging 50 000 buildings and killing 13 people. Damages are estimated to have cost $1.5 billion. The death toll from the earthquake could have been a lot worst. Fortunately, school was not in session at the time, as many schools were badly damaged. See image 5
Although 5.6 is generally considered to be only a moderately strong earthquake, many buildings were destroyed. This was due to a number of factors. Newcastle was considered to have a low seismic risk, so buildings were not expected to adhere to earthquake standards. Many of the damaged buildings were built on alluvial land, or land deposited by water, which is affected more strongly by earthquake waves. The shaking went on for a very long time, 35-40 seconds. Finally, the focus was very shallow at only 11 km below the surface of the Earth. While the earthquake's measurement on the Richter scale was moderate, its measurement on the Mercalli scale would have been much higher.
