Well, I’d have a listen to teachers in many traditions if you can, and find out what best suits you. But in Australia you do have the monks of the Santi Forest Monastery in a Therevadhan tradition from Thailand, I’ve read some of their scholarly writings on the Buddhist sutras, and they are very good. I’d be sure to go and listen to them if there are any near where you live in Australia.

You don’t have to be a monk to practice as a Buddhist. I’d go to some teachings and find out about Buddhism first from the teachers themselves. They can tell you how to set about this. Also - though many do take it as a lifetime commitment, you can also become a novice monk for a short period of time. In some traditions of Buddhism, that’s commonly done and gives you a connection to the path of a bikkhu. In all the traditions (AFAIK) you can return your robes at any time if you decide the path is not for you, just by saying to anyone who is able to understand what you say that you return the robes.

There’s a much earlier thing you can do to affirm your connection and your wish to follow the Buddhist path, the refuge ceremony. That is just a way to say publicly that this is the path you wish to follow. And many people also take the five precepts of not killing, not lying, not stealing, to avoid sexual misconduct, and to avoid excessive intoxicants (some read that as to avoid intoxicants altogether). Those are the lay precepts.