Help with RewriteRule, please

Can someone tell me why my rewrite isn't working?? (server 500 error) I have put this code (using example directory names here) into a .htaccess file placed in the root of the redundant directory.

Is it my coding, the location of the file, the syntax...??? I am completely new to this so if I'm missing any info here, let me know!


RewriteEngine on
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.mydomain.com.au/new/location/$1