Guide

Opening an Australian Bank Account

You'll want a local bank account early. It's how you get paid, and it saves you the foreign transaction fees you'd otherwise rack up using your home card for everything.

Here's one thing worth knowing before you start: you can open an account online before you even fly, but it isn't usable until you verify your ID in person at a branch after you land. The online step gives you an account you can transfer money into. Spending and withdrawals only switch on once you've shown your passport at a branch. Get that sequence straight and the rest is easy.

Start before you fly

The smart move is to open your account online in the couple of weeks before you travel, so it's ready when you arrive. (Don't worry, it's not essential.)

CommBank lets you apply up to 14 days before you land, and you don't need an Australian address to do it. You fill in a short online form with your passport and visa details and the city you're arriving in. That gets you a deposit-only account: you can transfer money into it so there's cash waiting when you arrive, but you can't spend or withdraw yet. Other major banks offer similar pre-arrival applications, though the exact window and conditions vary.

It's the one we've used, and the pre-arrival setup makes landing smoother. You're not trying to sort banking from scratch in your first jet-lagged week.

If you don't get to it before you fly, that's fine too. You can do the whole thing after you arrive, it just means the account may not be ready on day one (although you can usually get it sorted in branch on the same day and walk out with a virtual card in your phone's wallet app).

Verify your ID in person, and mind the deadline

Opening online doesn't finish the job. Australian law requires the bank to verify your identity in person before you can actually use the account. You do this at a branch once you've arrived. Bring your original passport. CommBank gives you a window to complete this (their ID check is within 20 days of opening) and if you miss it, the account is automatically closed and you start over. The exact deadline varies by bank, so check yours, but treat it as something to do in your first week, not something to leave.

Once your ID is checked, the account switches on. You can download the bank's app, start spending, and your debit card is either waiting at the branch or posted to your Australian address, depending on how and when you applied.

Choosing a bank

The big four are Commonwealth Bank (CommBank), Westpac, ANZ, and NAB. All of them deal with working holiday makers and new arrivals regularly, and the everyday accounts they offer are broadly similar: a transaction account with a debit card, app-based banking, contactless and mobile payments.

A few things actually worth comparing:

ATM and branch coverage, especially if you're heading regional for farm work. A bank with machines across the country saves you withdrawal fees.
Monthly account fees, which some accounts charge and others waive (often for under-30s or with a minimum monthly deposit).
Whether they offer pre-arrival sign-up, if you want your account ready before you land.

CommBank is the one we've used, partly for the pre-arrival setup and partly for the ATM coverage, but any of the big four will do the job. Pick on coverage and fees rather than agonising over it.

Getting your money over

Before your account is live, and for cheaper transfers afterwards, it's worth setting up a multi-currency service. Wise and Revolut both let you hold and spend Australian dollars alongside your home currency, usually at better exchange rates and lower fees than a straight bank-to-bank international transfer, which can cost $15 to $30 a go.

Both are well suited to this. They give you a way to spend in AUD from the moment you land, before your Australian account is verified, and a cheaper route for moving larger sums over or sending money home later. Set one up before you fly and you've got a working spending option from day one.

Add your TFN once you have it

You don't need a Tax File Number to open the account. Open it first, then add your TFN once it comes through. Without a TFN on file, the bank withholds tax on any interest you earn at a higher rate, so it's worth adding promptly rather than leaving it.

If you haven't sorted your TFN yet, see our Tax File Number guide for how to apply and how long it takes.