How to open a bank account in Australia?

To live comfortably in Australia, you need a bank account. It is difficult to do without it, since government agencies, shopping and entertainment establishments do not work with cash. We will find out how to open an account with an Australian bank, who has the right to do this, what documents are required.

How to become a client of a financial institution in Australia?

Non-resident individuals have the opportunity to open an account with an Australian bank a year before arrival in the country, remotely. Before creating an account, you need to make sure that you will arrive in the country within 12 months. If this does not happen, the account will become invalid, the funds will be returned to the client. It is not possible to withdraw money from the account before arriving in Australia, but it is allowed to replenish funds. This can be done not only by potential immigrants, but also by tourists.

Document acceptance system

Australian banks use a point system. The applicant must score one hundred points based on the amount of documents submitted. Here is the "weight" of each document:

• 70 - the presence of a passport, birth certificate, certificate of a citizen;
• 40 - driver's license, weapons permit, certificate of a civil servant, card of a state medical institution;
• 35 - an act of valuation of a land plot, if it is owned by the applicant;
• 25 - personalized plastic card, store customer card, pension certificate;
• 25 - bank statement, utility bill with the name and surname of the applicant.

The required 100 points are given by a combination of a passport and a driver's license, and almost all people have these documents. At the same time, the presence of a passport and a birth certificate does not add up to 140 points. You need to score points with the rest of the points.

Immigrants wishing to open an account within the first six weeks of their arrival in the country can only complete this operation with a passport. After 6 weeks there is a point system.

Choosing a banking institution

After collecting all the required documents, you need to select a financial institution, the conditions for opening an account in which meet your needs. There are four major banks in the state:

• NAB, Australian government bank. It has one and a half thousand branches and 3400 ATMs, more than 8 million customers. No commission is charged for opening and maintaining a current account. There are no special offers for students at NAB;
• Commonwealth Bank has an excellent online banking system. It is specially adapted for immigrants who have recently arrived in the country. Opening is possible three months before arrival. The cost of monthly service is 4 Australian dollars. With a monthly replenishment of 2,000 AUD, the maintenance of the account is free of charge. There are great deals for students;
• Westpac with the widest branch network;
• ANZ. The first year of service is free, after that - 5 AUD per month. Customers are issued a Visa contactless debit card free of charge. For entrepreneurs, there are three options for business accounts.

All institutions offer approximately the same conditions to customers. There are also smaller financial institutions, but the "big four" has an extensive network of ATMs and branches in different cities of the country, so you should choose from them.

It is worth knowing some features of the service. The commission for cash withdrawal from an ATM is not charged only if the operation is performed at ATMs of the "native" bank in which the client has an account. The cards linked to the account are debit. An overdraft will cost an additional percentage and can be provided on an individual basis.

Learn how to open an Australian bank account for a non-resident.

Procedure for opening a bank account

Non-resident individuals can open a savings account. You can transfer any amount to it from your country of residence that you planned to bring with you in cash when moving to permanent residence. 5% per annum is charged on the balance of the savings account. Every day account is an analogue of a current account. The account is required for the transfer of social benefits, wages.

Immigrants who plan to work or receive social security benefits should have both accounts.

You do not need to visit the bank to create an account. It is enough to go to the official website of the financial institution. Next, you need to fill out an online application. The information provided is checked against government, commercial databases, so they must be true and correct. Registration takes no more than 10 minutes. After confirming the creation of an account, you can transfer money to the account. After arriving in the country, the bank branch must be visited personally in order to provide the documents collected for the scoring scheme.

The largest banks operating in Australia are extremely reliable. Each client can choose services that meet financial capabilities and needs.