Going to Australia - banking?

Hi,

I'm going to australia for a year. How can I open an account that I can access there etc before I go?

Regards,

TC

When we went we organised our bank account through USIT-where we got our tickets, visas, travel insurance..... We had an ANZ account which was all sorted and ready for us-complete with the money they helped us transfer to it, all we had to do when we get to OZ was organise to get the ATM card from the branch closest to where we were staying.
ALthough obviously you pay for the privilege, I thought it was worth it!

You don't need to do anything before you head out there.
If you go to a bank within the first month of arriving and show them your passport then it is very easy to open an account.

After that there is a need to have proof of address and utility bills etc.

I've used WestPac and with there online set up you can change your address details etc without having to go into the branch. Very handy if you are on the move and you want to update your contact details...
I'm sure the rest are the same....

You'll be paying for the pleasure of having the account thought... the cheapest wit WestPac is $5 a month...

Enjoy the trip... and watch out for the ATM machines in the pubs... right next to the slot machines!

ANZ are a nightmare to deal with in my opinion.

I use CommBank because they've the most ATMs.

Every time you go looking for beer tokens and use a third party ATM it's $2.

I thought Westpac were great. The online banking system they have is great