Moving to Brisbane - should I open a bank account before I go?

The fastest way to go if you want to start transferring money into aussie is to setup one online. westpac is great for that. They will load the account for you so you can start transferring money into it and then all you need to do is walk into the bank and activate it. You will need 100 points of ID so a valid passport and photo drivers license will be fine.

You are not able to apply for your TFN until you have set foot in the country. You can do this online but it might take up to 14 days to have it posted out, if you need it quicker go into the branch and register manually then you will recieve this automatically.

Hope this helps.

I am moving to Brisbane at the end of July this year and was wondering if anyone could tell me whether it is a good idea to open a bank account now and start putting money into it or just wait until a just before I go. Any advice gratefully accepted!

Hey guys, how are you? Im wondering if it costs to apply for a TFN in Australia, and if so where do I actually sign up as soon as I move back to the north island ill try and open a bank account with westpac and transfer money into the account so I can have money when I arrive which may be in May/June. Im going to be going over to work in Brisbane, because my brother and I are experienced in doing security monitoring and some companies are screaming for them so I figured why not, but I need help and advice, can you guys help please?

I opened a bank account through westpac in australia before i migrated from NZ. I did this just over 3 months in advance, thinking i was being ultra organised. Problem was, when I got to Australia and bowled up to the bank they said I was $AUD100 in unsecured overdraft because it costs $25per month to have the bank account operating if you don't have a TFN/havent shown your 100 points of ID or something like that. Not impressed, they waived a bit of it.

My friend just organised it when he arrived...quite easy...but you just have to secure as much as you can quickly, a job -contract, a decent rental contract for say a year, a bill from a utility, transfer your licence over to an Aussie one and a TFN. I suggest popping over in advance...spend a couple of days organising stuff like that and fly back a month later and you should be good to go from day 1.

It is easily done once you arrive and you just need a passport and as much ID as you can provide. My nephew didn't have anything but a passport and he opened one at Westpac straight away.