Moving Your Money From NZ To Australia

Open an Australian bank account and get more Australian Dollars for your NZ money. Here's how.

Get The Best Exchange Rate

Last updated: October 2026

Key Points

Avoid dealing with physical cash and travellers cheques! You will get a much better rate if you convert your money electronically, sending it from a bank account in NZ to one in Australia.
Open your Australian bank account before you move. ANZ lets Kiwis open an account from NZ, and CommBank and Westpac let you start up to 14 days before you arrive. You'll still need to verify your ID before you can use the account.
Transfer money online using a specialist currency service to get the best rate. We used XE to convert our NZ dollars at the best rate we could find.

The goal here is simple: to get as many Australian dollars for your New Zealand dollars as possible. This is how we did it, and it worked out well for us:

Please, please do not take large sums of cash or travellers' cheques! You are literally wasting money by doing so. The best way to convert anything other than the smallest sums of money is to send it via telegraphic transfer (TT). If you do carry cash, you must declare A$10,000 or more (or the foreign currency equivalent) when you arrive in Australia.
Open an Australian bank account before you arrive (see the options below).
Don't use a bank to convert your money. Use a specialist foreign exchange company like XE or TorFX to get a better exchange rate and avoid high bank fees. We cover this below.

Opening An Australian Bank Account

We recommend opening a bank account just before you move, so that all you need to do on arrival is verify your ID to get up and running. You'll usually just need your passport for this.

The big four banks in Australia are CommBank, Westpac, ANZ and NAB. There are plenty of other banking options, but the big banks are the most migrant friendly when it comes to opening an account as a new arrival.

For a general feature comparison, Canstar has a good summary of bank accounts and their features.

You don't need a Tax File Number (TFN) to open an account, but give it to your bank as soon as you have one. Until you do, the bank must withhold tax at the top marginal rate on any interest you earn. You'll also be asked whether you are a tax resident of any other country.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia

Australia's largest bank.
A highly rated banking app.
One of the biggest branch and ATM networks in Australia.
Tips and guidance on CommBank's Moving to Australia page.

We chose to open accounts with the Commonwealth Bank (Aussies call it CommBank) because their account opening process is simple, their banking app is widely regarded as one of the best in Australia, they offer a comprehensive range of banking services and their fees are comparable to other major banks.

CommBank lets you begin the application process for a new account up to 14 days before you arrive in Australia. You'll need to show your passport at a CommBank branch before you can start using your new account, and you must do this within 20 days of opening it online, or the account may be closed.

Coming later in 2026: CommBank plans to let migrants verify their identity by scanning their ePassport in the CommBank app before they arrive, so you can set up your banking before you land.

Westpac

Australia's oldest bank.
Kiwis can verify their ID online instead of visiting a branch.
Good security and online banking.

Westpac lets you start opening a Westpac Choice account up to 14 days before you arrive. Once you're in Australia, you'll need to verify your identity to activate it. If you're from New Zealand (or India or China), you can do this online rather than going into a branch.

You'll need an Australian address (a temporary one is fine) and a mobile number for SMS verification. New arrivals also pay no monthly account fees for the first 12 months.

Kiwis should note that Westpac Australia and Westpac NZ are completely separate banks, so you can't transfer your existing NZ account across.

More info on Westpac's New to Australia page.

ANZ Bank

Operates in both Australia and New Zealand.
Open your Australian account from NZ before you move.
Strong focus on account security.

For New Zealanders, ANZ has a Trans-Tasman process that lets you open an Australian account before you move. You apply by phone with ANZ Australia, then verify your identity in person at your local ANZ NZ branch. Verification can take up to 2 days, after which you call ANZ Australia again to open the account.

More info on ANZ's Open an Australian bank account from New Zealand page.

Converting Your Money To Australian Dollars

We have paid partnerships with XE, TorFX and OFX, all of whom we have used ourselves. Thank you for supporting the partnerships that help keep Move to Australia running.

Surprisingly few people realise there is quite a lot of choice when converting money into another currency. Many people go with their first instinct, which is to use a bank. Don't do that! Unless you happen to be a very important customer, you will not get a good deal from your bank. Typically they give you a pretty bad rate, then charge a fee on top of that.

Cash is also not a good idea. Conversion rates for cash are much worse than for electronic funds, so aim to convert as little physical cash as possible and send the converted funds directly to your new bank account.

Watch Out For Scams

Only ever send money to account details you have set up and checked yourself. Be wary of any email, text or call saying your transfer is "stuck", that you need to pay a fee to release it, or that a provider's bank details have changed. If in doubt, contact the provider directly using the details on their official website or app, not the ones in the message.

Why We Use XE

Foreign Exchange Specialists

XE
- TorFX
OFX

Depending on how much money you are converting, you can save yourself hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars by using a specialist foreign exchange company. We used XE, a specialist foreign exchange company with NZ offices, because we got a much better rate, paid no transfer fee (the cost is built into the exchange rate, which was still far better than our bank's) and could do everything online.

Although we were moving a comparatively small amount of money in our first transaction (around $10K), just by choosing XE instead of a bank, we saved a few hundred dollars.

These days we still use XE to move money between NZ and Australia on a semi-regular basis, and it is one of the fastest options out there. Most times the payment from NZ reaches our account in Australia within a few hours. (XE officially says NZD to AUD transfers take anywhere from minutes to 3 business days, depending on your payment method.)

XE Features

A nice mobile app with alerts as your money moves along.
Hold multiple currencies. Keep multiple currencies in your XE account until you're ready to use them. This is handy if you're juggling more than one country during and after your move, for example paying a mortgage in NZ, supporting family or getting paid in another currency. It's a free feature. Learn more about XE's multi-currency account.
Very fast transfers.
eSIM available.
Travel card coming soon.
Good for business owners and sole traders who will keep making international transfers after moving, especially with virtual IBAN capabilities on the way.

How To Convert Your Money

Here's the basic process we went through to convert our money, once our Aussie bank account was open:

Open an account with a specialist foreign exchange provider, such as XE. It doesn't cost anything, and you don't need to make regular transfers with them. You'll need to verify your ID, which usually just means uploading a photo of your passport or driver licence in their app or website, along with a live selfie. This is standard practice for any trustworthy FX company.
Once your account is open, add yourself as the recipient of the Australian dollars (this is called creating a beneficiary). Use your new Aussie bank account details so the money is paid directly into your account.
Convert your money online or over the phone. Doing it online is really fast. Pay for the New Zealand dollars you're converting by online bank transfer into XE's bank account (the instructions are on your transfer confirmation), or by debit or credit card. Card payments may be limited when you first sign up, and prepaid cards aren't accepted. Check whether your card provider charges a cash advance fee before paying by credit card.
Your Australian dollars will appear in your bank account, less any fee your bank charges to receive the funds. We transfer into our CommBank account and don't pay any fees to receive the money.

That's really all there is to it. Just by using a more competitive alternative to your bank, you might have saved enough to cover some rent, or on a big transfer, enough to buy a nice car.

Comparing Popular FX Options for Moving Money to Australia

Anti-money laundering laws require all FX services to verify your identity (usually with a photo of your ID and a live selfie) and to collect your address, contact details and the reason for your transfer. All of them show you a live quote before you commit, so you can compare rates.

	XE	TorFX	Wise
Customer service	Efficient, based overseas	Local team in Australia	Based overseas (we haven't used it)
Ease	Very easy to sign up. New transfers can be completed in minutes.	Easy via the online app, or by email or phone for personalised help.	Very easy.
Speed	Minutes to 3 business days. In our experience, within hours.	Minutes to 2 business days. In our experience, 1–2 days.	Very fast. Most transfers are instant or done within 1 day.
Best for	Large transfers and/or regular transfers between your own accounts.	People who want to deal with a real person for a large or complex transfer.	Spending in AUD straight away with a Wise card.

Wise is not one of our partners and we haven't used it ourselves. We've included it because many people moving to Australia ask about it.

Still have questions about moving your money to Australia? Take a look at our discussion forum where you can ask for help and share what you‘ve learned.

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