Banking and finances

Some banks have multilingual teams to make it easier for you to apply for an account.

The major banks in Australia are Westpac, ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, and the National Australia Bank. You would be able to set up your account before you arrive in Australia and fix a future appointment date to activate your account. You can apply for a bank account as early as 3 months before your arrival. It can take as quick as three minutes (at Westpac) to create a bank account but you will usually need to verify your identity at a branch in Australia before you can withdraw funds. Find out details specific to each bank in the links mentioned above.

MABECS Global consultants would recommend students to find out which bank’s ATM is the nearest to your accommodation or campus – and then consider applying an account with this bank for your convenience and to avoid extra withdrawal charges.

If you’d like to find out more on average fees and cost of living in Australia, read this article  by MABECS Global consultants.