Your first steps in Australia with a Working Holiday Visa

It shouldn’t be too hard to find a bank, as there are plenty of options. You may also want to check with your financial institution at home if they have a partnership with an Australian bank.

In no particular order, here is a non-exhaustive list of the main banks in Australia:

• Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ)
• Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA)
• Westpac
• National Australia Bank
• Citibank
• ING Direct
• National Australia Bank
• HSBC

It’s best to open your bank account within six weeks of your arrival because the process will be easier. You will need one piece of ID (e.g. your passport) and an Australian postal address to receive your bank card. You can use your own address in Australia if you’ve already found a place to live, or you can give a friend’s address, hostel address, your Post Restante address, etc. Some banks will also allow you to give the bank’s own address and you can pick the card up from the branch.

Past the initial six-week period of arriving in Australia, opening a bank account becomes trickier. A 100-point system will come into play—points are allocated to the types of proof of ID you can produce. You must have at least 100 points of identification to be able to open an account. For instance:

• You’ll get 70 points if you can show a valid passport, a passport that expired within the past two years, or a birth certificate.
• You’ll get 40 points if you can show a driver’s licence (bring your licence and an International Driving Permit if your licence isn’t in English).
• You’ll get 25 points if you have an Australian credit card.

You can see the list of other acceptable IDs here.

As a new arrival in Australia, it may be difficult to secure the right types of ID to meet 100 points (e.g. you probably don’t have an Australian credit card if you don’t have an Australian bank account yet…).

Save yourself the hassle of having to gather 100 points’ worth of ID and open your bank account within your first few weeks! It will also help you get started quicker with employers, as you will have Australian bank details to give them.

Understanding the different payment methods

Cheques

Unlike cash or debit/credit cards, cheques aren’t commonly used, except maybe for paying rent. However, for casual jobs like fruit picking, you may still be paid by cheque.

A few stores will offer the opportunity to cash your cheque (i.e. exchange your cheque for cash) for a fee.

Bank cards

There are three main types of bank cards in Australia: credit cards, EFTPOS cards and Visa/MasterCard debit cards.

Backpackers aren’t usually eligible to apply for a credit card, although it depends on how much money you bring to Australia and how much you make. Credit cards are often used for large purchases, or to build a credit history if you’re planning to settle in Australia long-term and apply for a mortgage or a car loan.

The EFTPOS card is a basic (often free) debit card used to withdraw money from ATMs or pay for items in-store. However, it can’t be used to make online purchases. Your EFTPOS card also won’t work when travelling abroad.

The handiest card to have is the Visa/MasterCard debit card. It can be used for ATM withdrawals, online payments and in-store purchases. You can’t go into overdraft with this kind of card, as you can only spend the money available in your account.

Most of these cards have a yearly fee, but your bank might waive it for the first year. These deals are perfect for WHV holders only planning to stay for 12 months, so try to shop around for a bank that waives this fee.

The convenient cash out system

At many supermarkets, if you pay with your debit card, you can ask for “cash out” (known as “cashback” in other countries). An amount of your choice is added to the total purchase price of a transaction. When you pay with your debit card, you receive that amount in cash along with the original purchase. For example, if your grocery bill is AU$20 and you want to “cash out” AU$10, you ask to pay a total of AU$30. You will pay AU$30 on your debit card and leave with your groceries and AU$10 in cash.

The cash out system is a good way to skip ATM fees; most Australian banks charge AU$1 to withdraw money from an ATM that doesn’t belong to their network.

Should I open my bank account before leaving or wait until I’m in Australia?

This is one of the most frequently asked questions! Some banks will allow WHV holders to open a bank account online from their home country. However, most travellers just wait until they have arrived. After all, the process is pretty straightforward and only takes about 30 minutes. Plus, some of the banks that allow you to open online accounts still make you attend a branch in-person once you’ve arrived to verify your ID, so you haven’t made any real time savings!