Planning to come to Australia? No need to wait till you arrive to manage your banking!
HECT Australia has joined hands with Australia’s largest Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia to provide you with Overseas account opening service and offering fast financial services for your visit to Australia.
Creating a new Bank account in Australia
In Australia, a trading account or an everyday account refers to the bank account used for daily banking. In some countries such accounts are known as “demand deposit accounts” or “checking accounts”.
With Commonwealth, you are able to open an online account three months before your arrival in Australia and transfer money from other existing accounts into the new online account, this way, your funds are already available before your arrival in Australia.
After creating an account:
After successfully creating your account online, please bring your identification documents with you when you first go to the bank in person. We advise you to bring the following:
- Visa identification
- Valid passport or Identification card OR
- Any twoof the following : Driver’s License, Birth Certificate or Citizenship Certificate
If your document is in another language (e.g. Chinese) then you will need a National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) approved translated English version of the document.
Other things the be aware of:
- BSB number: when opening your account, you will receive a 6-digit number. This is you BSB number used to identify the branch of your account. You will need this number to transfer money into your account
- Overseas transaction:if you are transferring money from overseas into your account, you will need to provide your BSB number and your Account number to the payer. Other than that, you also need to provide the Swift Codeof Commonwealth Bank of Australia which is CTBAAU2S
- Tax File Number (TFN):for tax purposes, tax file numbers are used to identify individuals in Australia. After you open your account or start to work, you are required to provide your TFN. TFN isn’t necessarily needed to open your account, but if you don’t have a TFN or do not provide your TFNto the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, then the interest rate of your tax deduction on your account will be charged at the highest rate.To learn more about TFN or to apply for a TFN please login at the Australian Tax Office website: ato.gov.au
