Opening an account before arrival

[maxxangel]

I was looking into opening an account with Westpac before we get to Australia, but one of the conditions was that you had to be arriving in Australia in person within 3 months (I think). Are there any places you can open an account without this restriction?
Cara

[scooterdan]

We opened an account with Westpac last November....and we arrive in May 1st! The only restriction i believe is that the account is deposit only until you identify yourself in Oz...in your chosen branch. If you do this within 6 weeks of arrival you only need your passport.

We also had 60 days to make a transfer to activate the account.

Have heard nothing of this 3 month rule!!

Dan and Steph

[Richard & Amanda]

Hiya Dan,

Richard is opening our account at the weekend.

Did you open a high interest one as well to deposit the money until the exchange rate improves?

What we are hoping to do is put some of the house sale in an account we can access readily for everyday use and keep the majority of the equity in a high interest account until we getting a better rate. I know there is a 6 month window - hopefully it may reach the dizzy heights of above $2.15 by then! I can't believe end of last year it was around $2.30 - typical!!!

Amanda

[scooterdan]

Yeah we have both...one is called a Choice account....equivelant of our current i believe and the othe is called a Max-I account which is high interest...we are putting a majority of our cash in there untill we arrive!

We also got access to internet banking by ringing them in Oz...so we can check monies arriving!!

Dan and Steph

[Richard & Amanda]

Nice,

Cheers Dan gives Richard somewhere to start!!!

[duncan-clan]

i know you opened an account but ive got a account with HSBC premier account which is avaliable in oz it also gives me free travel insurance where ever i go for 30 days, and a cheaper morgage using HSBC plus lots of other benefits also i dont get charged for transfering money over seas the only down side is you open account with more then £50,000 :arghh:

[maxxangel]

Maybe it's changed recently, but I've just checked again and it definitely now says:

To apply for a Westpac account you must be able to answer yes to all the following conditions:

1. I am planning to relocate to Australia and wish to open a bank account before I depart
2. My relocation will be permanent, or for a minimum of 12 months
3. I am aged 12 years or older
4. I am arriving in Australia and able to complete an identity check at my Westpac branch within 90 days of application.
5. I am able to transfer funds into my new Westpac account within 30 days of application.http://www.westpac.com.au/internet/publish.nsf/Content/PBITMB+Opening+overseas+accounts

[banjo70]

I'm farily certain that ANZ don't have this restriction.

http://www.anz.com/aus/personal/Moving-To-Australia/Default.asp

They've got a UK office so you could ring them to confirm.

[Guzzler&Sas]

Hi,

Well worth looking at http://www.migrantbanking.co.uk/, we used them and had a smooth transaction,

Good luck

Guzzler

[Angela]

I opened with WESTPAC from the UK, I cannot remember that as being a condition but perhaps it was because we transferred money over approximately 6 weeks before arriving.