Before you start

Passport
An Australian residential address — a hotel or serviced apartment is accepted to start
Visa details
Your home-country tax identification number, for the tax residency declaration

Step-by-step

1
Open the account online before you leave home
All four major banks accept pre-arrival applications. You receive an account number immediately, which lets a relocation payment or first salary land somewhere, but the account cannot be fully operated until identity is verified in person.
OnlineWho: YouAccepted up to about 3 months before arrival by most banks
2
Verify identity at a branch after you land
Take the original passport into any branch of your chosen bank. Originals only — photocopies, scans and photos are refused. CBD branches on Collins and Bourke Streets are busiest at lunchtime; suburban branches are quicker.
In personWho: YouAbout 20–30 minutes
3
Activate the digital card, then wait for the plastic
Most banks push a digital card into Apple Pay or Google Pay the moment verification completes, so you can pay for a myki and groceries the same afternoon. The physical card is posted to your Australian address.
Mobile appWho: YouDigital immediately; card 3–10 days by post
4
Add your Tax File Number as soon as it arrives
Supplying a TFN is not compulsory, but without one the bank withholds tax at the top marginal rate on any interest you earn. It takes thirty seconds in the app once your TFN letter turns up.
Mobile appWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport (original, presented in person)
Visa evidence, generated through VEVO
Australian residential address
Tax File Number, once issued — not needed to open the account

Things most newcomers don’t know

The new-arrival identity concession is time-limited and it is the whole game.

Banks accept that someone who landed last week cannot hold Australian secondary documents, so for roughly the first six weeks a foreign passport alone counts as the full 100 points. Miss the window and you are asked for a Victorian licence, a Medicare card or utility bills you do not yet have — which is why this belongs in your first fortnight, not your second month.

Source: Major bank new-arrival banking pages; confirm the current window with your bank

Opening from overseas gives you an account number, not a usable account.

It is genuinely worth doing — a relocation allowance or your first pay can land — but you cannot withdraw, transfer freely or get a card until you verify in person. Book the branch visit into your first week rather than assuming the online step was the whole task.

Source: Bank pre-arrival banking terms

PayID and Osko settle in seconds, and Australia has effectively no cheque culture.

Once your account works you can register a phone number or email as a PayID and receive money instantly. Landlords, tradespeople and flatmates all expect bank transfer. Arriving expecting cheques, cash or a card-only life is a friction you can remove on day one.

Source: Australian Payments Plus — New Payments Platform

The account, the TFN and the address unlock each other in a fixed order.

The TFN letter is posted to an Australian address and nowhere else; the bank withholds at the top rate until you supply the TFN; the rental application wants an Australian account. Sorting a stable postal address, then the account, then the TFN, then adding the TFN to the account is the sequence that avoids doing any of it twice.

Source: ATO guidance combined with standard bank practice

Common mistakes to avoid

Turning up at a branch with photocopies or a photo of your passport instead of the original.
Letting the new-arrival identity concession lapse before you get to a branch.
Assuming the pre-arrival online account is fully operational when you land.
Leaving the TFN off the account for months and being withheld at the top rate on interest.
Opening with whichever bank has a branch near your hotel rather than checking international transfer fees, which vary enormously between the majors and the digital banks.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.