Australia

[jb's hat]

Hello!

My GF & me are off to Australia for a few months to visit friends & family over there. Fantastic! But we have no idea what is the best way to manage our funds while we are there i.e. do we/can we open an AU$ current account & transfer our money over?

Any advice / experience / recommendtaion for this?

Cheers

[PFA]

Consider the following

1) Am I / Are We going to stay for more than 6 months?
2) How many transactions will I be making on average per day > more than 3?
3) How many friends and family members do I know who HAVE a bank account?
4) What am I planning to do with the account after my holiday?

AFTER YOU HAVE ANSWERED THESE QUESTIONS:- ....COMPARE YOUR ANSWERS....

1) If you are not going to stay for more than 6 months then there is no point in opening a bank acc. However I DO NOT think that the australian banks (westpak and the likes) will allow you to do so on a tourist VISA anyway!! You will have to check it out with them.
2) If you have less than three transactions per day and none of those transactions are for anything IMPORTANT* then it is more advisable to use cash ELSE you may have to pay a transaction fee 2.5% appx depending on who you bank with and what type of acc you hold.
3) If you have family who are trustworthy - get the money transfered to their account. The travellers currency rate is HISTORICALLY lower than international transfers currency rate.
4) Here in the UK banking is free of charge - other countries charge for having a current account with a plastic card facility. You might want to consider this as well....

LAST BUT NOT THE LEAST - make sure that you travel insurance covers you for extended periods if it is a long hol.

* This that are of a personal value to you.

[littlejackie]

I am going traveling with my girlfriend in a couple of months as well and i have been thinking this through.

My friend traveled Oz last year and worked for 8 months on a 12 month working visa. He opened a Oz current account so that his wages could be paid in and he wouldn't have to pay for any withdrawl charges. You can also claim your income tax back from the Oz govt. when you return to England. This is what i am planning on doing too.

Hope that helps.