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28 June 2006

Opening a bank account in Australia

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Opening a bank account

The Australian bankers association says

"When you open a bank account, for the first time or with a new bank, you’ll be required to complete a ‘100-point check’. This is a test that the bank uses to make sure you are you, and not someone posing as you, in an attempt to commit fraud. It’s the bank’s first line of defence against identity theft and money laundering.

To open the account you’ll need to take along some identification (ID), such as a birth certificate, a driver’s licence, and/or a Medicare card (you need to make up 100 points according to the list below). Once you’ve provided sufficient ID, the bank will be able to open your account.

You will also need to provide your tax file number (TFN) so that you can be identified for tax purposes. While this isn’t essential, if you don’t provide your TFN, any interest your accounts earn will be taxed at the highest rate."

Some banks may insist that you have a permanent address in Australia, although I don't think this is a legal requirement.

The 100 point check:


Group A Must include at least one of these
*Birth Certificate (persons under 18) 100 points
*Passport (for persons under 18) 100 points
*Passport (for persons arriving in Australia in the past 6 weeks) 100 points
*Passport (current or expired within 2 years) 70 points
Australian Drivers' licence (if the licence is a replacement for a lost licence at least 2 other forms of ID are required) 40 points
Australian Tertiary Education Institution Photo ID card 40 points

Group B
*Birth Certificate 70 points
* Citizenship certificate 70 points
Public Utilities record 25 points
Medicare Card 25 points
Financial Institution Passbook, debit or credit card 25 points

*only one of these may be used. i.e. a Passport and birth certificate only count as 1 form of ID.




2 comments:

Michelle said...

In response to an enquiry about opening accounts, St George bank answered "An overseas student can apply to open a Freedom Student Account. The fee structure on the account does not differ for overseas students. The only requirements that they must fulfill are to provide 100pts of ID (eg Passport) & provide evidence that they will be studying full time in Australia(eg enrolment form & student card)."

vani said...

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