It is very useful to have access to a local account on arrival and Australian banks encourage you to open an account before you move to Australia.  You can open an account online up to a year before you arrive in Australia.  You can deposit funds in the account once opened but will only be...

As an expat, the internet has made managing your finances much easier, but make sure you are doing it safely, says Iain Yule. As expats become more prepared to trust the internet as a means of handling their financial transactions so the banks are developing more and more exclusively online offerings. This is potentially of great...