Getting paid yet avoiding banks
 

Is it possible to avoid getting a local bank account? I would prefer just a simple prepaid card or something like that. What's the equivilent of PAYE in Australia?

I have no bills to pay and I've been cutting down on using banks. I don't want to use a bank unless I have to.

Also, what about credit unions?
Basically, any above board way of recieving a wage that is as far from those bankster like activities as we can get.

Re: Getting paid yet avoiding banks
 

There are plenty of non-bank financial institutions in Australia - as long as they have a BSN (six digit number) for direct money transfer you can use them to receive your wages/salary. A credit union would be a good option. All companies pay wages by direct transfer these days, so you will need some sort of account (unless you work for a very small business that still deals in cash).

PAYE is known as PAYG over here.

Re: Getting paid yet avoiding banks
 

Don't blame you for wanting to avoid banks, thieving bastards the lot of them. Just a tip, if you're wanting to avoid the ATO (tax office) knowing what you're earning (not that I'm saying that's what you want to do), then there's no way you can do that. All financial institutions report to the ATO, so you'd get collared if you tried to hide earnings. Also, if you're working for a company (as opposed to being self employed) you'll be required to provide your tax file number to them, otherwise every dollar you earn will be taxed at the top rate.

Re: Getting paid yet avoiding banks
 

PAYG, BSN and direct transfer - thanks guys I can use that to search for alternatives now. There might be a credit union associated with a employee union that provides something like that. As long as they aren't too big I hope that will be a better setup.

This is all academic at the mo though. The tax man isn't a worry yet - I'm still before visa stage fishing for a job (or trying to find a way to allow department transfer at my workplace without treatening to quit if possible)

edit: btw, if there's anything you know related to this in Aus, like Occupy Australia (especially in Perth) or something like that please let me know.

Found this page since posting:
http://www.justlanded.com/english/Au...tax-collection

Another aconm to learn: PPS = for some industries that aren't covered, typically where subcontractors are used a lot