Starlite

I opened our Westpac accounts over the phone, they were very helpful and the accounts, internet and phone banking were open and active straight away.

But i think you have to have them active for a certain amount of time other wise they will close the account.

I transfer money from my nationwide to westpac without any problems, but nationwide do charge £20 for each transfer so best to transfer alot of money all at once.

They send out all the packs and details and you need to get a referee and send back or fax them the details.

I highly recommend westpac, they were very helpful and if you have any problems you can easily get in contact with them

MattW82

I found ANZ were the easiest of the big 4 to set up an account with whilst still in the UK. You get the option of opening both a current and a savings account at the same time, and you won't get charged anything until you get into Oz and officially open the account. In the meantime, you can transfer in as much or as little as you like.

Go to the following for full info and the application form:

http://www.anz.com.au/aus/Personal/M...UK/default.asp