This is a good point to add. Of course it'll be great if I could avoid paying taxes without breaking any law . Because you know, I've already payed the taxes for my earned money in my home country. It's not good for me to pay it again.

There is no tax to avoid though.

Hello, could you remember a branch in Sydney that opens on Sunday. Thank you for your information.

Note: I was told some day that Australia like Japan were the safest countries on earth (in Japan housewives only bring cash to stores because crime is so rare), but I guess I was told the wrong information ... I guess crime inside the Sydney Airport is so rare, not least because there should be hundreds of cameras and security agents ... and I guess if you take a taxi in the airport then there should be a very little possibility that the taxi driver robs you (in my country every taxi that goes into the airport needs to register in a database and also what passenger it picks up ... and I guess in Australia it should be the same) ... so I guess from the Airport to the Bank you should be safe .

I think that to open an Australian bank account in my country should be impossible, because there is not even an Australian Embassy in my country, and none of the main Australian banks operate in my country.

http://www.commbank.com.au/weekend/

Have you tried HSBC? They operate in most countries...they may be able to help.

BTW Someone was murdered in Sydney Airport this year!

And depending on what stats you choose to believe, Australia has one of the highest burglarly rates in the developed world (if not the highest).

Regardless of whether you can open an Australian bank account overseas...is there any reason why you cannot wait until you have arrived in Australia and opened a bank account before transferring your funds? Obviously you will need some initial cash.

Here ya go,

Commonwealth Bank
http://www.commbank.com.au/weekend/

ANZ
http://www.anz.com/australia/persbnk...endedHours.asp

NAB
http://www.nab.com.au/wps/wcm/connec.../about_us/3/15

WESTPAC
http://www.nowwhere.com.au/westpac/l...a/default.aspx

BANKWEST
http://www.bankwest.com.au/Find_Us/index.aspx

ST GEORGE
http://apps.nowwhere.com.au/stgeorgebank/locator/

Good luck

You can open a Westpac account online before you arrive in Australia. You can send money into it but you can't take it out until you arrive into Australia in person.

http://www.westpac.com.au/internet/p...igrant+banking

Oh, thank you very much ! thank you to all the persons that answered my post. I will take a closer look at that. It should work. I was not knowledgeable about sending money outside my country, but I will research that. And of course, if you don't bring much money with you then you might feel more relaxed .

Look here, for example: http://www.anz.com/unitedkingdom/en/...-bank-account/ or indeed the link provided by Comet.

Although it's a scheme run from the UK and oriented to the UK, I don't see any reason why they wouldn't open an account for someone in another country. You don't actually go in person to their office in the UK - you just have to go to a bank in Australia to prove your identity once you get here. Make sure you go soon after you arrive, though, because you can't start spending the money you have transferred into your account until you prove your identity.

Also, it bears repeating: you will not be taxed for bringing money into the country. There is no tax on importing money, regardless of whether it's more or less than $10,000. The Australian government loves it when people bring money here because it means you are probably going to spend it here!

(In fact, I am not familiar with any country that taxes money transfers into the country).

Ahh...I take it in that case you didn't hear about our motorcycle gang episode recently where there was a huge fight, a man was beaten to death inside the arrivals hall, it took a while for cops/security to show up and many of the security cameras weren't working?
http://www.smh.com.au/national/bikie...0323-95xc.html

Look - I am not paranoid and Sydney is a very safe big city. It's not Rio or Baghdad or Port Moresby or Johannesburg by any means. If you were bringing in a lot of money, I'm sure you'd be fine most times, probably wouldn't lose it and probably wouldn't have it stolen. I've certainly carried big wads of cash around internationally when I haven't had a choice before (and didn't really like doing it). All I am saying is that even though it's pretty safe here, if it's safer and not too expensive to send money electronically, why not just do that?

Well, I guess I will only get a true perception of Sydney security living in it.
But, BTW do you feel safe in Sydney ? I guess if you see policemen patrolling the streets you feel safe, Do many policemen patrol Sydney streets ? In my country there are small buildings used by police in many neighborhoods which have between 3 and 6 policemen with motorcycles prepared to help in emergencies (in my country they are called Immediate Attention Commands). Is there something similar in Sydney ?

You dont pay tax on money you bring into the country - you knew that right and were just testing I'm sure...

You could bring in $1,000,000 and you wouldn't need to pay tax on it.

The only tax you would be liable for is the interest you would earn once you become tax resident.

or Capital gains on the fx gain (unlikely at the moment I know) if you were already a resident

There's two ways to answer that question, really:

- firstly, it depends on whether you feel safer when you see police officers. The answer is not always yes.

- secondly, ime the safest neighbourhoods rarely see a police car because there is no need for them because there is little street crime.

Hi Pharoah

I opened an account with Commonwealth from Ireland - no problem at all
I looked at a few banks and chose an account that suits me best (also taking into consideration the ozzie bank charges).
On the commonwealth website under personal accounts there is a section for international customers.
I filled out the form, they called me back and send me some docs to complete. I completed them and got them signed along with my id etc in my local bank, sent it off and got my bank details really quickly.
I have been able to transfer money over. I won't get my passcard until I present myself in the branch though