Australian currency
Notes $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100.
Coins 5 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents, 50 cents, $1 and $2.

All cash transactions are rounded to the nearest 5 cents. A few retailers choose to always round down. It is illegal however to always round up.
Electronic & Cheque transactions are not rounded.

The Goods and Sales Tax (GST) is 10%. Prices are displayed including GST
It is not added at the register.
Almost all ATMs will accept cards on the worldwide Maestro or Cirrus systems, check with your bank to ensure card compatibility

Cards
Credit cards are accepted at most retail outlets.
Visa and MasterCard are the most commonly accepted.
American Express and Diners' Club are not so common.

Bank Accounts
To open a bank account, identification is required. This is based on a points system, with different scores for existing identification, passports, driving licence, Taxfile Number etc.
Unlike British banks, you do not require any evidence of your credit rating or income.

Australian Bank Accounts differ in that they are classified into Cheque, Savings & Credit.
When purchasing by payment card you will be asked which account the card is for and then required to enter a pin number for Cheque & Savings accounts or sign a receipt for Credit.

All of the banks charge account fees. These are for the usual accounting & transaction costs. Check the Links page for the main Australian banks.

EFTPOS (Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale)
This system is the same as switch but you don't sign anything, you key in your pin number for your cheque or savings account .You only sign if you use a credit account. The PIN is issued with the card and is also used for ATM transactions. EFTPOS is common throughout Australia. Be aware that the HSBC 'EFTPOS' card is not accepted at Mobil garages and some other Australian outlets. This is when you might need to use your Visa/Mastercard from your home country.

Most major credit cards can be used at the EFTPOS facilities as long as you have activated your card PIN. Check with your credit card company for further details before travelling.

It's worth leaving some money in a Visa/Mastercard bank account to benefit from exchange rate fluctuations as the goods feel a lot cheaper when you convert the Australian price into sterling or euros.

We have found that HSBC is a good bank to use, as the charges are lower than some of the Australian banks. If you open an online account and stay in credit ($2.5K )the banking is virtually free, however you only get a few free ATM transactions & Unlimited EFTPOS transactions.

It is worth opening an HSBC account in your home town today if you do not already have one. As soon as you get your Australian visa you are then eligible to apply for an Australian account. This will cost $2000 (£800) as an initial deposit. You will need to provide evidence of an existing account with another bank. The bank account you use will have to provide a reference stating your track record showing no bad debt or credit black listing. You may be charged for this service. This can take some months as the processing is in depth to stop terrorist money movements.