Opening a Bank Account
The first thing we recommend is to open a Bank Account. Several banks are available here in Geelong, but the most popular among Malaysian Geelong Community members is ANZ. ANZ ATM is available in Deakin Waurn Ponds campus and numerous sites all over the city. You can also open an account with other banks such as St George, Bendigo, Bank of Queensland and many more. Below are some information gathered from the community:
1. Provide a copy of your Passport
2. A copy of Confirmation of Enrollment (CoE) and Offer Letter from University or work place (too get an exemption from account annual fee).
3. A copy of VISA Approval from DIAC
4. A copy of your Student ID (if already have one)
5. Once the account is ready, you will be asked to key-in a password for your online banking at the counter.
6. ATM card can be collected instantly, but your pin number will be issued by post within a few weeks. Meanwhile, we advise you to spare some cash in hand while waiting for the pin number to arrive.
7. However, you can still withdraw your money over the counter by providing your passport.
8. Bank-in your banker's cheque or bank draft in your new account.
9. Important! once you have done this, Do NOT withdraw all the money yet! get a copy of a bank statement showing a large sum of money you have in the bank. Why? this statement will be useful in showing that you have a large fund in your account to convince the real estate agent to rent a property. (More info on renting a property is available in the subsequent topic).
What is EFTPOS?
Australia daily transactions rely heavily on EFTPOS, if you wonder what this is, it like debit card in Malaysia. Not like Malaysia, here in Australia, even the smallest business deals with EFTPOS. Usually, there are no minimum limit for large retailers such as SAFEWAY or COLES.
Any ATM bank card would be embedded with this ability. So your ATM card is EFTPOS enabled. Swipe your ATM card at the counter -> chose account type (normally "savings") -> then key in your pin number. Just be sure you have sufficient credit in your account.
Click on EFTPOS for further reading.