money transfers?

[Bladder]

Hi all,
We have our visas now, and agreed the sale of the house, looking to move to Brisbane at the end of October.
Does anyone have good advise regarding transfering our finances to Oz. How do we set up an account there? Do we have to pay tax on the money we take?
We really don't know anything about this and need to find out how to go about it. We could use the bank, but apparently you can get much better deals/rates through specialist transfer companies, but it is a bit scary giving someone ALL your life savings!
Any advise would be very much appreciated.

[The Broughtons]

Check out Westpac - they do special arrangements for opening accounts for those lucky people who have visas to let them move down under

We're nowhere near in the position to do this yet but we checked out this site - it's quite informative

http://www.aussiemove.com/aus/banking.asp

Hope this helps

[Tiff - Westpac]

Hi All

Tiffany here from Westpac Migrant Banking.

We are able to open accounts for you before your arrival in Oz. You can start transferring money before you leave and once you complete an ID check ( just show your passport) at one of our branches you'll be able access your money,order atm cards,cheque books etc.
We offer you a package known as 'Westpac One'. This is a combination of a main/transaction account and a choice of one of two (or both if you wish) savings account. You can opt for the Westpac One Savers Account, this account offers 5.8% (this will increase to 6.05% on Aug 7th following recent int. rate increases). You must make one deposit each month and no withdrawals to be eligible and interest is paid on balances up to $250,000.
The other option is an on-line savers account called 'Maxi Direct'. Interest is teired & depends on your balance with rates of up to 5.65% (increasing to 5.85% on 14th Aug). Interest is calculated daily and paid monthly with no capping. There are no limits on withdrawals or deposits.
There is an account keeping fee of $5.00 on the main transaction account with unlimited Westpac atm withdraws/cheques etc. The savings accounts are fee free.
We can also assist you with credit card and home loan applications both before and after your arrival.
For more info visit our website www.westpac.com.au/migrantbanking or email me at migrantbank@westpac.com.au

You'll only be taxed on any interest earned on these funds ( a flat rate tax of 10% on interest earnings before you arrive in Australia and then your marginal rate once you supply your tax file number). Tax is automatically deducted from your interest paymnet before it is paid to you.

We usually recommend you use HIFX (www.hifx.co.uk) or moneycorp to transfer your funds to us as our customer's have had great success with them citing great exchange rates and low or minimal transfer fees.

Cheers

Tiffany