International Students

• Why La Trobe
• Courses and research
• Apply and accept
• Fees, scholarships & loans
• Predeparture and arrival
  • Before you leave
    • Pre-departure guide
    • Quarantine and customs
    • Airport reception
    • Temporary accommodation
    • Banking and finances
  • When you arrive
  • Settling in
  • Visas
• Accommodation & life in Australia
• Education Abroad programs
• International student services
• Contact La Trobe International

Currency

The Australian currency is decimal, with the basic unit of one dollar equivalent to equalling 100 cents. Coins come in $2, $1, 50c, 20c, 10c and 5c units, while notes come in $100, $50, $20, $10 and $5 denominations.

The notes are different colours and increase in size according to value. When shopping, your purchases will be rounded to the nearest 5c.

Opening a bank account

Before you leave your home country

Did you know that you can open a bank account with the La Trobe Credit Union or the Commonwealth Bank of Australia before you leave home? We recommend you do this, as it means with just your passport as identification you can withdraw funds as soon as you arrive in Australia, rather than carry around large amounts of cash, which can be risky.

Once you open a bank account with either the La Trobe Credit Union or the Commonwealth Bank of Australia you can transfer funds from overseas to be ready for you when you arrive. Note that you need to be 100% sure that you are coming to Australia, as you can only access these funds once you have arrived and have provided identification.

After you arrive in Australia

Within six weeks of your arrival:
To open a bank account in Australia you will need to take your passport into a bank. If you do this within six weeks of your arrival, you only need to show your passport.

6 weeks or more after your arrival:
If you apply for a bank account more than six weeks after you arrive, you will need to take photographic identification into the bank, including your passport. You are required to show 100 points of identification (e.g. passport = 60 points, Student ID = 20 points, credit card = 20 points).

Useful banking information

Minimise fees

• Ask about student accounts which attract much lower account-keeping fees. Some banks will exempt students from fees for the duration of their course. You will need to show your Student Card or letter of offer.
• You can also minimise banking fees by checking the fine print of any terms and conditions attached to your account (e.g. transaction costs - check the number of free transactions per month, or any charges for using other banks' ATMs).

Opening hours

Banks are generally open Monday to Thursday 9.30am-4.00pm and Friday 9.30am-5.00pm (closed public holidays).

Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs).

Money can be withdrawn from Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) 24-hours a day. There is usually a daily withdrawal limit of around A$1,000. We advise you to only carry as much cash as necessary for a few days at a time.

All NAB (National Australia Bank) ATMs accept China Union Pay cards. You can use these machines to withdraw Australian currency and pay at some NAB EFTPOS machines with your card.

La Trobe University Credit Union

The La Trobe University Credit Union has branches conveniently located on La Trobe's three main campuses:

• Melbourne: Upper Level, Agora (southern end).
• Albury-Wodonga: Student Administration, Main Building.
• Bendigo: Campus Bookshop.

Credit unions in Australia are institutions that hold a banking licence and are regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority in the same manner as banks and building societies are.

The main difference between a credit union and a bank is that credit union members are both customers and owners. Since credit unions do not have external shareholders, all profits are reinvested into the credit union, providing more personal service, priority to member interests and fewer fees.