Keeping your Australian bank, number and accounts: what to hold on to

The smart move is a small, tidy footprint back home: one or two bank accounts, a working Australian number, and logins that don't depend on being in the country.

The short version

• Keep at least one Australian bank account. Tell the bank you're a foreign resident and give it your overseas address, or it may withhold tax at 47% [1].
• As a foreign resident, interest is usually taxed by 10% withholding and you generally don't put it in an Australian tax return [1].
• Your Australian mobile number is often the key to myGov and banking codes. If you rely on SMS, you need international roaming on that number [3].
• Accounts untouched for seven years with A$500 or more go to ASIC as unclaimed money [2].
• Mail can be redirected overseas, but it's pricey and some items can't go. Going paperless is cheaper [5].

Your Australian bank account

Why keep one

Most expats keep at least one Australian transaction account, and for good reasons. It receives rent if you lease out your home, pays a mortgage, tops up super if you choose, and saves you conversion fees on trips home. It also keeps a banking relationship alive, which helps if you ever apply for a home loan back home.

Tell your bank you've moved

This step is easy to skip and costly when you do. The ATO says you should tell your Australian financial institution that you're a foreign resident, and give it your current overseas address [1]. If you don't, the bank may withhold tax at the higher rate of 47%.

Once the bank knows, here's how your investment income is usually treated [1]:

The good news, according to the ATO: "You won't need to declare this income in an Australian tax return" [1]. Withholding is generally the end of it in Australia. You may still need to declare it in your new country.

Not sure if you're a foreign resident for tax? Read our tax residency guide first. Getting this wrong in either direction causes problems.

Practical banking tips

• Check the account's terms. Some accounts have monthly fees or conditions, such as a minimum monthly deposit, that you may stop meeting once your salary goes elsewhere.
• Make sure you can receive security codes. Many banks send one-time codes by SMS to an Australian number. Ask whether the bank's app can approve logins instead.
• Register a travel or overseas address so cards and statements don't get blocked or lost.
• Keep a card that works. Card expiry dates sneak up. Find out whether your bank posts replacements overseas or only to Australian addresses.
• Use the account occasionally. A small transaction now and then keeps it active.
• Name a trusted contact. Think about who could deal with your bank if you're unreachable or unwell overseas. Ask your bank what authority it accepts, such as a third-party signatory or a power of attorney, and set it up before you go.
• Turn on transaction alerts. Push notifications for every payment help you spot fraud quickly, even from another time zone.

Don't let it go dormant

If an account isn't used for seven years and holds A$500 or more, the bank hands the money to ASIC as unclaimed money [2]. You can still claim it back through the bank, but it's paperwork you don't need. Moneysmart has a free search if you suspect old accounts are out there [2].

Your Australian mobile number

For a lot of expats, the Australian number is more valuable than the phone. It's the number your bank, myGov, your super fund and the ATO already know.

myGov and SMS codes

If you sign in to myGov with SMS codes, the code goes to the Australian mobile number registered on your account. myGov says to enable international roaming on that number before you travel [3]. It doesn't say you can switch to an overseas number for SMS codes.

myGov's guidance for people overseas [4]:

1. SMS codes: make sure you can receive them overseas, which means roaming on your Australian number.
2. myGov Code Generator app: set it up before you leave and check it works.
3. Passkey: nothing needs to change before you travel.
4. Digital ID: nothing needs to change before you travel.

The cheapest long-term fix is to switch to the code generator app or a passkey before you leave, so you're not paying roaming fees to log in.

Keeping the number alive

Options for keeping your number:

• Keep a low-cost plan or prepaid service and put the SIM in a dual-SIM phone, or use an eSIM if your telco offers one.
• Port to a cheaper telco. You can usually keep your number when you change telcos, including prepaid mobile numbers. A mobile port usually takes about three hours [6].
• Don't let it lapse. Once your telco disconnects a number, you lose your rights to it and it can't be ported [6]. Check how long your prepaid recharge lasts and set a reminder.

myGov, the ATO and government accounts

Before you leave, log in to myGov and update your contact details, overseas address and preferred sign-in method. Linked services such as the ATO, Medicare and Centrelink may each need their own update.

If you use Digital ID to sign in and lose access while overseas, myGov says you'll need to create a new account and link your services again [4]. That's a good reason to keep a backup sign-in option set up.

Mail and paperwork

Australia Post can redirect mail overseas, but you have to apply at a Post Office, as international redirection can't be done online [5]. Registered Post, Express Post, parcels and items needing customs paperwork can't be redirected overseas [5].

It isn't cheap. Australia Post lists international personal redirection at A$405 for 12 months, double the domestic price, and says redirection prices were being updated from 1 July 2026 [5]. Check the current price at the counter.

Cheaper alternatives:

• Go paperless with your bank, super fund, insurer, council and ATO.
• Use a trusted family member's address for anything that must be posted, and agree on how they'll scan and send things.
• Look at a mail-scanning service if you have lots of post. Compare the privacy terms carefully.

Your keep-or-close checklist

Sources

1. Interest, unfranked dividends and royalties – Australian Taxation Office
2. Claim money from bank accounts and bank dividends – Moneysmart (ASIC)
3. Use a code sent by SMS – myGov
4. Accessing myGov while overseas – myGov
5. Mail redirection – Australia Post
6. Keep or transfer your phone number – ACMA

Keep reading

• Sending money home without losing it to fees
• Are you still an Australian tax resident once you move?
• Leaving Australia: the checklist before you go
• Building a US credit history from scratch