Similar to their immigration system, Australians created a points system to grant its people bank accounts with each document type being valued a number of points. You will need to make it to 100 points if you want to comply.

• Birth certificate, passport or citizenship documents - 70 points
• Drivers' license, shooters’ licence, public employee ID - 40 points
• Land Rates - 35 points
• A card with your name on it. A credit card or store card for instance - 25 points
• A utility bill or bank statement with your address -  25 points

It should not be too hard. As you can see there are plenty of options for you and just by having a passport and a driver's license you will be covered with all you need. In fact, if you just landed in Australia and try to open an account in under 6 weeks, just a passport is enough.

As a prosperous nation, banks are numerous and what you consider as appropriate should depend largely on your personal needs such as convenience and cost effectiveness. With that said, most retail banks have a full stack of service and product offers for you with reasonable charges and extensive ATM and branch networks.

Here are the 4 largest banks in Australia:

• National Australian Bank: this is one the most prominent and largest banks in the country with 1500+ branches and nearly 3500 ATMs. Their accounts are varied and numerous starting with a basic account which is free to keep and comes with a contactless debit cards. If you need to go beyond everyday banking, there are plenty of options for custom and private banking which will include credit cards and investment advice.
• Commonwealth Bank: with accounts created with newcomers in mind, this could be a good option for expats albeit you need to make sure your choice will be convenient. Their expat account is called Smart Access Account and it costs only 4 dollars a month and it comes with a contactless debit card. If you need to see their ATM and branch coverage.
• ANZ: one of the biggest advantages of ANZ is that you can open an account online before you even land in the country. This account is free for a year and it comes with a debit card. Their relationship manager service is excellent for businesses starting out in Australia as it comes with special advice tailored to your industry. Here are their branches and ATMs.
• Westpac: with a free account for at least 12 months and longer if you are a student, their Everyday Bank Account comes also with a debit card. You can also apply online and they also have a series of business account options which include loans and insurance for your business. Here is a list of their ATM and branch locations which is especially great because they are part of what is called a Global ATM Alliance.  

There are many options beyond these four yet being the largest chances are these will be extra convenient for most people and hence us going into more detail with each. It is important to look into every bank in detail especially if you go abroad often or away from your everyday location since ATM fees can be quite high and currency conversion for taking cash in a foreign currency are outrageous with banks.

Moving money anywhere in the world is expensive if you use a bank. If you need to send 10 thousand dollars to India, for example, you only get 9000 dollars worth of rupees back in India. This is a reality with most banks and retail remittance systems because they have high operational costs to cover.

With B2B Pay, you get 9900 euros worth of rupees back home. In other words, you save 900 euros or so with every transfer. Plus you get a virtual bank account for free in Europe with an IBAN number you can use to send and receive money within the EU and send money abroad to anyone in 33 currencies.