Send money to Australia
See today's live rates — and exactly what your recipient receives, after every fee.
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Today's best rates to Australia
As of 7 July 2026, sending £1,000 to Australia, your recipient gets the most with Instarem: 1,928.70 AUD, the best of 7 providers compared.
| Provider | Rate | Fee | Recipient gets | Speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1.9287 0.15% better | £0 | 1,928.70 AUD | Within 2 days | Send | |
1.9265 0.04% better | £0 | 1,926.50 AUD | 1–3 days | Send | |
1.9265 0.04% better | £0 | 1,926.50 AUD | 1–3 days | Send | |
1.9262 0.02% better | £0 | 1,926.25 AUD | Within 2 days | Send | |
1.9292 0.17% better | £3.88 | 1,921.67 AUD | Within 2 days | Send | |
1.9144 0.59% worse | £0 | 1,914.40 AUD | 1–2 days | Send | |
1.8763 2.57% worse | £0 | 1,876.30 AUD | Up to 4 days | Send |
Australia is the UK's classic emigration corridor — families moving out for good, retirees joining grown-up children, and holiday-home buyers on the Gold Coast — which means the sums are often large: a house deposit, a pension transfer, or a life's savings following you south. On amounts that size the exchange rate dwarfs any fee: between a UK high-street bank and a currency specialist the gap is routinely 2.5–5% of the whole transfer, so on £50,000 heading to Sydney that's the difference between losing a few hundred pounds and losing well over £1,500 to the rate alone. Australia doesn't use the European IBAN — it runs on BSB and account numbers — but the payment is still simple; keeping the most Australian dollars is where the money is won or lost.
How to send money to Australia from the UK
Three practical routes move money from a UK account to an Australian one. They nearly all arrive — the difference that matters is how many Australian dollars are left once the exchange rate has taken its share.
Bank transfer
The familiar option, and consistently the most expensive. UK banks typically build a margin of 2.5–6% above the mid-market rate into the conversion, add a fee of up to £35, and send by slow SWIFT wire. On £10,000, a 4% margin alone is about £400.
Money-transfer provider
Specialists — Wise, OFX, Currencies Direct, TorFX, Moneycorp — are built for exactly this corridor. Margins run 0.2–0.6%, and brokers negotiate on larger sums and offer forward contracts. On £10,000 the all-in cost is often £40–£60 rather than several hundred.
App or prepaid card
Apps such as Wise and Revolut can be very competitive for smaller, digital transfers and double as spending tools once you land. But for moving a house deposit or pension into an Australian account, a specialist broker's rate and rate-lock tools usually win.
What you need to send money to Australia
Australian bank details (no IBAN)
Australia doesn't use the European IBAN system. To pay into an Australian account you need the recipient's full name, their BSB — a 6-digit Bank State Branch code — and their account number (usually 6–9 digits). For an international transfer you'll also give the receiving bank's SWIFT/BIC code. Check every digit of the BSB and account number against something the recipient sent in writing; unlike a mistyped IBAN, a wrong Australian account number won't always be auto-rejected.
ID checks and verification
Before processing a payment, a UK provider must confirm who you are (Know Your Customer, under the Money Laundering Regulations). For a first or modest transfer, expect to give your name, address and date of birth, plus a photo ID and proof of address. On the larger sums typical of an emigration move — above roughly £8,000–£10,000 — expect a source-of-funds check too, covered below. Incoming transfers over A$10,000 are also reported to AUSTRAC in Australia.
How long does it take to send money to Australia?
Australia isn't on Europe's SEPA network, so a UK-to-Australia transfer crosses currencies and, usually, the SWIFT network. How fast it lands depends far more on the provider than on the distance.
Delays usually come down to one of: missing the provider's daily cut-off, a first-time identity check, the UK–Australia time difference and weekends, or an incorrect BSB or account number.
Fees and exchange rates for UK to Australia
Fees range from £0 (many specialists on a standard transfer) to £35+ (a bank wire, sometimes with an A$ receiving fee too). A flat fee is easy to compare; the exchange-rate margin usually isn't — which is exactly why it costs you more, especially on the large sums this corridor sees. Here's where the money leaks.
The exchange-rate margin
The real cost of most transfers. Banks: 2.5–6% above the mid-market rate. Specialists: often 0.2–0.6%, tighter still on larger amounts. On a £50,000 emigration transfer that gap can be well over £1,500.
Correspondent-bank fees
A SWIFT wire can pass through intermediary banks, each taking a cut, so the recipient gets less than the screen promised — and an Australian bank may add a receiving fee. Specialists paying by local AUD rails usually avoid both.
Card & weekend markups
Watch for ~3% foreign-transaction fees on ordinary UK debit and credit cards, and weekend markups on some apps. On a big transfer, judge an offer by the Australian dollars that arrive, not the headline fee.
Sending money to Australia to buy property
Buying in Australia is very doable if you're emigrating — but be warned that non-resident foreign buyers face real friction. You must get FIRB (Foreign Investment Review Board) approval before you buy (the fee starts around A$14,100 for a home up to A$1m), and most states add a foreign-buyer stamp-duty surcharge on top of normal duty — 9% in New South Wales, 8% in Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania, 7% in Western Australia and South Australia. British buyers cluster in Queensland (Gold Coast, Brisbane), Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. The process is run by a solicitor or conveyancer, with money moving in two stages.
Exchange of contracts
When both sides sign the Contract of Sale it's binding, and you pay a 5–10% deposit — not to the seller, but into a regulated solicitor's or agent's trust account. A short cooling-off period usually applies (none at auction).
Pre-settlement
Over the next 30–90 days your lawyer runs searches, you obtain FIRB approval and a Tax File Number (TFN), and you arrange the balance.
Settlement
On settlement day the 90–95% balance is transferred (usually via the electronic PEXA platform) and the title passes to you.
Budget an extra 7–11% on top of the price once FIRB fees, stamp duty and the foreign-buyer surcharge, legal fees and inspections are counted. Foreign owners also face an annual vacancy fee if the home sits empty more than half the year, plus land-tax surcharges in some states. And note: buying property gives no residency rights — Australia has no property-based "golden visa".
Lock in today's rate with a forward contract
The 30–90 days between exchange and settlement is long enough for GBP/AUD — a notoriously volatile pair — to move several percent, changing the sterling cost of an Australian home by thousands. A forward contract lets you fix today's rate now and pay for the Australian dollars at settlement, usually against a small deposit, so you know the sterling cost from the day you exchange. Many buyers use a spot transfer for the deposit and a forward contract for the larger balance.
So once you've exchanged and have a settlement date, ask about a forward contract before you convert.
Is it safe to send money to Australia?
Any UK company that handles money transfers must be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and must keep customer money in accounts fully segregated from its own ("safeguarding"). Checking an unfamiliar provider on the FCA Register takes about thirty seconds. On the large sums this corridor sees, these are the traps worth knowing.
Settlement-day payment diversion
Rule: criminals hack or spoof lawyer or agent emails and send fake "our trust-account details have changed" instructions before settlement. Confirm the trust account by phone on a number you already held — never one from the email.
Pay only into a regulated trust account
Rule: deposits and the balance go into a solicitor's or agent's audited trust account, never to an individual. Anyone pushing you to wire a "reservation deposit" to a personal account for an off-plan bargain is a red flag.
"Better rate" cold-call / clone firm
Rule: a firm that rings out of the blue with an unbeatable rate may be a clone of a real one. Look it up on the FCA Register and call back on the number listed there, not the one you were given.
Check the firm is regulated
Rule: FCA-authorised firms must keep your money separate from their own, so it's protected if the firm fails. Look the firm up on register.fca.org.uk before you commit a penny.
Report fraud: Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or at actionfraud.police.uk (in Scotland, Police Scotland on 101).
Tax on money sent to Australia
Moving your own money
Sending your own, already-taxed money from the UK to Australia is not a UK taxable event — there's no tax simply for moving it. There's no fixed reporting threshold for a personal transfer, but a larger one commonly triggers a source-of-funds check, and Australia's AUSTRAC is notified of incoming transfers over A$10,000. Keep the paperwork that shows where the money came from — especially for a pension or property-sale transfer.
Watch-out: gifts, pensions and Australian taxes
If it's a gift, it can affect UK Inheritance Tax on your estate if you die within seven years. Transferring a UK pension is a specialist area (QROPS rules) — take advice first. Australia's own taxes on property you own there — land tax, foreign-owner surcharges, and Capital Gains Tax when you sell — are separate from the transfer itself. If in doubt, take professional advice.
How do most people move money to Australia?
For most emigrants, retirees and property buyers, the cheapest route is a specialist currency company paying Australian dollars straight into an Australian bank account — not a high-street bank on a SWIFT wire. For a one-off move a spot deal is fine; for a property settlement or a staged emigration budget, a forward contract to lock the rate is what sets the specialists apart, and on these sums it can save thousands. Whatever you pick, judge it on the Australian dollars that actually arrive — and confirm the receiving account by phone before you send.
Frequently asked questions about sending money to Australia
Almost all of the cost is the exchange-rate margin, not the flat fee. A UK bank typically takes 2.5–6% of your transfer in a worse rate; a specialist typically takes 0.2–0.6%. On £10,000 that's roughly £250–£600 with a bank versus around £40–£60 with a specialist provider — and the gap only grows on an emigration-sized transfer.
A specialist money-transfer provider using or close to the mid-market rate and paying by local AUD rails, rather than a UK high-street bank on a SWIFT wire. Compare the total cost — fee plus exchange-rate margin — for your exact amount using the table above.
No — Australia doesn't use IBANs. You need the recipient's BSB (a 6-digit branch code) and account number, plus the bank's SWIFT/BIC code for an international transfer. Always check these against details the recipient sent you in writing.
Often the same or next business day with a specialist paying by local rails, and minutes for some card-funded app transfers. A high-street bank wire over SWIFT typically takes 1–4 business days. The UK–Australia time difference and weekends can add a day.
Yes, but non-resident foreign buyers must get FIRB approval first and pay a foreign-buyer stamp-duty surcharge (7–9% depending on the state) on top of normal duty. Money goes through a solicitor's or agent's trust account, and a forward contract is worth considering to lock your rate for the 30–90 days to settlement. Buying doesn't grant residency.
Not for sending your own money — that isn't a taxable event in the UK. Gifting can have UK Inheritance Tax implications, and transferring a UK pension has its own (QROPS) rules, so take advice. Australia's property and capital-gains taxes apply to what you own there, not the transfer.
Our sources & how we keep this current
Last updated: July 2026. The live rates above refresh automatically, and we review the rest of this guide every month — updating it whenever the rules on payments, tax or regulation change.