Receiving Money From Overseas in Australia: Tax, Fees & AUSTRAC

There's no cap on receiving money into Australia, and no automatic tax just for arriving. This video covers the AUD 10,000 cash rule (which doesn't apply to bank transfers), what banks charge to receive a transfer, AUSTRAC reporting, and what actually makes money from overseas taxable. Figures as at September 2026.

Read the full guide, with official sources →

Watch

Chapters

  1. 0:00 No cap on receiving money from overseas — the real question is tax
  2. 0:14 AUD 10,000 is the CASH rule — not a bank-transfer rule
  3. 0:25 What the sender needs
  4. 0:40 What it costs to receive
  5. 0:53 The bigger cost is usually the conversion margin, not the flat fee
  6. 1:11 Reported to AUSTRAC at any amount — that's routine, not a red flag
  7. 1:26 What's taxable — and what generally isn't
  8. 1:39 The transfer isn't taxed — underlying foreign income can be
  9. 1:52 Where to read more

Transcript

There's no limit on how much money you can receive into Australia from overseas. The real question people actually have isn't the amount — it's whether it gets taxed.

The AUD 10,000 rule everyone's heard of is about physical cash carried across the border. It has nothing to do with an electronic bank transfer, which has no cap at all.

To pay you, the sender needs your account name, BSB and account number, plus your bank's SWIFT or BIC code. Australia doesn't use IBANs, so if an overseas form asks for one, you simply don't have one.

Receiving isn't always free. Many Australian banks charge an inbound fee, commonly AUD 0 to AUD 15. CommBank's own fee page lists up to $11.00 per transfer.

If the money arrives in a foreign currency and your bank converts it, the exchange-rate margin is usually a bigger cost than that flat fee.

A standard international transfer typically takes a few business days, depending on the sending country and how many banks handle it along the way.

Separately, banks report every international electronic transfer to AUSTRAC, at any amount — there's no minimum threshold, unlike the AUD 10,000 cash rule. That's routine processing, not a sign anything's wrong.

A genuine gift, or moving your own existing savings, is generally not taxable income here. What can be taxable is foreign wages, rent or business profits earned while you're an Australian tax resident.

The transfer itself is never the taxable event — the underlying income is, if there is any. For anything beyond a gift or your own savings, check with a registered tax agent or the ATO.

The full guide, with the official sources, is on migratio.com.au. The link is in the description.

Short versions

Talk it through with a registered agent

Every agent on Migratio is on the official OMARA register. Compare agents and their consultation fees.

Related Migratio resources