Sending Money to Australia from Pakistan: The $10,000 AUSTRAC Myth, RDA and SBP Rules
How money moves from Pakistan to Australia: the AUSTRAC $10,000 myth cleared up, the approved reasons under SBP's foreign exchange rules, and how the Roshan Digital Account works for overseas Pakistanis. Figures as at September 2026.
Read the full guide, with official sources →
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Chapters
- 0:00 Money from Pakistan to Australia?
- 0:13 $10,000 is the cash threshold.
- 0:26 The bank or provider reports it — not you
- 0:47 The Roshan Digital Account: launched September 2020
- 1:07 Fees and timing aren't fixed by SBP — ask your bank
- 1:18 Receiving money: not taxable.
- 1:31 Hawala/hundi: prohibited in Pakistan, illegal to run in Australia
- 1:48 Where to read more
Transcript
Sending money from Pakistan to Australia? Clear up one myth first: the $10,000 figure people worry about isn't what you think.
AUSTRAC's $10,000 threshold is for physical cash. A bank wire is reported to AUSTRAC as an international funds transfer instruction — an IFTI — at any amount, with no minimum.
You don't personally file anything. The bank or the licensed remittance provider that processes the transfer is the one that reports it.
On the Pakistan side, the State Bank of Pakistan controls who can buy foreign exchange to send abroad. A resident does it through an authorised dealer bank, for an approved purpose.
For overseas Pakistanis, there's a separate channel: the Roshan Digital Account, an SBP scheme launched in September 2020.
An RDA holder can invest in Pakistan — government securities, equities, property — and repatriate the original investment plus any profit through the same formal channel.
Neither the fee nor the transfer time is fixed by the State Bank of Pakistan. Both vary by bank, so check your bank's current tariff and turnaround time before you send.
On the Australia side, money you receive isn't automatically taxable, and gifts aren't taxable either. Investment income repatriated from an RDA can be taxable for Australian tax residents.
One channel to avoid: hawala or hundi. It's prohibited under Pakistani foreign exchange law, and running an unregistered remittance business breaches Australia's anti-money-laundering law too. A licensed bank or remittance provider is the lawful route on both sides.
The full guide, with the official sources, is on migratio.com.au. The link is in the description.
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