What do I need to do financially before moving overseas?

While there is little concrete data as to how many Aussies live overseas, estimates place the Australian diaspora at more than one million people with around half returning home within five years.

What you need to do to prepare for your stint overseas depends on how long you're planning to stay and how complex your financial ties are. There are a few boxes to tick before you go and it’s important you get your ducks in order.

Moving Overseas Financial Checklist

1. Bank Accounts & Transferring Money

Bank accounts are arguably the easiest to handle. It can be handy to at least hang on to one bank account for tax purposes in Australia while you get adjusted to your new life in another country.

Banks may require you to update your details and tax residency status, so they know what’s up. These are usually easily updated via an online portal or app.

It can also be handy to ensure the one bank account you leave open in Australia has no monthly fees. Some banks may charge a monthly fee if you’re not depositing a certain amount every month so be discerning.

It’s also handy to have this bank account linked to your MyGov/ATO portal in case you get a tax refund or need to pay taxes (including HECs/HELP debt) in Australia.

You may want to investigate using this account to transfer money overseas. This service can be costly via some banks. There are many better-value platforms on the market now that offer competitive international money transfers (IMTs). As always, compare not only the fees, but the exchange rates they offer as these can eat up your funds in the long run.

Additionally, while you’re getting settled overseas, it can be handy to get an Australian debit card that comes with no foreign transaction fees. This enables you to shop like a local while you find your feet and sort out a local bank account. If you’re only going overseas short-term, this will likely be a more convenient option than opening a bank account in another country.

1. Income Tax

If you’re moving overseas and still retaining Australian residency, you might be wondering what happens to your income tax. Long story short, if you remain an Australian resident (for tax purposes) you must lodge an Australian tax return, while also declaring:

• all foreign employment income
• any exempt income even if tax was withheld in the country where you earned it

You can manage this overseas via your MyGov account linked to the ATO. There you can prepare and lodge your tax return, check your super, and manage contact details and other obligations. Most times you’ll need access to your Australian phone number to actually log in to MyGov with a security code that's messaged to you (more on phone numbers below).

1. Reciprocal Tax Agreements & Treaties

Also known as a ‘tax convention’ or 'double tax agreement’, treaties are agreements between two countries or jurisdictions that prevent the double taxation of your hard earned money. That means, for example, if you’re earning money in Italy, the Australian taxman won’t come knocking for his share as well.

Australia has tax treaties in place with 46 nations (as at January 2026), from Argentina to Vietnam. Many popular destinations are also on the list, including New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, France, Ireland, and so on.

1. HELP and Uni Fees

You’ll need to keep paying your university or TAFE debt off if you are over the income threshold, even if you live overseas. Both overseas and Australian income counts.

The ATO says if you intend to move and live overseas for more than six months in any 12-month period, you’re required to:

• update your contact details and submit an 'Overseas travel notification' within 7 days of leaving Australia – if you intend to (or already) reside overseas for 183 days or more in any 12 months
• lodge your worldwide income or a non-lodgment advice

If you’re under the threshold, you still need to declare but won’t need to pay the loan.

This applies to:

• Higher Education Loan Program (HELP – previously known as HECS) loans
• VET Student Loans (VSL)
• Australian Apprenticeship Support Loan (AASL) – previously known as Trade Support Loan (TSL)

Essentially, if you head overseas, your debt stays with you. It's also indexed each year until it’s paid off.

So this means even if you’re just looking to escape to Canada to be a ski bum at Whistler for six months, you’ll need to inform the ATO. If your income (in Australian dollars) exceeds the compulsory repayment threshold, you’ll also need to keep paying off your loan.

1. Superannuation

Superannuation is arguably the hardest thing to unstick when you leave the country. If you’re an Australian citizen or resident heading overseas, your super remains subject to the same Australian rules. This is the case even if you’re leaving the country permanently.

Your super will remain within your fund until you reach preservation age (for most people, this is age 60), with burdensome penalties and taxes if you manage to withdraw early in exceptional circumstances.

This gives rise to a two-pronged conundrum: What if you want to build your retirement fund overseas, and what happens to Australian super fees?

Even if left untouched, your superannuation will likely be charged the same account keeping fees and life insurance charge every year, gradually eroding your super balance.

You also can’t withdraw from it to build up your retirement fund in your new country. This is why it can be a good idea to still contribute some money every so often to your Australian superannuation fund to offset the fees.

The set-up is different if you’re moving to New Zealand, however. There you can transfer it to the New Zealand ‘KiwiSaver’ scheme under Trans-Tasman portability rules.

Self managed super funds (SMSFs) are a whole different kettle of fish and carry with them additional tax laws, explained further here. If you are moving overseas and have an SMSF, it’s strongly recommended you seek advice from a specialist accountant or financial adviser.

1. Medicare

Medicare is contingent on whether you’re classified by the tax office as an Australian resident or not. The Medicare levy surcharge still applies to residents who have income above the surcharge thresholds and don't have private health cover.

However, this is where income tax treaties come in. If you cease being an Australian resident and don't have any Australian income, you likely won’t have to pay any Medicare levy.

1. Social Security & Centrelink

If you’re receiving Centrelink or some other form of social security, leaving Australia can obviously affect your payments.

If you’re still eligible for payments and living overseas for more than 12 months as an Australian resident, Centrelink will pay you every four weeks into your Australian or overseas bank account, so long as you’re living in an ‘agreement country’. Upwards of 30 countries are on the list, but a notable exception is the United Kingdom.

Payments can be deposited into your overseas bank account and Centrelink will pay you in either US Dollars, or the local currency, depending on the country. But this all stops if you cease to be an Australian resident.

1. Properties and Your Home

If you’re moving abroad and not selling your home in Australia before you go, there’s a few things you should know. Basically, it comes down to if you’re letting your home sit vacant or if you decide to rent it out.

Unoccupied homes

If you decide to leave your home vacant, most home insurance policies will need to be addressed. Many policies don't cover properties that are vacant for more than around 60 days.

In most other cases, the maximum unoccupied limit is 120 days. If you’re going overseas for longer than your home insurance allows, you’ll probably want to speak to your insurer about a special policy or another arrangement.

Renting it out

The tax treatment of rental income is contingent on whether you’re staying an Australian resident or not. If you’re making profit on the rent as a resident, you’ll be subject to capital gains tax (CGT) as normal.

However, if you’re a non-resident, the rules are a little different and the taxation a little more onerous. Either way, this is counted as income in Australia and you’ll need to complete a tax return, whether you’re a resident or not.

1. Investments and Capital Gains Tax

Owning shares is another big slice of the investment pie that will need to be addressed before you leave.

Many Australian-based share trading platforms still allow you to trade in Australia even if you live overseas if you’ve got an Australian bank account and are still a resident. As with property, you’ll be paying capital gains tax as normal and you’ll need to fill out a tax return every year.

However, once again, the taxman muddies the waters if you’re not a resident. If you cease being an Australia resident, you still have income derived from Australia if you’re receiving dividends and making capital gains. Non-residents often face steeper rates of taxation.

Alternatively, you can throw the baby out with the bath water. It’s called ‘disregarded capital gains’. If you cease being a resident, you can choose to disregard all capital gains and losses. If you make this choice, those assets are taken to be taxable Australian property until you become an Australian resident again, or you sell or dispose of them (whichever occurs first).

See: ATO - Foreign residents and capital gains tax

1. Your Phone Plan

While constituting a lower dollar value than some of these other financial items, your phone plan can still add up to thousands over a couple years - and can be a crucial tool in ensuring everything else finance-related operates smoothly.

Your phone may also be your key to moving money in and out of Australia, as well as being able to access MyGov and virtually every other tax-related portal.

If you’ve signed up to a 12-, 24-, or 36-month phone plan, you’ll probably need to pay off the contract before you can break it. Usually this is in proportion of the number of months you have left on it.

Additionally, you probably can’t use your Aussie SIM card overseas forever. Finding a job, housing, and opening a bank account are usually contingent on having a local phone number.

If you’re living overseas but still a resident of Australia, you’ll most likely want to hang on to your Australian phone number as well. As well as needing it to log in to MyGov and your bank accounts, you may want to enable roaming so you can receive texts overseas.

However, it’s costly having to maintain a month-to-month phone plan you’re not using regularly, if at all. Here's some alternatives:

• Purchase a 365-day prepaid phone plan with minimal credit and port your number to that, only using it when you need.
• Prepaid phone plans from carriers Telstra and Optus, as well as some virtual network operators, such as ALDI Mobile and Amaysim, have 365-day expiry options that mean you only need to recharge once a year.

This ensures your phone number stays activated while not paying an arm and a leg. If you’re only going overseas for a year or two, this could be a feasible option.

How to stop being an Australian resident

Stopping your Australian residency status for tax purposes doesn’t necessarily mean giving up your passport or citizenship. However, the steps to stopping residency are a little opaque, and not so easy.

Usually this is done through convincing the government (or consulate) you have a ‘permanent place of abode’ outside of Australia, and thus you’re no longer a resident for tax purposes.

The ATO ruling is here if you’re looking to get into the nitty gritty. There is no ‘silver bullet’ that determines your tax residency. Instead, it’s a hodgepodge of stipulations and hoop-jumping that determines where you’re domiciled.

Specialist accountancy firm ExpatTaxes has outlined 15 steps that could help you in escaping the clutches of the ATO. Most of them pertain to making every effort to ditch your old life in Australia and any skerrick of a prospect that you might return soon.

In practical terms, this means making tracks to set up your new life in your new country, such as rental agreements, drivers licence, enrolling kids in school and so on. Have a Simpsons GIF...

Source: Dead Homer Society

1. Savings.com.au's two cents

Often when faced with moving overseas, people are giddy and anxious about what they have to do once they land. Find a home, get a new drivers licence, set up a bank account and new phone plan, and so on. However, it’s dealing with your old life in Australia that can be the bigger headache.

If you’re just going overseas for a shorter period (say, under five years), it’s probably easier to stay an Australian resident for tax purposes, and hang on to some financial ties to the homeland. If you’re young and single with not too many Australian investments, it likely won’t be that difficult to move overseas.

Arguably the most clingy area of finance is your superannuation. The Australian Tax Office also lurks around most corners, so you’ll want to be mindful of that. Additionally, if you’ve got a debt with the Australian government, such as a student debt, that will follow you around until its paid off.

It takes significantly more running around to tie up loose ends if you intend on ditching Australian residency and if you have more complex financial arrangements in Australia. For longer stints overseas, it’s highly advisable to talk to an immigration lawyer, and an accountant, because you’ll need some expertise to wade the muddy waters of the law and Australian government. Bon voyage!