About banks in Australia
What is a Bank State Branch (BSB) number?
A Bank State Branch (BSB) number is the six digit number used to uniquely identify a bank and branch in Australia.
BSB numbers are allocated by the Australian Payments Clearing Association (APCA).
State Codes
Some banks structure their BSB numbers by State. For those banks, the State Code is the third digit of the BSB number.
| Code | State(s) |
|---|---|
| 2 | Australian Capital Territory (ACT), New South Wales (NSW) |
| 3 | Victoria (VIC) |
| 4 | Queensland (QLD) |
| 5 | South Australia (SA), Northern Territory (NT) |
| 6 | Western Australia (WA) |
| 7 | Tasmania (TAS) |
Transaction payment types
BSB numbers are used in a number of payment systems in Australia; Electronic Fund Transfers (EFT), High Value and Paper (Cheques).
Electronic
Electronic Fund Transfers (EFT) are the most common method of non-cash payment in Australia. Electronic transactions are processed under the Bulk Electronic Clearing System (BECS) drawn up by AusPayNet.
High Value
High Value transactions are generally made between financial institutions either for themselves or for their corporate customers including overseas banks. High value transactions are processed under the High Value Clearing System (HVCS) drawn up by AusPayNet.
Paper
Paper (Cheques) are the least used form of non-cash payment in Australia, but the most by value. Paper transactions are processed under the Australian Paper Clearing System (APCS) drawn up by AusPayNet.