A BSB number is a six-digit code identifying the bank and branch that holds an Australian account, used with the account number for domestic transfers. Someone sending money to Australia from overseas typically needs the BSB, the account number and the bank’s SWIFT code.
BSB stands for Bank State Branch, and the structure matches the name: the first digits identify the institution, the middle the state, and the last the branch. Paired with an account number, it addresses every account in the Australian payments system, which is why the two appear together on every domestic transfer form.
BSBs are purely an Australian convention. They are administered within the Australian payments industry, and the official register is maintained under the Australian Payments Network. For international transfers the BSB slots in where other countries would use their own local scheme, alongside the SWIFT code that identifies the bank globally.
Count the fields rather than the identifiers. In the Direct Entry record format published by the Australian Payments Network, the detail record allots seven characters to the BSB, being its six digits split by a hyphen, and nine to the account number, then pairs those same two fields again as a sixteen-character trace record giving the address an item must be returned to if it cannot be applied. That return address is the two identifiers and nothing else, 15 digits once the hyphen comes out. An inbound international payment adds a third, the bank's BIC, at eight or eleven characters, taking the transcription to 23 or 26. The account title sits in the same record with 32 characters of its own and appears in neither address: matching a name to an account is a separate check, which Australian Payments Plus began rolling out as Confirmation of Payee in July 2025.
Tradergy’s receive-money pages set out which of these details a sender overseas will be asked for, corridor by corridor.
Longer read: Who maintains the codes on an international transfer. Three codes on one payment instruction, kept in three separate registers by three different bodies. What each one names, how a country gets its format onto the list, why Australia never did, and the question none of them answers.
For the live side of this definition, head to the receive-money pages.
Related terms
SWIFT code (BIC) · IBAN · Remittance · All terms
Primary authority: AusPayNet BSB lookup. Definition reviewed against the authority’s published material; this page is reference information, not advice.
Common questions
Where do I find my BSB?
On your bank statement, in your banking app next to the account number, or on your bank’s website. The BSB belongs to the bank and branch rather than to you personally, so everyone whose account sits at that branch shares it.
Does an overseas sender need my BSB?
Yes, usually. An international transfer to Australia is addressed with the bank’s SWIFT code, then your BSB and account number to identify the account itself. All three together are the Australian equivalent of an IBAN.
Is a BSB the same as a sort code?
They play the same role. The United Kingdom’s six-digit sort code and Australia’s six-digit BSB both identify the bank and branch holding an account. The formats are local to each country and are not interchangeable on transfer forms.