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Our verdict

You can earn an ongoing bonus rate when you grow your balance by just $250 per month.

This account offers a strong ongoing bonus rate each month you meet the account conditions. This account could suit you if you’ve got a larger balance, as it pays bonus interest on balances up to $750,000 (the bonus rate is slightly lower for balances over $100,000). This is quite rare – usually you’ll earn much less interest on larger balances.

To earn the bonus rate all you need to do is grow your savings balance by $250 each month. This means you can take money out of the account when needed, as long as your balance at the end of the month is higher than it was at the start.

This could provide a good incentive to keep growing your savings, but it could also be difficult to meet if you find yourself with an unexpected expense one month and need to make a withdrawal that you can’t immediately replace.

Pros

Continues to offer a high bonus rate for larger balances, which is rare
No account fees
Extra savings tools and features available in the mobile app
Low monthly deposit requirement

Cons

Bonus rate is a bit lower than other leading offers in the market

Details

Key details

Product Name	Great Southern Bank Advantage Saver Account
Maximum Variable Rate	4.85% p.a.
Standard Variable Rate	0.10% p.a.
Monthly Account Fee	$0
Minimum Age	18

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Best Savings Account

The Great Southern Bank Home Saver Account has consistently had one of the highest rates in the market over the past 12 months, and currently offers up to 5.25% p.a.

Full list of 2024 winners

Key features

No account fees

There are no set-up fees and no monthly account-keeping fees to pay.

Bonus rates up to 4.85% p.a.

You can earn 4.85% p.a. for balances up to $100,000 and 4.7% p.a. for balances between $100,000 and $750,000.

Grow your balance by $250 per month

There is no set monthly deposit condition, but you do need to make sure you grow your balance by at least $250 per month to be eligible for bonus interest. This excludes any interest earned and must be from an external account.

If you don’t grow your balance by $250 one month, you’ll still be eligible for bonus interest the next month if you grow your balance by $250.

Make withdrawals when needed

You can make withdrawals from your savings whenever you need to without losing your bonus interest. However, you need to make sure your balance ends the month $250 higher than it was at the start.

So if you make a withdrawal, you need to replace that money plus an additional $250 to be eligible for bonus interest that month.

Extra savings tools

You can enable extra savings tools in the Great Southern Bank app.

The Boost: This allows you to send between $0.01 and $5 to your savings each time you use your Great Southern Bank debit card.
The Vault: You can hide your savings from your view when you log in to your account so you avoid the temptation to dip into it for impulse purchases.

Covered by the government bank guarantee scheme

Your deposit up to $250,000 is protected by the government’s bank guarantee scheme, meaning if anything were to happen to the bank your deposit would be protected.

How to apply

You can apply online in less than 10 minutes.

Eligibility

Minimum age. You must be at least 18 to open this account.
Residency. You must have an Australian residential address.

Documentation needed

Identification. You must be able to verify your identity with either a driver's licence, passport or proof of age card.
Tax file number. This is needed in order to apply the correct tax rate to your interest.
Personal details. You'll need to supply your personal details including your full name and contact details.

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Alison Finder

Editor

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Geoff

May 27, 2023

The website mentions that 4.6% will be paid on balances $100 000 to $750 000. If I had $150 000 in the account would the 4.6% be paid on the entire balance or just the portion between $100k and $750K?

Alison Banney Finder

June 01, 2023

Hi Geoff, currently this account offers 4.60% p.a. on your entire balance up to $750k (these rates are variable and subject to change).

Chris

May 16, 2023

Is this account covered under the Australian Governments Guaranteed up to $250,000

Alison Banney Finder

May 16, 2023

Hi Chris, yes deposits up to $250k with Great Southern Bank are covered under the government guarantee.

T-Bone

April 21, 2023

Good afternoon, can you please confirm this this account can be opened as a joint account? Thanks

Sarah Megginson Finder

April 24, 2023

Yes, Great Southern Bank has 4 accounts that can be opened in joint names: the Goal Saver, Home Saver, Advantage Saver and eSaver Flexi accounts.

Keep in mind that each customer can only have one of each of the Goal Saver, Home Saver and Advantage Saver, so if you have a joint account, you can’t also have your own stand-alone account of the same type.

Hope this helps!

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Tania

April 19, 2023

Will I still get the 4.50% p.a. Maximum variable rate if my start off deposit is only $1500?

Sarah Megginson Finder

April 19, 2023

Hi Tania,

Yes, there is no minimum deposit amount required for this account.

However to get the bonus interest, you need to add $250 a month to your account balance.

Hope this helps!

Aaron

April 04, 2023

How is the interest calculated, daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly?

How and when is the interest paid into the account? (monthly, yearly)?

Raj Lal Finder

April 06, 2023

Hi Aaron,

The interest is calculated at the end of the business day. However it’s paid at the end of the month.

Thanks

Raj

Great Southern Bank Advantage Saver Account