Australian Bank Statements to Excel & Xero

Australian Bank Statements to Excel & Xero | AI Bank Statement

Most big Australian banks send statements every six months, so one PDF can hold half a year of transactions. This guide covers what the ATO expects you to keep, the import rules for Xero, QuickBooks and MYOB, and what each major bank offers, with a guide for each.

Last reviewed 14 October 2026

At a glance

Currency: Australian dollar (AUD, $)
Date order: Day/month/year (e.g. 4/6/2026)
Keep records (ATO): Most records 5 years from when you got them or the transaction was completed, whichever is later
Common accounting software: Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks Online, Reckon

How Australian banks give you your statements

Bank	Statements online	Default frequency	Built-in export
CommBank	Up to 7 years	Six-monthly on many accounts	CSV only in the new NetBank (OFX and QIF removed in 2026)
Westpac	Up to 7 years	At least every six months	CSV, QBO, QIF or OFX
ANZ	Up to 7 years	Every six months for most accounts	Up to 2 years of transactions
NAB	7 years online, 2 in the app	Every six months for most accounts	Spreadsheet, QIF or PDF, up to 2 years

Six-monthly statements mean long PDFs, and exports typically stop at around two years. For older periods, statement periods with their balances, or a client's PDFs, the statement is the source.

What the ATO expects you to keep

5 years for most records, starting from when you prepared or obtained the record or completed the transaction, whichever is later. Some records, such as company records, need to be kept for 7 years.
Bank records are among the records business.gov.au says to keep.
GST records also follow the 5-year rule, and the ATO's BAS tips include reconciling sales with your bank statements.
Digital is fine. You can keep digital records without paper copies, and images of paper records are accepted if they're true and clear reproductions.
Software isn't the record. If you enter information into accounting software, the ATO says you still need to keep a copy of the actual record.
English. Records must be in English or easy to translate into English.

Importing into Australian accounting software

Xero

Supports OFX, QFX, QIF, CSV and QuickBooks files.
A CSV needs at least a date and an amount. Xero asks you to confirm the date format if dates are ambiguous.

QuickBooks Online

Accepts a 3-column (date, description, amount) or 4-column (date, description, credit, debit) CSV.
Recommends dd/mm/yyyy dates and asks you to leave zero values blank.
Files must be in English, 350 KB or less, with up to 1,000 lines per upload.

MYOB Business

Imports bank statements as QIF or OFX, recommends dd/mm/yy dates where you have a choice, and limits files to 10MB.
AI Bank Statement doesn't produce QIF or OFX, so for MYOB use your bank's own export or a bank feed.

Converting an Australian bank statement

Upload your PDF statements. Batch upload handles a year of statements at once, however long each one is.
Pick the output: Excel, CSV, JSON, Xero CSV, or QuickBooks 3- or 4-column CSV.
Download one transaction per row, with dates day-first and amounts in Australian dollars.

Credit card statements from Australian banks convert with the credit card statement converter.

Frequently asked questions

How long do I need to keep bank statements in Australia?

The ATO says you need to keep most records for 5 years, starting from when you prepared or obtained the record or completed the transaction, whichever is later. business.gov.au lists bank records among the records to keep. Some records, such as company records, need to be kept for 7 years.

Can I keep bank statements digitally for the ATO?

Yes. You can keep digital or paper records, and if you keep digital records you don't also need paper copies unless a particular law says so. The ATO accepts images of paper records that are true and clear reproductions. Entering data into accounting software doesn't replace the record itself; you still keep a copy.

Can MYOB import a converted CSV bank statement?

MYOB Business imports bank statements as QIF or OFX files, and AI Bank Statement produces Excel, CSV, JSON, Xero CSV and QuickBooks CSV. For MYOB, use your bank's QIF/OFX export where it exists, or a bank feed. Converted statements import directly into Xero and QuickBooks.

Why are Australian bank statements so long?

Several major banks, including ANZ, NAB and Westpac, issue statements for most accounts every six months by default, so a single statement can cover half a year. You can usually ask your bank for more frequent statements.

Which Australian banks can I convert statements from?

Any Australian bank or credit union that gives you a PDF statement. The guides below cover CommBank, Westpac, ANZ and NAB.

Stop retyping statements by hand

Upload a PDF and download clean Excel, CSV, Xero or QuickBooks data in about 30 seconds.