Cash or travel card

The best exchange rate is if you get cash out of a cash machine (ATM) after you arrive, using the same debit card as you use for getting cash at home (NOT a credit card).
Exchanging cash for cash, whether you do it at home or when you get there, is the most expensive option as it involves people handling cash, security, secure transport etc.

The word is travel cards are also expensive, and don't always work outside their home country.

You can also use your credit card to pay for larger purchases direct (hotel, restaurants)
Ask your bank how much they charge for foreign transactions (debit card and credit card). If necessary, get better cards. And warn them so they don't block foreign transactions as suspicious.

In most places you'll do best by withdrawing local currency from a bank machine, using the same card you use at home, or charging everything you can. Which of those options is better depends on your cards. Call and ask what the foreign-usage fees will be so you can make a smart decision.

Changing physical money usually gets you the worst deal, though there are exceptions in some places formerly behind the Iron Curtain, where there are lots of competing money changers and the fees can be rather low. In western Europe the fee can be 5% to 7% or even more.

Read the "Money" section under Travel Tips on this website for more details, and use the Search function for the many previous discussions.

Most of the posters here are from the US or Canada, and we are not well clued-in to how things work with Australian cards. I hope one of our Australian posters responds to this question with information specific to your situation. I think the subject of Australian travel cards actually came up quite recently. Perhaps you can find that thread via Search.

Getting cash from an ATM using a credit card subjects you to one of the most expensive ways to get local currency. Never do that. Use your ATM/debit card at bank cash machines. Make sure to have a 4-digit pin # in place.

The cheapest and most convenient way to obtain local currency -- for Americans, & perhaps Canadians - is a debit card at a bank owned ATM in the country. In the US you can find debit card issuers who do not charge a currency conversion fee. I don't know your banking situation in Australia. Do you have access to debit cards that do not charge currency conversion fees? If so, that would be the best way to go. If you don't you may have to use another method. Hard to advice since I don't know the Australian banking systems. Travel cards - pre-loaded debit cards - are not a good deal in the US because of fees often in the range of 10% for usage.

No, you do not get a better rate with cash. No one wants foreign cash! Banks in Europe will not help you unless you have an account with the local branch. You are stuck using the currency exchange booths at the international airports and maybe one you might find at a train station.

The best rate you will get is always by withdrawing it out of an ATM using your debit card. You of course have to factor in the fees your bank will charge. I was not able to find any Australian banks offering zero fees for foreign transactions on their debit cards (but then I didn't do an exhaustive search either). These fees seem to match what the worst banks in the US charge: $5 + 3% unless you find a partner ATM where you save the $5.

Australian banks also seem to be fond of and really push travel money cards (reloadable pre paid cards) that at first glance appear to be not such a bad deal with zero fees for most activities. But where they really get you is the rate they charge to put money onto the card. It is several percentage point off, in the bank's favor of course, to what the ATM rate would be on the same day. And if you don't load enough in the currency you will be spending, there are fees to move the money from one currency to another or to expedite reloading your card. You do save their 3% or so charged to a regular debit card for foreign exchange on purchases because your money is pre converted at time of being loaded to the card (at the really bad bank set rate).

The only thing you need check is if your ATM card has a Visa or Mastercard logo on it. If so, it will work in almost every ATM in Europe.

Find out what your bank charges for foreign transactions. If it's outrageous, shop around. It may be worth opening a travel account at a bank with better fees, put cash there, and use ATM's for cash withdrawals from that account while in Europe.

You may need to notify your bank of your travel so they don't put a fraud hold on the card. That used to be the case in the US. Now our cards have chips which precludes the need to give them advance notice.