Banking

Queensland’s Sunshine Coast remains the perennial favourite, but cooler climates are proving popular, with Tasmania and regional Victoria appealing to more Australians looking for a change ... “We are seeing interesting moves in the southern states with Victoria’s Wodonga seeing the strongest annual net migration growth, while three Tassie spots Latrobe, Devonport and Huon Valley – ranked second to fourth.

Love it, hate it or don’t even understand it, Bendigo Bank’s multi-million dollar “Better Big Bank” marketing campaign has raised a lot of questions since its launch seven years ago ... A review of the “last bank out” of regional towns across Australia since 2020 has revealed that Bendigo has left more communities without banking services than all four big banks put together.

Community feedback confirmed grocery and fuel purchases are essential and today’s changes mean that from 1 January 2026, most retailers must accept cash for in-person transactions of $500 or less between 7am and 9pm. Small businesses with aggregate annual turnover under $10 million will be exempted from the mandate, however, the mandate will apply to small businesses that choose to share a trademark with a larger retailer.

Major-brand supermarkets and fuel retailers in bankless towns could be eligible for exemptions from the Federal Government’s proposed cash mandate regulations under exceptional circumstances provisions, an official from Treasury confirmed today during Senate Estimates hearings. The information was obtained by WA Senator Tyron Whitten in a series of questions about regional banking services.

Liz Lawrence. Narrandera Bendigo Bank branch took out the main award, Best Business any size, at the Narrandera Rotary Club and Narrandera Business Group Annual Business awards formal dinner last week.

Threatened wildlife like the critically endangered South-east Red-tailed Black-cockatoo have a bright future thanks to a renewed conservation partnership with Bank Australia in the Wimmera. Conservation organisation Trust for Nature is partnering with Bank Australia to manage the bank's 2,117 hectare conservation reserve...

Plans announced by Westpac today are little more than “tokenistic and cosmetic” and do nothing to address the fundamental crisis facing bank branches in regional and remote communities, says the Regional Banking Investment Alliance (RBIA).

Westpac has announced it will extend its moratorium on regional branch closures and pilot a new way to deliver banking services to regional communities through a new Community Banking Service. Westpac first implemented a pause on regional branch closures in 2023 which was extended earlier this year until mid-2027.

Hope has turned to disappointment for cash supporters nationwide as consultation on the government’s ‘watered-down’ cash mandate exposure draft regulations closes Friday 7 November ... “The promised mandate is more restrictive than initially proposed with medications, utilities, telecommunications services, and other items no longer considered essential": NSA CEO Chris Grice.

There are fatal flaws in the Federal Government’s draft cash mandate regulations and they can be traced back to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's refusal to respond to Senate recommendations to fix the banking crisis in regional Australia.

Country Mayors Association of NSW Chairman, Mayor Rick Firman OAM has commended Westpac Bank for opening a new Regional Service Centre in Moree, in north-west NSW and for what appears to be a vastly improved attitude towards servicing country NSW communities.

The people of Wycheproof are deeply concerned by the recent announcement that Bendigo Bank will fully close its agency in the town. This decision, made without broad community consultation, has significant implications for residents, local businesses, and the liveability of the rural community.

Bendigo Bank torches regional development with selective blacklist based on mining. Just like the fictional Tasmanian town of Mystery Bay, a star in its own right in the hit ABC TV series Bay of Fires, Queenstown, where much of the show was filmed, is being held back by mysterious forces. Locals have suspected for some time that the town was a “no-go” area for home lending but like many other disadvantages they face due to remoteness, it was believed geography was the likely cause.

Darling Downs Bank has opened a new branch in Toowoomba with a launch party to welcome customers held on Monday of this week. The branch is located at Toowoomba Plaza and, being at the southern end of Ruthven Street, it is easily accessible...

NSW border town of Albury experienced a 16-fold increase in net migration from capitals in the year to June 2025. Regional Australia remains a strong draw for city dwellers, with 26 per cent more people relocating from capital cities to regional areas than vice versa, according to the June Quarter Regional Mover Index (RMI).

Cattle prices have risen solidly across all categories, supported by recent rainfall across southern Australia and strong demand from northern lot feeders. ANZ’s latest Agri InFocus report highlights the Female Slaughter Rate (FSR) as a key indicator of destocking activity over the past year, and the resulting surge in restocker demand.

Australia’s wine industry is showing signs of recovery after one of its most challenging decades – but the rebound remains fragile and uneven. According to ANZ’s latest Agri InFocus report, wine exports rose 13 percent in value to $2.48 billion in the year to June 2025, driven largely by renewed trade with mainland China following the reopening of that market. 

As the push for a cashless society continues, so does the exodus of financial institutions from the Yamba CBD, with BCU the latest to announce it will close its doors early next year. The Yamba CBD was once home to six different financial institutions, ANZ, BCU, Commonwealth Bank, NAB, St George, and Westpac.

Bendigo Bank closed its last remaining banking service in an Aboriginal community 27 days before celebrating the launch of its Aboriginal Reconciliation Action Plan. The Aurukun agency in far north Queensland was one of 27 to be closed in 2022-2023 under the eye of the bank’s now chief executive Richard Fennell when he was in charge of the consumer banking division.

A buoyant crowd gathered at Maldon Community Centre on Thursday 21 August to hear the announcement from Community Bank Maldon & District about its BIG Project grant, which offered a million dollars over five years to create long-lasting impact within the local community ... $650,000 will be invested with the Mount Alexander Affordable Housing Trust towards affordable housing in Maldon.

Bendigo Bank has pulled out of fundraising partnerships with community groups that have been drumming up business for corporate branches since 2004 ... The bank told community groups however, that it had reviewed this part of its business and determined the contributions were “not sustainable” ... Bendigo Bank has announced a $514.6 million profit.