THE first hearing of the Senate Inquiry into regional and rural bank closures is set to take place tomorrow at Sale, after a concerning number of banks have closed in regional Australia in recent months.

The Senate Inquiry called for all banks to immediately cease closing bank branches in regional towns until a proper assessment is undertaken.

Since September 2022, there have been 92 bank branches either closed or slated for closure, including branches of the National Australia Bank, Westpac, St George, ANZ, Bankwest, the Bank of Melbourne, and BankSA.

This prompted the Regional and Rural Affairs and Transport (RRAT) References Committee to call for banks to halt closures while an inquiry is undertaken.

The inquiry will investigate the current extent of bank closures in regional Australia, including the branch closure process; the reasons given for the closures; and the economic and welfare impacts of branch closures on customers and regional communities.

It will also investigate the effect of bank closures on the removal of face-to-face cash services and access to cash.

Wannon MP Dan Tehan is among those urging banks to heed the call of the Senate Committee until local councils, businesses and affected customers can submit their concerns to the Senate Inquiry.

“Banking is not just the sinew of commerce in regional communities but provides an essential service to those most vulnerable in the community,” he said.

“The closure of branches in Camperdown, Colac, Casterton and Portland to name a few in recent years has put undue strain on businesses.

“We are seeing businesses in small communities being forced to close during the week just so they can drive to a town with a bank.”

“When the average age of a farmer is 58, it is simply unreasonable for affected customers to be told to try online banking.

“While closures are typically a commercial decision, as a general principle, banks should look at the services they provide to country towns as part of their social licence and take into account loyalty shown by customers over many decades.”

Hamilton residents were recently left in the lurch between the Christmas and New Year period when the local Westpac branch shut for a week and operated on temporarily reduced hours once reopened.

Concerned residents told The Spectator at the time that they were worried about not being able to complete their regular banking processes as they were not familiar with online banking.

RRAT Committee chair, Senator Matthew Canavan, said the major banks needed to acknowledge the seriousness of this issue and the impacts it will have on regional Australians.

“Access to a bank can be a life-or-death factor for many businesses,” he said.

“I do not have confidence that our banks are properly considering these severe impacts before they have announced closures.

“Our Senate Committee calls on all banks to defer any decision on whether to close branches until they can hear from locals through this inquiry.”

The Commonwealth Bank has committed to pausing all regional bank closures while the RRAT Committee’s inquiry into regional bank closures is ongoing, while Westpac has committed to pausing only some closures.

This hearing is the first of numerous hearings planned to impacted communities to help highlight the concerns of the towns that have lost or are soon to lose their last remaining bank branch.

The inquiry is expected to report back to the Senate by December 1, 2023.

Submissions to the inquiry are open until March 31 and can be made by any member of the public.

For further information on how to make a submission, visit aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Rural_and_Regional_Affairs_and_Transport/BankClosures