NSW Country Mayors Association chairman Rick Firman. Photo: Supplied.
Regional communities are fearing further bank closures, following ANZ’s recent announcement to axe 3500 jobs across its branches.
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Announced on Tuesday, September 9, the job cuts are part of the bank’s ongoing restructure, aiming to simplify banking processes across branches and remove duplication.
While the bank emphasised it would minimise impacts to frontline customer-facing roles, the NSW Country Mayors Association worries it will follow in the steps of other banks that have closed their branches and reduced services in regional communities.
NSW Country Mayors Association chairman Rick Firman said the job cuts followed a path that other banks had taken to justify bank closures.
“We constantly see a pattern of behaviour that is deliberately designed to justify closures,” he said.
“First there is a lowering of staff, next the hours are cut, then there are fewer services followed by advice the data shows customers are choosing online banking over face-to-face.
“Finally, we are told that because of falling use, the bank branch will be closed. Well, no surprises there, the outcome has been deliberately engineered by the bank.”
The Financial Sector Union has estimated that since 2020, 931 bank branches have closed across Australia.
Earlier this year, Bendigo Bank announced the closure of 28 bank agencies and some bank branches from October 2025, including its Mathoura agency.
NAB has also recently announced the loss of over 400 jobs, relocating positions in its technology and enterprise areas to India and Vietnam.
The Bank of Queensland is following NAB’s footsteps, axing 200 staff and offshoring half of its contact centre to India.
For those living in regional and rural areas, the closures have had greater impacts, with many residents travelling hundreds of kilometres to reach the closest bank.
In May 2024 the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee released a report on bank closures in regional Australia.
The Federal Government has yet to officially respond to the report.
Murray River Council Mayor John Harvie.
Photo by
Emily Donohoe
Murray River Council Mayor John Harvie said rural and regional communities deserved a response as banks continued to close their doors.
“The Federal Government received a report from the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee over a year ago and have not published or acted on any of the recommendations,” he said.
“It’s time that they released the report and indicated what they intend to do about these closures.”
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