Spotto! A bank!
People First Bank announces 15 branch closures across four states by March.
Bank online or drive 200 kilometres.
This is the alternative People First Bank is essentially giving customers following news this week 15 branches will close across New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, and South Australia by mid-March – bringing the total number of People First Bank closures to 36 in just two years.
People’s First Bank Chief Customer Officer Maria-Ann Camilleri defends the decision that will leave some towns without any local banks, citing “The way people bank is changing significantly” with “less than 1% of our transactions occurring in branches and fewer than 0.7% of customers using a branch regularly.”
While there is an undeniable shift in the way customers bank, the question must be asked, “Is the way people bank changing because finding a bank is now as hard as finding a specific-coloured car (or windmill) in the classic Australian road trip game, Spotto!?
Perhaps, in 2026, rather than searching for specific-coloured cars (or windmills), we should be searching for banks. They are, after all, becoming just as difficult to spot and locate.
But bank closures are not a game. They are a constant source of anger, frustration, and hardship for many older Australians, and others – especially those who live in regional communities, who rely on the essential services they provide.
For some people who live regionally, they will need to drive up to 200kms one way to reach their nearest People First Bank. People living in Goondiwindi will need to travel 200kms to Stanthorpe; Hervey Bay – 110kms to Bundaberg; Maryborough – 90kms to Gympie; Millmerran – 80kms to Toowoomba; and Millicent – 50kms to Mount Gambier. It is not feasible.
For some people, digital alternatives via online services and Apps are not always accessible, reliable, or appropriate.
Despite the ease and convenience of online services, for many, nothing compares to face-to-face customer services. When it comes to financial transactions, tellers who provide face-to-face banking do more than help to transact cash – they can play a critical role in helping to identify and protect against instances of financial abuse. Sadly, a very real problem that online banking simply can’t detect.
As if these weren’t enough reasons to keep banks open, there is a broader principle at stake.
Banks benefit from a $250K taxpayer-backed deposit guarantee that underwrites confidence and profitability across the entire banking system. If the public carries that risk, banks should carry a clear community service obligation.
Walking away from physical branches while continuing to benefit from public guarantees is not a neutral commercial choice, it is a withdrawal of a community service.
Previously, the Federal Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, proposed a levy on banks that close regional branches. That proposal should be followed through with funds directed to support banks and mutuals that maintain a physical presence in regional and rural communities.
If banking is a system underwritten by the public, then access must be part of the equation. Older Australians deserve better than being told to “go digital” when the system itself was never designed with them in mind. Access, trust, and inclusion still matter.
When it comes to the latest round of branch closures, People First Bank claims it has taken “careful consideration” and made a “difficult decision.” But, for a bank whose very name implies it puts people first (assuming both customers and staff – of whom up it has been reported up to 70 have their jobs at risk with these latest rounds of closures) – no amount of massaging the message is going to soften the blow for customers who will no longer have a local bank.
What was once a short trip to the local branch may as well be a road trip. And for those making the journey, it could take up to 200kms before they can exclaim, “Spotto! A bank!”.
The branches to close are Coomera, Hervey Bay, Kawana Waters, Kippa-Ring, Macquarie Park, Millmerran, Oakey, Pittsworth, Runaway Bay, Toowoomba Range, Tweed Heads, Wilsonton, Blackwood, Millicent and Caroline Springs. The Laidley, Goondiwindi and Maryborough agency outlets will also close. In addition, the Glenelg and Ballarat branches will become lending and advice centres, designed to provide more personalised support.
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