Bank withdrawals robbing regional towns

"The inquiry has received more than 580 submissions, including from community groups representing people from across my electorate, as well as specific submissions from WA's South West and Wheatbelt regions," Mr Wilson said.

A number of submissions to the inquiry came from Beverley specifically, including the Beverley Country Women's Association, Beverley Post & Gifts and the Beverley Agricultural Society.

In addition to this, submissions were also made by the shires of Brookton, Quairading and Wyalkatchem, the Rural, Regional, Remote Women's Network of Western Australia, and the North Eastern Wheatbelt Regional Organisation of Councils.

"Given that the Beverley hearing was jam-packed, my submission invites the inquiry to hold a second hearing elsewhere in O'Connor, which spans WA's Peel, South West, Wheatbelt, Great Southern and Goldfields-Esperance regions," Mr Wilson said.

His damning 11-page submission references statements made by several businesses around the O'Connor division, which shared examples of the importance of a local bank branch on their business.

Members of the Shires of Beverley and Wyalkatchem had already been affected by bank branch closures, however these closures happened without sufficient notice or community consultation.

Wyalkatchem Shire president Quentin Davies said in 2021, a National Australia Bank (NAB) branch closed despite bank staff "at every level" telling him the branch would not be closing.

After it closed, he noticed an immediate drop in business.

"Over a period of two or three months, it was obvious that was the trend," Mr Davies said.

"We were a minimum of 15 per cent down," Mr Davies said in the submission.

"Since then, we've also lost our café, which was next door to the bank, and the shop on the other side of the bank had the same issue.

"You only have to give community members half a reason to go somewhere, whether it is for a cup of coffee or to do the banking, and they will do everything else.

"We found that when the bank wasn't there, people were heading for Northam."

Other submissions include branches operating on reduced hours, and customers being told to drive to the next town over to use another branch.

From this Mr Wilson declared consultation between banks and the community to be "minimal".

"One point that's come out loud and clear is the need for banks to genuinely consult with regional and remote communities, to engage with them seriously, before deciding to close a branch," he said.

"To that end, my submission recommends that banks provide to communities a comprehensive impact statement of the likely economic, social and cultural effects of any proposed closure, outline efforts they've gone to in order to retain the branch, and assess the feasibility of options presented by community members in relation to retaining the branch."

Common reasoning behind branch closures is around a lack of viability in small towns.

"In order to keep banks more viable in regional areas, my submission recommends that the Federal government prioritise programs that encourage infrastructure and other investment in smaller regional towns," Mr Wilson said.

"And, in an era where teleconferencing is now common-place, I've recommended that State governments prioritise the decentralisation of government departments from over-populated metropolitan areas to regional areas where populations are declining."

John Fregon, Beverley Post News and Gifts, which provides the post office service in town, said the bank services offered by post offices were limited.

"We are doing more banking transactions since the bank closed, but they're only basic things," Mr Fregon said.

"There are lots of things, such as people needing to change PIN numbers, that we can't do to help them."

A similar problem included deposit and withdrawal limits at Australia Post branches.

Mr Wilson's submission also covers 'digital exclusion' of elderly customers and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The submission said in a review of the Australian Banking Association banking code of practice, the closure of bank branches caused "significant concerns" for customers of this demographic.

"Older Australians, particularly in regional areas, are more likely to be digitally excluded...the use of digital banking is plateauing or declining among older age cohorts," the submission quotes.