QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
Dr CHALMERS (Rankin—Treasurer) (14:43): Thank you to the honourable member for his question. The Albanese government is taking steps to ensure that Australians can use cash to pay for more of the essential items that they need. In saying that, I acknowledge from the outset that the honourable member would like us to go further than we are proposing to go.
There are good reasons why we've settled on the model that we have settled on, and I'll run through those reasons in a moment, but I remind the honourable member that there is currently nothing preventing any business in Australia from refusing to accept cash, and we consider that situation to be unacceptable. That is the status quo that we've inherited. That's the status quo that we are changing, because we know that cash still plays an important role in the lives of many Australians.
Right now there's no obligation, and we're changing that. We take seriously the issues the honourable member and others have raised with us. In 2022 we know that the Reserve Bank found that around seven per cent of Australians still used cash for the majority of their in-person purchases, but we also know that many of those cash users are older Australians and also Australians living in rural and regional communities like those represented by the honourable member.
Last year, we said we would introduce a cash acceptance mandate for the first time, and we're delivering on that promise. From 1 January, we're ensuring that Australians can buy their fuel and groceries by mandating cash acceptance for essential purchases through a mandatory industry code under the Competition and Consumer Act. This follows extensive consultation.
Earlier this year, we received 61 submissions from organisations and 4,000 from individuals, and we met with a range of organisations about it. We know that there's a balance to be struck here between ensuring that Australians can use cash to pay for essentials and not placing unnecessary burdens on small businesses, particularly small businesses in the regions.
After that extensive consultation, we think that we've got the balance right. We've also committed to reviewing the mandate after three years to ensure it's functioning as it's supposed to. We'll consider then whether it should be expanded.
We'll look at its impact on businesses of all sizes and any developments in cash distribution and access at that time as well. We do know that, for many Australians, cash is more than a payment method; it can be a lifeline. That's why we are taking the steps that we are taking to make sure that more businesses in this country have to accept cash for essential items, and that is a very substantial change, a very substantial improvement, on the status quo that we inherited.