Cash Distribution Framework Bill 2026, Cash Distribution Framework (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2026
Ms CAMPBELL (Moreton) (18:13): Think about the last time you paid for something. Maybe it was your coffee this morning. It could have been your sandwich from the trough at lunch.
Perhaps it was a sneaky snack this afternoon. How did you pay for it? I suspect most of you simply tapped your phone or pressed your smartwatch against the terminal, but I reckon there's at least one person in this chamber right now who reached for their wallet, who sifted through a few notes and coins and handed over a $10 note instead.
I bet that each of you know many of those people in your communities and in your families, because, while digital payments now dominate everyday transactions, cash is far from obsolete. In 2025, the RBA found that one in every 10 Australians still used cash for most of their purchases. Often that one out of 10 is one of the most vulnerable people in our community.
Cash usage is particularly strong amongst seniors, lower income earners and regional Australians. In fact, about 15 per cent of all payments were still made in cash. While Australians have enthusiastically embraced electronic payment systems, it's important that we continue to support those of us who prefer cash.
The Cash Distribution Framework Bill 2026 and the Cash Distribution Framework (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2026 are designed for this purpose to ensure that Australians have access to cash for as long as they want to use it, because, while we have to embrace new technology with gusto, we cannot leave Australians who still want to use cash behind.
The Albanese Labor government is committed to protecting Australians' access to cash and by extension protecting people's rights to choose how they pay for goods and services. While the modernisation of payment systems has been rapid and has certainly aided in productivity and ease of payment for many, it is important to us that no-one is left behind. Cash is more than just a method of payment.
It plays an important role in ensuring that all Australians can participate fully in the economy—regardless of their age, regardless of their income, regardless of their location, regardless of their circumstances and regardless of their level of digital literacy. For many people—particularly those groups I mentioned earlier, such as older Australians, those on lower incomes and residents of regional and rural communities—cash remains a practical and trusted way to manage everyday expenses.
Everyone deserves to have confidence in our economy, and that means that everyone deserves to have confidence in our payment system. That includes cash. Think for a moment about Australia's vast geography and dispersed population.
These factors create unique challenges in maintaining access to essential services for people living in regional, rural and remote communities. The significant distances between population centres combined with lower population density can make it more difficult and more costly to deliver services consistently and affordably. We know that access to reliable banking services remains a major concern for many Australians, particularly those in regional areas.
Consumers in these areas have provided feedback that maintaining access to cash and face-to-face banking services is necessary to give communities more practical options to manage their financial needs. Cash is also vital to help bolster the resilience of our payment system. Electronic systems can be adversely affected during power outages, natural disasters or system disruptions.
In these circumstances, cash provides a reliable fallback, ensuring Australians can still purchase essential goods and services when they need them the most. In my electorate, on Brisbane's south side, we know what a natural disaster looks like. We know what it feels like.
If you live in Oxley, Corinda, Rocklea, Fairfield, Yeronga and many more suburbs, you've experienced floods. When the chips are down and times are hard, all you are looking to do is recover and help your community and your neighbours. Making sure that you've got a reliable source to pay for things that you need is critical.
Cash can also provide a sense of security and certainty in times of economic uncertainty. It remains widely accepted as a store of value and gives people confidence that they can access and use their own money whenever it's necessary. For these reasons, maintaining access to cash is not simply a matter of preserving a traditional payment method.
It is about protecting choice, supporting financial inclusion and ensuring that Australians are not disadvantaged as our economy becomes increasingly digital. This bill implements a regulatory framework for Australia's cash distribution network. It is designed to ensure that key participants in the cash distribution system operate in a way that is transparent, accountable and sustainable.
By providing greater regulatory oversight of critical cash distribution services, the framework will help safeguard the infrastructure that Australians rely on every day to access and use cash in their daily lives. The bill also introduces a crisis management and resolution framework for providers whose services are vital to the circulation of cash throughout the country.
This will strengthen the ability of government and regulators to respond to significant disruptions and help maintain the continuity of cash services during periods of stress or during periods of operational failure. At its core, this legislation is about securing the future of cash in Australia, reflecting Labor's commitment to the Strategic Plan for Australia's Payments System.
The Reserve Bank of Australia and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will administer the regulatory framework. Part 2 of the bill concerns the application of the framework to apply to the critical cash distribution service providers, as identified by the RBA. Part 3 of the bill provides for the development of ACCC approved standard terms and conditions relating to both service delivery and pricing arrangements.
These standard terms are intended to establish a consistent minimum service offering that designated entities must make available to their customers. This baseline framework will apply unless it would be unreasonable in the circumstances or indeed when an entity and its customer have agreed to alternative arrangements through direct negotiation. The framework is designed to promote greater certainty, consistency and fairness across the provision of designated cash services while still allowing for that flexibility to accommodate the differing needs of customers and service providers.
Where alternative arrangements are sought, designated cash providers will be required to engage in negotiations in good faith. This includes taking reasonable steps to reach mutually acceptable outcomes and ensuring that proposed terms are fair, transparent and based on objective criteria. Providers must also avoid discriminatory practices, ensuring that customers in comparable circumstances are treated equitably and have access to services on reasonable commercial terms.
The next part of the bill implements dispute resolution and arbitration pathways for businesses relying on cash distribution services, and this is complemented by part 5 of the bill, which enables the ACCC to establish mandatory minimum service level standards. A sustainable and effective cash distribution sector depends on pricing arrangements that are fair, transparent and capable of reflecting the varying costs of servicing different customer groups and different geographical locations.
Recognising that the cost of providing services can differ significantly between metropolitan, regional and remote areas, the framework seeks to ensure that pricing is established in a way that supports both equitable access to services and the long-term financial viability of providers. To strengthen oversight and accountability, the bill introduces reporting and recordkeeping obligations for designated entities in relation to both service agreements and access agreements.
These requirements will provide regulators with timely and accurate information about marketing practices, servicing arrangements and compliance with the framework. In addition, during the initial transition to the new framework, the ACCC will be granted temporary supplementary powers in relation to cash distribution services. These transitional powers are intended to provide regulators with the ability to respond quickly and effectively to operational challenges or to market disruptions that may arise as new arrangements are implemented.
They will enable the ACCC to intervene when necessary to address urgent concerns, to support market stability, and to help ensure that cash distribution services continue to operate efficiently and reliably during the implementation phase. Let's talk a little bit more about the features of the framework that will address preparedness for crises, because part 6 and part 7 of the bill implement resolution powers which ensure that cash distribution services will continue to operate if a crisis occurs.
This means that, where the relevant legislative criteria are satisfied, the RBA will be authorised to intervene in relation to a service provider that has been designated as critical to the operation of Australia's cash distribution service. These providers are intended to safeguard the continuity and stability of essential cash services when there is a risk of significant disruption.
These resolution powers can be triggered in a specific range of circumstances, including in situations where a designated provider becomes insolvent, enters external administration, experiences severe financial distress, or proposes to significantly reduce, suspend or cease the delivery of critical cash distribution services. The RBA will be granted a range of resolution tools such as the power to appoint a statutory manager to oversee the entity's operations and the facilitation of the compulsory transfer of critical functions or assets where necessary.
The bill also provides for additional measures including temporary moratoriums and stays on certain actions, the suspension of contractual termination rights and the provision of temporary government financial support. These measures are standard practices in crisis resolution frameworks in the financial sector, and at its core is the recognition of the importance of ensuring continuity of services that are critical to the functioning of the economy and the financial system.
The bill further bolsters two related initiatives: the cash acceptance mandate and supporting the viability of bank branches in regional and remote Australia. This ensures that customers who rely on cash continue to have practical and reliable payment options for essential goods and services. The framework also plays a vital role in supporting the long-term sustainability of banking services and branch networks in regional, rural and remote Australia, where access to face-to-face banking remains particularly important.
This is a bill that works for both business and consumers. For businesses, it provides greater certainty that cash services will remain reliable and available, allowing them to continue accepting, handling and transacting in cash when required. For consumers, it will help preserve access to an important payment option and provide confidence that they can get cash when they need it.
The Albanese Labor government is putting Australians first by safeguarding access to essential financial services, supporting regional communities and ensuring that no Australian is left behind as the payment system continues to evolve.