Cash Distribution Framework Bill 2026, Cash Distribution Framework (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2026
Mr BURNELL (Spence) (18:58): The Cash Distribution Framework Bill 2026 is one that is incredibly important for all Australians. At first glance, this legislation may appear to be about logistics or oversight and compliance, but, when we strip away the legal language, this bill is about something much more fundamental. It's about ensuring Australians continue to have a choice at the checkout.
It's about protecting the resilience of our payment system, and, most importantly, it's about making sure no Australian is left behind as our economy continues to evolve. There is an old saying, that cash is king—and we've heard it many times in here today. For some people, that expression sounds outdated.
For others, it remains as true today as it has ever been. Technology has transformed the way Australians pay for goods and services. We can tap our phones, tap our watches or pay with a fingerprint online.
We can transfer money in seconds from one side of the country to the other. It's no secret that the growth of digital payments have made life easier for millions of Australians. They create convenience and a high level of efficiency.
They have opened opportunities that were unimaginable only a generation ago. None of that should be dismissed, and we should always welcome and encourage progress and innovation. But progress should never come at the expense of inclusion.
The measure of a successful payment system is not whether it embraces the newest technology; it's whether every Australian can participate in it with confidence. That is precisely what this legislation seeks to achieve. Before I entered this parliament, I spent over half a decade working in the cash-in-transit industry.
I saw firsthand the enormous operation required to keep Australia's cash economy flowing every single day. I worked across north-west Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales, transporting currency between Reserve Bank facilities, commercial banks, retailers, businesses and automated teller machines. Most Australians never see that work, and nor should they.
When the system works properly, it operates quietly in the background. Cash simply appears in an ATM. A supermarket receives its change before opening, and once again before closing.
A local cafe has enough float to serve its first customer. The bank has sufficient cash available on hand when someone walks through the front door. Most people never stop to consider how that happens, because behind every $20 note withdrawn from an ATM sits an extraordinary logistics network.
There are armoured vehicles travelling thousands of kilometres every week, with highly trained crews who work long hours under strict security procedures. Cash processing centres count, verify and package millions of dollars every day. Routes are planned with military precision.
Security systems operate around the clock. Every link in that chain matters. If just one part fails, the effects ripple throughout the entire economy.
My time in that industry taught me something that has stayed with me throughout my working life. Cash is not simply a currency; it is the unofficial infrastructure of this nation. I just want to say a quick shout-out to all my past colleagues that I worked with at the Mildura depot, but also those I had the great fortune of representing as the local branch organiser in South Australia at the Pooraka branch—so many fantastic people I've worked alongside of and helped represent with their industrial matters, who have made a fantastic contribution to this country in making sure that, when people go to an ATM at a bank near them, they can get the money that they rightly deserve to be able to take out of those machines.
So well done, guys, and keep up the good work. Cash is every bit as important as the roads that transport it. Without a functioning cash system, Australians quickly discover just how much they rely upon it.
The reality becomes especially apparent during natural disasters. When communications fail, when power is interrupted, when internet services become unreliable, cash often becomes the only reliable means of payment. In those moments nobody asks, 'Cash or card?' because there is only one answer to that.
It's easy to assume in our day-to-day life that, because many of us tap our cards every day, everyone else must do the same. That's simply not the case. The Reserve Bank found in 2025 that approximately one in every 10 Australians still relies on cash for their most important purchases.
Around 15 per cent of all payments across the country continue to be made using cash. Those are not insignificant numbers. They represent millions of Australians—like elderly citizens who have managed household budgets with cash throughout their lives, or those on lower incomes who find cash helps them budget more effectively by physically seeing what they have available to spend.
Many live in regional and remote communities where reliable telecommunications cannot always be taken for granted. Others simply value the privacy and certainty that cash provides. None of those Australians should ever be made to feel as though they are somehow behind the times.
None of them should lose access to cash simply because the supporting infrastructure has been allowed to disappear. Technology should expand opportunity; it shouldn't remove choice. That principle sits at the very heart of this legislation.
Australians have always had a unique relationship with cash. It forms a unique part of our vernacular. Every one of us knows what it means to have a bit of 'shrapnel' rattling around in our pocket.
We know exactly what someone means when they pull out a 'redback' if you're in Victoria or a 'lobster' in other parts of the country or a 'pineapple' to pay for something special. I know my grandfather used to have plenty of 'redbacks' in his back pocket, wrapped up with an elastic band. Those expressions have endured because cash has been woven into the fabric of Australian life for generations.
They are reminders that money is not merely an electronic transaction; it is something Australians can hold, they can count and they can trust. That trust deserves protection. The Albanese government has made a clear commitment that Australians will continue to have access to cash for as long as Australians want to use it.
This legislation delivers on that commitment. It complements the government's cash acceptance mandate, which commenced on 1 January this year. That mandate requires supermarkets and fuel retailers meeting prescribed criteria to accept cash between 7am and 9pm for purchases of $500 or less.
Protecting the right to pay with cash is one side of the equation. Making sure businesses can actually obtain cash is the other. That is exactly what these bills seek to achieve, because a mandate requiring businesses to accept cash means very little if those same businesses cannot access notes and coins at a reasonable cost.
That is why the Cash Distribution Framework Bill and the accompanying Cash Distribution Framework (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill are so important. Together, they establish a modern regulatory framework designed to support the long-term sustainability of Australia's cash distribution system. They recognise that, while Australians continue to value cash, the industry responsible for distributing it has come under increasing pressure.
As electronic payments have grown, the volume of cash moving through the system has gradually declined. This has led to commercial pressures. Today, Australia effectively relies upon a near-monopoly provider for many critical cash distribution services.
Whenever an essential service becomes dependent upon a single major provider, governments have a responsibility to ensure appropriate safeguards exist. That is not about interfering in the market; it is about recognising that some services are simply too important to fail. Cash distribution is one of those services.
The framework before the House acknowledges that reality. Rather than waiting until a crisis emerges, it establishes regulatory settings that allow the sector to return to a more sustainable footing while ensuring Australians continue receiving reliable access to cash regardless of where they live. The legislation establishes a comprehensive framework built upon practical measures rather than an unnecessary bureaucracy.
Oversight of designated critical cash distribution providers will be shared between the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the Reserve Bank of Australia. Each regulator has a clearly defined role, as each brings expertise appropriate to the responsibilities entrusted to them. The ACCC will oversee commercial arrangements within the sector.
It will have the ability to approve standard terms covering services and pricing, ensuring businesses are treated fairly and transparently. Those standard terms will create a baseline offer for customers while still allowing providers and businesses to negotiate alternative arrangements where appropriate. Importantly, designated providers will be will be required to negotiate in good faith.
That obligation matters. Businesses should never find themselves at the mercy of opaque pricing structures or discriminatory treatment simply because there are limited alternatives available. Good-faith negotiations promote fairness.
They promote transparency and confidence through the supply chain. Businesses using these services will also gain access to formal dispute resolution and arbitration pathways. That provides certainty not only for providers but also for the thousands of Australian businesses that depend upon reliable access to cash every single day.
The framework before the House is about much more than regulating an industry. At its heart, it's about protecting confidence in Australia's payment system, confidence that businesses will continue receiving the cash they need, confidence that communities will continue accessing banking services, and confidence that Australians can continue choosing how they pay for everyday goods and services.
The bill establishes a practical regulatory framework designed to place the cash distribution sector on a sustainable footing for decades to come. Oversight of designated critical cash distribution providers will be shared between the ACCC and the Reserve Bank of Australia, with each regulator bringing expertise to different aspects of the framework. The ACCC will oversee the commercial operation of designated providers, including the ability to approve standard terms covering pricing and service delivery.
Those arrangements are intended to provide certainty for businesses while ensuring providers continue operating on fair, transparent and nondiscriminatory terms. Importantly, designated entities will be required to negotiate with customers in good faith. That obligation should not be underestimated.
Businesses, particularly those in regional Australia, often have very limited alternatives when it comes to accessing cash distribution services. A requirement to negotiate fairly helps create confidence across the entire supply chain while ensuring commercially negotiated outcomes remain the foundation of the sector. Should disputes arise, businesses will have access to formal dispute resolution and arbitration processes.
The ACCC will also be empowered to establish minimum service standards following public consultation, recognising that Australia's geography presents challenges unlike almost anywhere else in the world. Delivering cash to a business in the middle of Sydney is vastly different from servicing a town hundreds of kilometres from the nearest regional centre. Those differences deserve to be recognised within the regulatory framework.
The bill also requires designated providers to maintain appropriate reporting and record keeping obligations. Good regulation depends upon good information. By improving transparency, regulators will be better placed to identify emerging issues before they become significant disruptions.
Equally important are the safeguards established, should the unexpected occur. Essential infrastructure cannot rely upon hope alone; it requires preparation. The cash distribution framework introduces crisis readiness and resolution powers, enabling the Reserve Bank of Australia to intervene where a designated provider becomes insolvent, enters administration or proposes ceasing critical cash distribution services.
Those powers include issuing directions, appointing a statutory manager and, where absolutely necessary, facilitating the transfer of services to maintain continuity. Similar crisis management arrangements already exist across Australia's banking and financial services sector. Extending comparable protections to the cash distribution network is simply responsible planning.
The accompanying Cash Distribution Framework (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill ensures that the transition to the new framework is equally well managed. Schedule 2 provides the ACCC with temporary directions powers, should a significant risk to cash access arise during implementation. Those powers are deliberately limited.
They expire after 24 months and exist solely to bridge the gap, while longer-term commercial arrangements are established under the new framework. This legislation also complements the government's broader reforms protecting cash access. The cash acceptance mandate, which commenced on 1 January 2026, requires eligible supermarkets and fuel retailers to accept cash for transactions up to $500 during standard trading hours.
Protecting the right to pay with cash is only meaningful if businesses themselves can obtain notes and coins. Alongside commitments from the major banks to pause further regional bank closures, together with strengthened investments in Bank@Post, these reforms form part of a broader strategy to ensure Australians retain access to essential banking services regardless of where they live.
Markets are excellent at driving innovation, but governments have a responsibility to protect inclusion. Cash remains an essential part of Australia's economic resilience. It supports people during natural disasters, telecommunications outages and emergencies.
It remains the preferred payment method for many older Australians, lower-income households and regional communities. No Australian should lose access to cash simply because the infrastructure supporting it has been allowed to decline. These bills recognise that simple principle.
They protect choice, strengthen resilience and, most importantly, ensure Australians will continue to have access to cash as long as they choose to use it.