Cash Distribution Framework Bill 2026, Cash Distribution Framework (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2026
Ms TEMPLEMAN (Macquarie) (11:47): I rise to speak on this important bill, the Cash Distribution Framework Bill 2026. At a recent community event I was reminded of how handy it is to carry cash. I was at a market, and a stallholder's EFTPOS machine wasn't behaving.
Some of us who were waiting were unfazed; we had cash and could still support that small trader by handing over notes for our purchase. That's a very everyday example of why cash is still so important—not just that businesses accept it but that it's available, including in ATMs and post offices, in places outside the main cities, including those across the vast area of Macquarie.
Whether it's a petrol station on the Putty Road, the post office at Bilpin, the upper mountains in Blackheath or the Lennox Centre in Emu Plains—it shouldn't matter where you are—cash should be within cooee. My constituents know firsthand that, when natural disaster hits, cash is more than just handy to have. We need cash because it provides a reliable backup when digital systems fail, and that's what happens in bushfires, in flood, in major storms and even in cyberattacks.
And when bank branches have largely left the playing field over the course of the previous decade or so in much of Macquarie, it's the post offices and agencies that can provide essential access to cash through Bank@Post. For some people, cash protects personal privacy. For others, it's a way to stick to physical spending limits.
For some elderly people, it's an easier concept than tapping, and others prefer it because it lets them bypass surcharges or processing fees. These are some of the reasons people like Peter from Blackheath, Jasmine from Lawson and Isabel from the Hawkesbury have shared with me their preference and their desire to continue to be able to access cash, and we absolutely agree.
Cash promotes economic inclusion. It makes payment systems more resilient, and it's an important store of value, including in times of uncertainty. A substantial portion of the Australian population would face genuine hardship or major inconvenience if cash were to become harder to access or use as a payment method.
In 2025, the Reserve Bank found that roughly one in 10 Australians still used cash for most of their purchases, particularly older Australians, lower income households and those in rural and regional Australia, and around 15 per cent of payments were made overall in cash. No-one should be left behind in a payment system. The amendments that we're considering today, those put forward by the government, support our legislation and provide additional certainty that cash will be delivered and collected around Australia so businesses have cash in their tills, ATMs are stocked with notes and consumers can use cash at the checkout.
We're continuing to build on our changes that make it mandatory for fuel and grocery retailers to accept cash so Australians can continue to pay with cash for essentials if they want to. So the Albanese government is getting on with the job of not just talking about cash but also ensuring that Australians have continued access to cash, recognising it remains essential for many households, small businesses and regional communities.
We know that Australians still need and want to use cash, and this reform puts people first by protecting choice, inclusion and access, but what's become really clear is that the system of distribution for cash, from bank vaults to machines or cash registers was not up to scratch. The cash distribution framework bills, including these amendments, aim to change that.
The framework demonstrates the government's commitments to a payment system that's resilient, fair and works in the interests of everyday Australians. By strengthening the oversight and accountability, the government is ensuring critical cash services operate transparently and sustainably, providing confidence to communities and businesses alike. This is a really practical, forward-looking reform.
We're backing industry initiatives but at the same time providing a regulatory framework so that we secure a reliable cash distribution system for the long-term. As I've highlighted in speaking about Macquarie, Australia's natural geography can heighten the challenges of ensuring that communities in regional and remote areas continue to have services provided and that those services are delivered at reasonable prices.
Consultation on our changes highlighted that reliable access to cash and bank branch services is a significant concern for consumers, and I know that that would be the case for many people across the more regional parts of Macquarie. Our legislation also introduces a crisis management and resolution regime for cash distribution services, and that's critical to the availability of cash in Australia, not when everything's going right but when things are going wrong.
Overall, the framework will support the long-term sustainability of the cash distribution system in Australia so that cash is available for those who need or want to use it. For businesses, it will strengthen confidence in their ability to access and transact in cash. The government's committed to maintaining cash for as long as Australians want to use it.
Let me make that really clear: we are committed to maintaining access and availability of cash for as long as Australians want to use it. It's a key priority in the government's strategic plan for Australia's payments system. How does it all work?
The regulatory framework we've established and are refining with these amendments will be administered by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the ACCC, and the Reserve Bank of Australia, the RBA. The framework will apply to critical cash distribution service providers that have been designated by the Reserve Bank. They allow for the creation of ACCC approved standard terms covering services and pricing, and these create the baseline offer that a designated entity must provide to its customers, unless it is not reasonable or where it has specifically negotiated other terms with its customers.
Designated cash providers will be required to negotiate in good faith, such as by offering terms that are fair, transparent and non-discriminatory. Businesses using cash distribution services have access to dispute resolution and arbitration pathways where they're not happy with what is happening. The ACCC also has that power to establish mandatory minimum service level standards.
Appropriate pricing is important. You know that gets passed through somewhere in the chain, and it always lands with the consumer. We have pricing that is set in a fair and transparent way under the framework, but it also has to consider different geographies and customer types, and that's a key element of ensuring the long-term viability of the sector.
The bill provides for reporting and record-keeping requirements for designated entities in relation to service agreements and access agreements so that it supports informed, regulated decision-making and actions. The detail in this bill is what will make it a long-term, workable process. It's not a quick fix.
I want to talk a bit more about crisis management and resolution. This is where the rubber really hits the road in anything that we do in this place. When things are going as they should, there isn't a problem.
When things get in the way of the normal operations, we have to have thought that through. This framework includes crisis readiness and resolution powers to ensure that critical cash distribution services continue to operate in the event of a crisis. Where legislative triggers are met, the RBA could step in to exercise resolution powers in relation to any service provider that they designated as critical to the cash distribution system.
The RBA is also able to trigger their crisis resolution powers in a specified set of circumstances, including instances where an entity becomes insolvent or enters administration, or if a provider seeks to reduce or stop providing their critical cash distribution services. Resolution powers would include directions powers, the ability to appoint a statutory manager and compulsory transfer powers.
The bill also provides for moratoriums, stays, suspension of termination rights, and, if required to address the crisis, temporary government funding. Similar provisions were in place in relation to banking, insurance, and clearing and settlement facilities. If a crisis were to occur, critical service providers would themselves be expected to be ready to respond and to have plans for dealing with any potential disruption.
I want to discuss how this interacts with the cash mandate. The cash acceptance mandate, which means people have to accept cash, commenced on 1 January. It required that supermarkets and fuel retailers that meet certain criteria must accept cash between 7 am and 9 pm for transactions of $500 or less.
By underpinning businesses' ongoing access to cash, the framework enables and supports these businesses' compliance with the government's cash acceptance mandate. The framework will also provide confidence that, in these circumstances, users of cash can continue to access it where they wish to. The framework is also an important element in ensuring that regional banks and businesses can access cash on fair and transparent terms, and at a reasonable price.
This does support the viability of branch networks in regional and remote Australia, and we all know how important those branches are. In February 2025, our government announced new commitments by Australia's major banks to not make any further branch closures in regional areas before 31 July 2027. Westpac has subsequently announced that it's extended that moratorium until 2030.
The government has also secured from the banks increased commitment to and investment in Bank@Post, which provides greater certainty and choice to banking customers, including that ability to access cash. Bank@Post definitely plays a role in peri-urban communities like mine. The government is continuing to work with the sector to develop long-term solutions to support access to essential banking services for the regions, but this bill certainly plays a role in ensuring that the delivery of cash to those branches will be done on fair and transparent terms and at a reasonable price.
The bill itself is intended to support the ongoing sustainability of the cash distribution system, but there are additional amendments because the bill itself is not intended to supersede industrial relations laws, including the road transport contractual chain orders, which set minimum standards for people in road transport contractual chains to ensure operators are safe, sustainable and viable.
In most instances, the cash distribution framework contained in the contractual chain orders will not overlap, given these regimes target different policy outcomes. However, in the event that the two regimes do have some overlap or conflict, the proposed amendments provide a pathway for resolving that conflict. These changes ensure that requirements of the Fair Work Commission set out in a road transport contractual chain order are appropriately protected and address concerns about potential regulatory ambiguity.
The amendments require the ACCC to consider a relevant contractual chain order when setting, varying or revoking approved standard terms and service-level standards or when exercising interim powers. The amendments will support those outcomes. The amendments also require the ACCC to have various roles in it.
This is all about ensuring the bill we have is the most robust it can be and that it has looked at all sorts of possible interactions that might occur. This is about ensuring the certainty of the delivery of cash from the bank vault to the ATM that you take it out of. I commend the bill to the House.