Territory Credit Union marks 30th birthday in Milingimbi
A Territory community stopped last week to remember a significant banking milestone. Read who was celebrating.
Over several hours on Friday morning, a Northern Territory island community celebrated the 30th birthday of one of Australia’s most remarkable mercantile stories.
Founded in 1995 as the major banks and financial institutions stopped servicing regional and remote Australian centres, Yolgnu-operated Traditional Credit Union is entering its fourth decade delivering financial services to isolated Territorians.
With a current staff of about 90 people, mostly employed in remote communities, Traditional Credit Union has employed more than 1000 people over 30 years and is Australia’s only Aboriginal-founded and led bank.
TCU’s past and present members and supporters joined Lingiari MP and Remote Communities special envoy Marion Scrymgour and Milingimbi community members to mark the bank’s founding on the Crocodile Islands community.
East Arnhem Regional Council president and event master-of-ceremonies Lapulung Dhamarrandji said Traditional Credit Union’s foundation in his home community came from the heart of Yolngu people and Arnhem Land.
“The birth of TCU is something we all need to cater and put that in our heart. It is a journey that gives that fibre, that nourishment to the Yolngu of Arnhem Land and other people around the Northern Territory that has got this bank, TCU.
“We need to feel proud of this bank that’s been around for us to serve remote Aboriginal communities throughout the Northern Territory.
“I’m proud to speak on behalf of TCU and to acknowledge that journey and feel proud. Yolngu people need to stand, strive, and it’s a blessed moment to celebrate these unique events, the thirtieth anniversary.”
Pointing to Milingimbi’s long modern history, included being targeted by Japanese bombers in 1943, Ms Scrymgour paid tribute to the vision shown by the founders of Traditional Credit Union to deliver replacement financial services and create jobs.
“We know with the withdrawal of those financial institutions meant for a lot of our remote communities and knowing that TCU’s first agency in the Northern Territory was here in Milangimbi, is an important part of that history,” she said.
“There is strength in the story and the model that’s stood the test of time over those 30 years for these communities, but also where we’ve got agencies … you’ve built a local workforce.
“When you look right across at all the Yolngu that are employed across all of your TCU branches that’s the strength, and that’s what’s really important about the TCU brand, is that you’ve got Yolngu people in jobs and employed full time.”
Focused largely on Arnhem Land communities, TCU has offices in Darwin, Katherine and 12 remote community branches extending west to Wadeye, north to Wurrumyanga and south to Minyeri, with plans to potentially take the brand interstate to Halls Creek according to chief executive Simon Lyons.
Underpinned with a million-dollar start-up contribution from Arnhem Land Progress Association, the facility now is largely member-backed and self-financed, with fees paid for TCU’s administration of the enhanced income management smartcard, which replaced the cashless debit card.
The credit union’s 2023-2024 financial year report puts assets at $19.5 million, down six per cent on the previous result, posting a $1.2 million profit.
To lift from the annual report, “the credit union’s assets are largely driven by the investment of member deposits and retained earnings”.
“We have to micro-manage the business around costs, to make sure that we don’t spend too much money,” Mr Lyons said.
“We do get help now through the Commonwealth because we manage part of the EIM smart card program, but the rest of the funding comes from member fees which we’re trying to reduce.
“It’s a difficult business to manage and remote communities are difficult to get things to and get things from, but we’ve got a really good team that believes in what they do, so that helps.”
He said TCU picked up in the communities where digital banking dropped off, providing an alternative cash source in the event of an issue with the major banks, or card loss.
It’s also a source for cash to come into the community and be distributed and in-language financial or banking advice to remote residents.
“It’s a giver not a taker, whereas a lot of the banks are not like that.”
Twenty-three year-old Brock Johnson grew-up in Katherine and transferred from a mechanic apprenticeship to take a job at the local branch that spawned several promotions including to his current role as relief branch co-ordinator overseeing TCU branch clusters.
“I love it,” he said.
“It helped to be good at maths at school and I was good at the theory side of things, so it’s a little bit different from doing mechanics.”
