West Coast fury: Bendigo Bank axes last branch, leaves Queenstown isolated

Tasmania’s West Coast faces a major blow as its last remaining bank branch prepares to close, leaving residents facing a two-hour drive for services. Now, local leaders are vowing to fight for their community.

Bendigo Bank. Picture: supplied

The West Coast Council is considering its options to keep in-person banking available for residents after the Bendigo Bank announced plans to close its Queenstown branch.

Bendigo Bank informed the council it would close the branch – initially established as a community bank – through a letter last Tuesday, citing a “review of evolving customer preferences” and a “sustained reduction in business activity”.

The closure of what is the Tasmanian West Coast’s last remaining bank branch means residents will have to drive two hours away to Burnie to access in-person services.

West Coast Council Mayor Shane Pitt said the news came “out of the blue”.

“The first we’d heard of any such closure was in that letter. Prior to that there was no discussion,” Mr Pitt said.

“It’s just disappointing the way (the Bendigo Bank) went about it, and that they hadn’t consulted beforehand.”

West Coast Mayor Shane Pitt. Picture: Linda Higginson

The branch is scheduled to close on September 26, with changes in opening hours to just two days a week between 10am to 1pm and 1.30pm to 4pm effective immediately.

In a special meeting on Tuesday, the council moved a motion to investigate whether the branch could be re-established as a community bank, or if the branch could be kept open until the end of its lease in June next year.

But having received no direct communication from Bendigo Bank representatives, Mr Pitt said the community remained frustrated.

“We’ve got an ageing population, a lot of them don’t do online banking and a lot of people haven’t got vehicles to be able to travel,” he said.

“This will be a huge loss.”

The closure was one of 10 flagged across the country, with another Tasmanian branch in Kings Meadows also set to close as soon as August 1.

Bendigo Bank in Bannockburn, Victoria will shut its doors in September. The branch is one of 10 set to close across the country. Picture: supplied

The decision was met with anger from the Finance Sector Union, with National Secretary Julia Angrisano labelling it a “slap in the face” to regional communities.

“This is an incredibly disturbing development and does not bode well for the future of Bendigo Bank’s presence in regional Australia,” she said.

“For a bank which proudly has its regional centre hometown as part of its name, and is fondly known for its community branch network, this decision feels very ‘big bank’ for the wrong reasons.”

A Bendigo Bank spokesperson said while a difficult decision to close the Queenstown branch, it remained committed to “communicating these changes to customers”.

“Bendigo Bank maintains more branches per customer than any other Australian bank and is committed to its branch network and the personalised interactions that occur in branch every day,” they said, adding Queenstown customers could continue banking at the Australia Post office next for free for at least the next 12 months.

Originally published as West Coast fury: Bendigo Bank axes last branch, leaves Queenstown isolated