The Commonwealth Bank branch in my home town of Doonside will permanently close on 29 November this year without any community consultation. The branch first opened 60 years ago on 21 September 1964—contrary to popular belief, that was before I was born. Its closure will exacerbate long wait times and other issues related to access to banking services given that other Commonwealth Bank branches have closed throughout the area. We have been told to go to branches in Blacktown, Mount Druitt or Plumpton. Similarly, St George Bank once had ATMs in Woodcroft, but those were closed down and replaced with private ATMs. In 2023 the four major banks closed 384 branches, of which the Commonwealth Bank closed 73. Doonside has become the latest statistic.

Customers will be forced to use Westpoint Blacktown, Plumpton Marketplace, Westfield Mount Druitt or Seven Hills Plaza, which are a fair distance away. In May this year the Senate handed down its report on the effect of branch closures on consumers and businesses. The committee recommended that the existing banking code of conduct be made mandatory. At the moment it is voluntary. Under the code, banks would be required to undertake meaningful consultation with communities before shutting down any branch, and fund transition and other ongoing services to ensure access to cash and essential banking services in the event of a closure. The Australian Banking Association will require its members, of which the Commonwealth Bank is one, to apply the code. The code states, "At least 90 days before the proposed closing date, the bank must mail a notice to customers of the branch."

I am in possession of some of the letters the bank sent to its customers. They are dated 18 October, which was last week, and the branch is set to close in 40 days. I will contact the Australian Banking Association chief executive, Anna Bligh, and the Finance Sector Union to ensure the Commonwealth Bank adheres to providing proper consultation. The Commonwealth Bank and Westpac stated publicly that they had extended their moratoriums on branch closures to December 2026. I am not sure why the Commonwealth Bank has shut down its Doonside branch during that moratorium period.

I note the presence in the gallery of Deputy Mayor of Blacktown City Council Bob Fitzgerald, ward 3 councillor and Woodcroft resident Carol Israel, and siblings Emmanuel and Maria‑Theresa Tolentino, all of whom are fighting to keep our bank branches open. The branch is important because postcode 2767 comprises Doonside, Woodcroft, Huntington Heights and Bungarribee. According to the latest data, the population of postcode 2767 is 23,284. Some 50.3 per cent of the population are women, and there are 6,223 families. Some 1,600 people with a disability live in Doonside, including 733 NDIS participants.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics census, in Doonside over 6,500 residents identify as having a chronic long-term health issue such as arthritis, asthma or lung disease, and almost 20 per cent of the population, or 4,500 people, are above the age of 60. It is difficult for that age group to get around. There has been strong community reaction to the branch closure. For a bank that in 2023-24 generated $9.48 billion in profits, it is preposterous to shut down the Doonside branch, which provides services to so many people. In its correspondence, the bank said that customers can use the brand-new, larger Westpoint branch. There were two branches in Blacktown but they were merged into one smaller branch, which is atrocious. We, the people of 2767, will stand up and make sure that branch stays open.

Ms Doyle MP (Member for the Blue Mountains): I thank the member for Blacktown for raising that issue in this place. I support him because it is important to acknowledge the distress felt by residents when banks close their branches. It is particularly difficult for many older residents and others who cannot use technology and like to do their banking in the old-fashioned way. I thank the member for Blacktown for sharing the anger that some in our community feel. Something similar has happened recently in the Blue Mountains. The ANZ closed its Katoomba branch after promising not to close any regional branches for three years. It has now closed two branches and there is no branch between Penrith and Bathurst. Shame on ANZ.