The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has published its 2026 Points of Presence Statistics, showing that Australian banks’ physical service networks continued to contract, although more slowly than in previous years. The number of branches nationwide fell 3% between June 2025 and June 2026, while the decline in regional and remote areas slowed to 1.7%, the smallest reduction since the data series began. The smaller regional and remote decline was partly attributed to the moratorium on regional branch closures agreed between the Australian government and major banks. The annual data cover branches, other face-to-face locations, Bank@Post, ATMs and EFTPOS machines operated by authorized deposit-taking institutions, but exclude online and mobile banking and services operated by nonbanks.
Australian Prudential Regulation Authority publishes 2026 banking access data showing branch numbers fell 3%
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority reported that bank branch numbers fell 3% between June 2025 and June 2026 as the contraction in physical banking services continued at a slower pace. Regional and remote areas recorded a 1.7% decline, the smallest since the data series began, partly reflecting the moratorium on regional branch closures.