Weekly Update: 28 March 2025

---

Highlights this week:

1. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has today called the election for Saturday, 3 May.
2. The Government and Opposition unveil new cost of living policies for households and businesses.
3. Monthly CPI comes in below forecast at 2.4%.

Quote of the week:
“We know the foundations of future success start with more competitiveness, and a more productive economy. That’s why we’re reforming the payments system, our financial market infrastructure, approvals processes, our foreign investment framework and more.”

–  Jim Chalmers, Treasurer. Address to the National Press Club, 26 March 2025.

---

Media & Communications Update:

The ABA distributed a media release following the 2025-26 Federal Budget welcoming measures to support small businesses, more housing and banking services in the Pacific.

---

Parliamentary Update:

Treasurer Jim Chalmers handed down the 2025–26 Federal Budget on Tuesday night, with a focus on additional income tax cuts. Other measures included energy bill rebates, housing affordability initiatives, and further funding for Medicare.

The Pacific Banking Guarantee Bill progressed to its second reading in the House of Representatives this week. The bill establishes a special appropriation to cover potential liabilities under guarantees provided to Australian banks operating in the Pacific.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton delivered his Budget Reply on Thursday night, outlining the Coalition’s priorities: cuts to the fuel excise, reining in inflationary spending and reducing the cost of energy.

Senate Estimates commenced this week, with the Department of Finance and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet appearing before the Finance and Public Administration Committee on Thursday. Treasury and related agencies were scheduled to appear before the Economics Committee on Friday; however, these hearings have been suspended following the calling of the federal election.

---

Policy Update:

On Wednesday, the ABA attended the quarterly Security Issues Working Group Forum hosted at Macquarie’s office. The forum brought together physical security experts from various banks to collaborate on enhancing bank security by sharing data, insights, and best practices.

On Tuesday, several ABA members attended the AUSTRAC Industry Forum to discuss progress on draft rules feedback, digital transformation updates, and the reform education approach.

The ABA met Attorney General Mark Dreyfus’ office to discuss the need for a staggered timeframe for AML implementation.

ABA policy teams:

• met with the AICD regarding APRA’s Governance changes.
• attended the ABA/ATO quarterly Working group meeting.
• met with Treasury to discuss the Regulatory Initiatives Grid.

---

Economic Update:

Monthly Consumer Price Index for the twelve months to February came in at 2.4%, a 0.1% decrease from January and slightly below expectations. Trimmed CPI was also 0.1% lower at 2.7%.

---

Regulatory Update:

Brad Jones, Assistant Governor (Financial System) of the RBA, gave a fireside chat at the Australian Payments Plus Beyond Tomorrow 2025 conference.

ASIC announced the remade relief instrument for 31-day notice term deposits.

---

Coming up next week:

Data:

• 01/04 – Retail Trade
• 02/04 – Building Approvals
• 03/04 – Job Vacancies
• 04/04 – Monthly Household Spending Indicator

---

Upcoming Submissions:

Published submissions

---

Upcoming Events:

---

Selected Media:

• SMH – More borrowers are ditching their bank as refinancing rate picks up
• The Australian – Back-to-back rate cuts unlikely even as inflation slows in February
• ABC -Is Australia’s economy on track for a ‘soft landing’? The budget papers say it is
• The Australian – Austrac gets a boost amid casino windfall, as pacific bank deals leave government exposed
• SMH – What are the key election dates? How does the caretaker period work?

Warm regards,
The ABA Team

Weekly Update