Weekly Update: 24 July 2026

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Key News:

• ABA CEO Simon Birmingham spoke to 2SM’s Tim Webster and ABC Illawarra’s Melinda James about money mules, banks’ efforts to combat scams and money laundering.
• The ABA and major banks appeared before the Senate Select Committee on Productivity in Australia, highlighting the banking sector’s role in supporting productivity and advocating for consent-based sharing of ATO tax data via the CDR to streamline loan approvals and reduce document fraud.

“You might just think it’s harmless letting somebody access your bank account and getting a few hundred bucks in return, but these are crime syndicates, these are money launderers. You may well be helping to scam a vulnerable Australian out of their life savings.”

ABA CEO Simon Birmingham. Interview with 2SM’s Tim Webster, 21 July 2026

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Media & Communications Update:

• The ABA published its opening statement to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee: Cash Distribution Framework Bill 2026 & published its opening statement to the Senate Select Committee on Productivity in Australia.
• The ABA provided a statement to Yahoo Finance on access to ATO data in lending, saying “Secure access to ATO data isn’t just a fraud prevention measure but a productivity measure that can make loan applications simpler for consumers and give them faster, more accurate approvals processes.”
• The ABA has continued its digital campaign on secure, consent based access to ATO data in lending. Social media assets can be downloaded here.

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Political Update:

• The Labor Party’s National Conference is taking place in Adelaide. Members and unions are expected to focus on gambling reform, gas exports, AI, aviation oversight, local government funding and superannuation.
  • Commitments so far have included the establishment of a Fair Work Court and the expansion of the Commonwealth Prac Payment.
  • “I know that there are real concerns about how fast AI is moving and the disruption that it might bring, and we can only manage that and protect ourselves if Australia is active and confident in shaping this.” – Anthony Albanese
• The AEC determined that the number of seats in the House of Representatives will remain unchanged – at 150 – for the next election. The Commission signalled that trends in relative population growth could lead to changes at future elections, especially in Queensland and Western Australia.

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Economic Update:

• In June 2026 the unemployment rate stayed at 4.4%, employed people increased 76,300 to 14,823,300 and the employment to population ratio increased 0.3pts to 64.0%.
• The number of underemployed people has exceeded one million for the first time since November 2021. However, the number of underemployed people remains lower than the average number leading into the COVID-19 period.

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Regulatory Update

• APRA granted Revolut an Australian banking licence, five years after it initially applied.
• ASIC announced that it secured a record $830 million in civil penalties for the 2025-26 financial year, highlighting its strongest enforcement period on record.
• ASIC published Commissioner Alan Kirkland’s speech to the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia Conference, titled ‘The best interests duty: A blueprint for building trust’.
• The RBA published insights from its community survey, highlighting that while trust in the central bank remains stable, inflation is by far the top economic concern for two-thirds of Australians.

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Upcoming Submissions

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Selected Media

• AFR – Will Iran worsen our housing correction? It probably depends on China
• Yahoo Finance – Push for major banking and ATO change to combat billions in fraudulent mortgage loans
• AFR – Banks push for better access to tax data to combat loan fraud
• ABC – June unemployment rate steady at 4.4 per cent but underemployment ticks up
• Daily Telegraph – Inside the open market where Australian bank accounts become tools for crime

Warm regards,
The ABA Team

Weekly Update