Which banks and credit unions are covered by the government’s deposit guarantee?

The Australian Government guarantees deposits, up to $250,000, that are held in Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions (ADIs)– also known as banks and credit unions. The government does this to reassure consumers that if something happens to their bank or credit union, their deposits will be repaid to them by the government.

The government guarantee on deposits gives people confidence to deposit cash into smaller institutions in particular.

But there are some details that you need to keep in mind.

What is the government’s deposit guarantee?

The Australian government’s guarantee on deposits in the banking system is called the Financial Claims Scheme (FCS). It protects the deposits in Australian banks and credit unions if the institution fails or is unable to pay its debts or honour withdrawal requests from account holders.

In the unlikely event that a bank or credit union ‘fails’ of is unable to fund withdrawals, the government has accepted liability to repay all depositors, up to $250,000 each.

How much is the government deposit guarantee?

The government’s deposit guarantee, called the Financial Claims Scheme, covers the first $250,000 of deposits held by an account holder in one ADI. Any money over that amount is not covered.

People with more than $250,000 to deposit should consider splitting their money into more than one deposit and sharing it around different institutions in order to ensure that it is completely covered.

What is the big catch with the FCS?

One big catch with the FCS is that it is limited to $250,000 per institution. So if you have more than $250,000 to deposit, you need to split the money and put it in more than one institution to be covered.

BUT – did you know that many of Australia’s banks and lenders are merely brand names of other Australian banks? And the government doesn’t care about branding, just who is really behind the bank.

The Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority warns:

“When determining whether the total value of all your accounts with an ADI is below the $250,000.00 limit, it’s important to include any accounts that you hold which have been marketed by the ADI under a different name.”

For example, RAMS, St George Bank, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA are all owned by Westpac, so all of these brands are just one ADI – the Westpac Group.

How the government deposit guarantee scheme works

Case study: Mavis has $300,000 in term deposits and savings accounts. She wants all her money to be covered by the scheme so she withdraws more than $50,000 and deposits that in another bank.

Now Mavis has less than $250,000 in two separate institutions so her whole $300,000 is covered by the FCS.

Which banks and credit unions are covered by the federal government’s deposit guarantee (Financial Claims Scheme)?

This list of banks and credit unions covered by the government deposit guarantee are all Australian authorised deposit taking institutions.

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AMP Bank

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group

Australian Central Credit Union trading as People’s Choice Credit Union

Australian Military Bank

Australian Unity Bank

Auswide Bank

B&E Ltd trading as Bank of us

Bananacoast Community Credit Union

Bank Australia

Bank First

Bank of Queensland

Bank of us

BankVic

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank

Beyond Bank Australia

BNK Banking Corporation

Border Bank

Cairns Penny Savings & Loans

Central Murray Credit Union

Central West Credit Union

Coastline Credit Union

Commonwealth Bank of Australia

Community First Credit Union

Credit Union Australia

Credit Union SA

Defence Bank

Dnister Ukrainian Credit Co-operative

EECU trading as Nexus Mutual

Endeavour Mutual Bank

Family First Credit Union

Fire Service Credit Union

Firefighters & Affiliates Credit Co-operative

Firefighters Mutual Bank

First Choice Credit Union

First Option Bank

Ford Co-operative Credit Society trading as Geelong Bank

G&C Mutual Bank

Gateway Bank

Geelong Bank

Goulburn Murray Credit Union Co-operative

Greater Bank

Health Professionals Bank

Heritage Bank

Horizon Credit Union

Hume Bank

Hunter United Employees’ Credit Union

IMB Bank

Illawarra Credit Union

Indue

Judo Bank

Laboratories Credit Union

Lithuanian Co-operative Credit Society “Talka”

Lutheran Laypeople’s League of Australia

Lysaght Credit Union

MacArthur Credit Union

Macquarie Bank

Macquarie Credit Union

Maitland Mutual Building Society

MCU

Members Banking Group trading as RACQ Bank

Members Equity Bank

MyLifeMyFinance

MyState Bank

National Australia Bank

Newcastle Permanent Building Society

Nexus Mutual

Northern Inland Credit Union

Orange Credit Union

People’s Choice Credit Union

Police Bank trading as Border Bank

Police Credit Union

Police Financial Services trading as BankVic

Police & Nurses trading as P&N Bank

Pulse Credit Union

QPCU trading as QBANK

Qudos Mutual trading as Qudos Bank

Queensland Country Credit Union

RACQ Bank

Railways Credit Union trading as MOVE

Regional Australia Bank

South West Slopes Credit Union

Southern Cross Credit Union

South-West Credit Union Co-Operative

Summerland Financial Services trading as Summerland Credit Union

Suncorp-Metway

Sydney Credit Union

Teachers Mutual Bank Limited

Broken Hill Community Credit Union

The Capricornian

Traditional Credit Union

Transport Mutual Credit Union

Tyro Payments

UniBank

Unity Bank

Victoria Teachers

volt bank

Warwick Credit Union

WAW Credit Union Co-Operative

Westpac Banking Corporation

Woolworths Employees’ Credit Union

Xinja Bank

You can compare savings accounts and term deposits from Australia’s banks and credit unions at InfoChoice.

The information contained on this web site is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. You should consider whether the information is appropriate to your needs, and where appropriate, seek professional advice from a financial adviser. If you or someone you know is in financial stress, contact the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007.