On 1 of June 2021 CUA (CREDIT UNION OF AUSTRALIA) became a bank naming itself Great Southern Bank.

3 months later on the 1st of September they announced that on 1st October 2021,  they will close the only face to face branch in Cairns, a city with a population of $150'000.

This is the fourth Credit Union I joined that has changed into or has been taken over by a bank and then, immediately reduced services to the people, who as a matter of fact , own it and I have a gut full of it.

In the past I just changed to the next Credit Union that offered decent services to its customers. However, I think it is time that we, the members and owners of this bank stand up and demand that services to the banks members be prioritized over profits.

Having no Great Southern Branch in Cairns will mean members have to wait in long phone ques to speak to some one when problems arise. Applying for a house loan is one area where this will make  a great impact. In my own experience I visited my branch a dozen times when applying for the loan and afterwards to sort out a computer glitch that calculated or repayments wrong. Splitting the loan again required multiple sit downs with branch staff and I honestly don't know how I would have coped doing this over the phone.

 New migrants and people with English as their second language will be especially disadvantaged.