A State Bank
to Make Victoria More Affordable
The Australian Citizens Party proposes establishing a publicly owned State Bank to serve Victorians, restore accessible banking services and direct public finance towards the needs of households and communities.
Victoria's former State Savings Bank helped finance home ownership and supported the construction of affordable homes, demonstrating how public banking can play a role beyond conventional commercial lending. Today, a new State Bank could help finance the construction of public and affordable housing, support first-home buyers with suitable long-term, low-interest loans, and restore accessible banking through Australia Post outlets.
By helping expand housing supply, improving access to affordable finance and providing a public alternative to the major banks, a State Bank could contribute to easing cost-of-living pressures and giving Victorians greater economic security.
Our proposal is to use public finance to serve the public interest, with investment directed towards productive projects that benefit Victorian households and communities.
The Data:
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Count them yourself. APRA's June 2026 figures, published on 14 October, put Victoria at 728 bank branches - down from 1,361 nine years ago. Every one of those was a shopfront in a town, with a person behind the counter.
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633 branches have closed in Victoria since 2017 - 46.5% of the state's network in nine years. Not one of them was replaced.
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In the year to 30 June 2026, Victoria lost another 20 bank branches, from 748 to 728. The moratorium the banks keep talking about did not stop them.
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Across Australia the branch network fell by 97 branches, or 3.0%, in the year to June 2026. There are now 3,108 bank branches serving 27 million people.
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This is not our number. The Australian Banking Association says more than 600 regional locations around the country have lost a bank in recent years - and warns that when a branch goes, other businesses follow.
More to come…