Authorised deposit-taking institutions’ Points of Presence Review – Frequently asked questions

APRA’s ADI Points of Presence data collection and publication is a detailed listing of the physical banking service channels provided across Australia by ADIs. It is released annually by APRA. Click on the link to access the latest Points of Presence data for June 2022. 

APRA’s review implements Recommendation 7 of the Regional Banking Taskforce, which recommended APRA review its Points of Presence collection to better capture indicators on how banking services are accessed. 

Click on the link to access the Regional Banking Taskforce Final Report. 

The previous review of the Points of Presence data collection and publication commenced in 2015, and was completed in 2016. Given the ongoing shift in the delivery of banking services to digital channels, it is timely that the Points of Presence data collection and publication should once again be reviewed. 

The Points of Presence publication currently covers four types of service channels: 

• Face-to-face points of presence offering a branch level of service
• Other face-to-face points of presence (including Bank@Post)
• Automatic teller machines (ATMs)
• Electronic funds transfer at point of sale (EFTPOS) machines. 

The Points of Presence data collection and publication does not cover: 

• which banking services are provided at a physical point of presence;
• services without a fixed location, such as mobile bankers and travelling employees;
• non face-to-face banking services, such as online or via mobile banking applications; 
• services provided by providers that are not ADIs or Bank@Post providers, such as ATMs and funds transfer facilities operated by other service providers; and
• services outsourced by ADIs to other service providers, such as ATMs operated by a service provider under agreement with an ADI.  

APRA’s review of its Points of Presence data collection and publication aims to determine: 

• who uses the Points of Presence data;
• what users expect and need from the Points of Presence data; and 
• how information could best be provided to meet the needs of users.

The review also aims to determine if developments in the banking sector require a change to the purpose, categories, definitions or format of the data collection and publication.   

Consultation on the Points of Presence data collection and publication will occur in two parts. 

1. Scope user needs  
   
   
   
   This first discussion paper seeks stakeholder feedback on what users value about the Points of Presence data collection and publication, and how the current data collection and publication could be improved.
   
    
2. Propose solutions 
   
   
   
   Based on the outcomes of the first consultation, APRA will then seek feedback on proposed changes to the Points of Presence data collection and publication in a second discussion paper.

Submissions to this first consultation are due on Friday 23 June 2023.

APRA’s Points of Presence data collection sheds light on the important issue of bank branch closures by providing transparency on the number and location of bank branches around Australia, and changes over time. 

Through its review, APRA wants to continue to improve transparency on this matter, and to ensure the Points of Presence data collection and publication remains useful and relevant.

A decision to open or close a branch is ultimately a commercial decision for individual banks. The banks operating in Australia have a range of business models, including fully digital banks. APRA's prudential regulation does not define the number of bank branches in Australia, nor impose particular business models on banks.

APRA has not specified an end date for this review. The length of the review will depend on feedback from stakeholders and the improvements proposed. APRA will continue to update stakeholders as the review progresses. 

APRA’s review implements Recommendation 7 of the Regional Banking Taskforce, which recommended APRA review its Points of Presence collection to better capture indicators on how banking services are accessed. The Regional Banking Taskforce Final Report was published in September 2022. 

APRA’s review of the Points of Presence data collection and publication will therefore run concurrently with the Senate Inquiry. APRA looks forward to supporting the work of the Senate Inquiry through its review. 

APRA is keen to hear feedback from stakeholders. As well as seeking written submissions, APRA will consider requests from interested parties for targeted online forums, providing an additional platform for community and consumer groups to ask questions and provide feedback. 

Local governments or other community groups who wish to participate can email APRA at pointsofpresence@apra.gov.au.

APRA will also seek feedback from consumer representative groups as part of its consultation. 

APRA will consider requests for targeted online forums with community and consumer groups regarding the Points of Presence data collection, where possible. 

Local governments or other community groups who wish to participate can email APRA at pointsofpresence@apra.gov.au.

A decision to open or close a branch is ultimately a commercial decision for individual banks.  The banks operating in Australia have a range of business models, including fully digital banks. APRA's prudential regulation does not define the number of bank branches in Australia, nor impose particular business models on banks.

However, as digital banking technology advances and the availability of bank branch services declines, APRA wants to continue to improve transparency on this matter, and to ensure the Points of Presence data collection and publication remains useful and relevant. 

Points of Presence data were first published in March 2002, reflecting data as at June 2001. 

The Points of Presence publication stemmed from the Commonwealth Government’s response to the recommendations of the October 2000 House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, Finance and Public Administration Review of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority: Who will Guard the Guardians?

The recommendation was based on an earlier report from the same Committee, Regional Banking Services: Money too far away, published in March 1999. This report highlighted the gap in information on the delivery of banking services. 

Services provided by ADIs and Bank@Post providers are included in the data collection. This does not include services outsourced by ADIs to other service providers, such as ATMs operated by another service provider under agreement with an ADI. 

During 2015 and 2016, APRA reviewed the Points of Presence publication to ensure the publication remained relevant and useful. The review sought feedback on whether APRA should streamline, or cease, the Points of Presence publication to ease the reporting burden, consistent with the Government’s deregulation agenda. 

The review found the costs to the banking industry of the Points of Presence publication were small. APRA therefore continued to collect and publish points of presence data, but in a modified form. APRA implemented the following revisions to the publication:  

• established a tighter definition of other face-to-face points of presence (excluding points of presence without a fixed location, such as mobile lenders and travelling employees);
• removed the requirement to report non face-to-face points of presence (such as unmanned branches, telephone banking, internet banking and call centres);
• collected more accurate locational data of the points of presence (latitude and longitude); and
• captured additional information about the remoteness of these locations using the Australian Statistical Geography Standard. 

The revised format of the publication commenced in 2017.

In 2016, following the review of the Points of Presence data collection, APRA streamlined the data collection. Changes applied from 2017 onwards. 

Revisions to the format of the publication and the underlying data collected means data from 2017 onwards is not directly comparable with data from prior years. 

Hence, there is a series break between the years 2016 and 2017, and data prior to 2017 is not published in the current database. 

Archived versions of the Points of Presence data collection and publication can be found in the Australian Government Web Archive. The table below provides links to archived data by year. These archived publications reflect the reporting requirements, and the data submitted to APRA, at the time the respective publications were finalised.

Definitions of ‘branch’ and ‘Other face-to-face’ points of presence can be found in the APRA Reporting Standard 796.0 Points of Presence. 

A face-to-face point of presence must satisfy the following criteria: 



(a) provide face-to-face services; and

(b) maintain a fixed address. 



Face-to-face points of presence are categorised as either a branch or another face-to-face points of presence, based on whether or not the point of presence meets APRA’s minimum branch requirements. 

Definitions of ‘branch’ and ‘Other face-to-face’ points of presence can be found in the APRA Reporting Standard 796.0 Points of Presence. 

For a face-to-face point of presence to be categorised as a branch, the following minimum face-to-face services must all be provided. 

A branch: 

(a) accepts cash and other deposits (including business deposits) and provides change;

(b) facilitates the keeping of accounts for customer access, including the provision of account balances;

(c) opens and closes accounts;

(d) can facilitate or arrange the assessment of the credit risk of existing and potential customers; and

(e) offers additional services in the one establishment such as financial services, business banking and specialist lending, if these are generally available from the ADI. 

Paragraph (e) above does not necessarily mean that a financial adviser or business credit manager is to be available at the branch – the staff of the branch may simply act as a referral point for customers interested in these kinds of services.

Definitions of ‘branch’ and ‘Other face-to-face’ points of presence can be found in the APRA Reporting Standard 796.0 Points of Presence. 

A point of presence that satisfies the criteria to be a face-to-face point of presence but does not provide all of the minimum face-to-face services to be categorised as a branch will fall into the category of other face-to-face point of presence. 

Examples of other face-to-face points of presence include but are not limited to agencies, head offices, mini-branches etc. This category includes Bank@Post points of presence.

APRA updates the Points of Presence data collection and publication on a yearly basis. The latest data was released on 19 October 2022, publishing data as at June 2022.

When preparing the Points of Presence publication, APRA undertakes a quality review process. Where errors are identified, APRA engages with the entity directly to correct the error for the next publication. 

Under the definitions in APRA’s Reporting Standard 796.0 Points of Presence, tellerless ‘smart stores’ can be classified as a branch, depending on the other services they provide. This is because these stores can accept cash and deposits via ATMs and have staff available to assist with face-to-face services.  

A cashless location cannot be classified as a branch, as accepting cash is one of the minimum service requirements to be classified as a branch. 

APRA’s Points of Presence data show that over the past five years (between June 2017 and June 2022), the number of bank branches declined by: 

• 30% in major cities (a net decline of 1,003 branches) 
• 29% in regional and remote areas (a net decline of 677 branches)
• 30% nationally (a net decline of 1,680 branches).

The latest Points of Presence data was released on the APRA website on 19 October 2022, publishing data as at June 2022.