Financial Claims Scheme: Banks, building societies and credit unions

Under the Financial Claims Scheme (FCS), deposits are protected up to a limit of $250,000 for each account holder at each bank, building society and credit union (also known as authorised deposit-taking institutions or ADIs) that is incorporated in Australia and authorised by APRA.

The FCS covers a wide range of deposit accounts, including transaction, savings and cheque accounts, term deposits and mortgage offset accounts (where the offset account is a separate deposit account). The FCS does not apply to deposit accounts with funds in foreign currencies.

To find out more about which accounts are covered, see our Types of accounts covered under the FCS page. 

An account holder can be an individual, but it can also be an entity such as a company, a trust or a self-managed superannuation fund.

If the FCS is activated by the Australian Government following the failure of an ADI, APRA will endeavour to pay account holders within seven calendar days. In most cases, FCS payment would be made either by cheque, or electronically to an alternate account nominated by the account holder. In the event of the FCS being activated, APRA and the entity would communicate directly with the depositors on any steps they need to take to access their FCS payment.

If you would like to find out whether your deposits are protected under the FCS, visit our Deposit Checker page.