The new Code expresses our commitment to member benefit, community involvement, fairer fees and customer service. It sets out 10 key promises and specific ways we will deliver on those promises. We undertake to comply with this Code in all our dealings with you.
Our 10 Key Promises to You
- We will be fair and ethical in our dealings with youWe will always act honestly and with integrity, and will treat you fairly and reasonably in all our dealings with you.
- We will focus on our MembersWe will place a high priority on service, competitiveness and customer focus. We will provide friendly and reliable service to our customers. Our customer service standards will be appropriately tailored where we are aware that you have special needs (for example, because of your age or a disability, because you are an indigenous person, because English is not your first language, or because you are unfamiliar with financial products and services).
- We will give you clear information about our products and servicesWe will provide clear and accessible information about our products and services, so you can make an informed decision about the product you want. We will disclose interest rates, fees and charges in an accessible and clear format and provide you with regular account statements. We will give you information on how to minimise fees and charges. Our advertising and promotional material will not be misleading.
- We will be responsible lendersWe will lend responsibly, and will try to assist you if you find yourself in financial
difficulties. - We will deliver high customer service and standardsWe will issue and distribute products and provide services that are useful, reliable and of value to our customers. We will make sure our staff and agents or representatives are well trained. We will promote secure and reliable banking and financial services, and keep you up to date on any changes to the products and services we provide to you. We will treat your personal information as private and confidential.
- We will deal fairly with any complaintsWe will handle complaints promptly and fairly and provide you with information on avenues for resolving disputes if we are not able to reach agreement with you.
- We will recognise Member rights as ownersAs customer owned banking institutions our customers are our owners. We will ensure that you receive information that is balanced and adequate on the benefits, costs and impacts of any reasonable proposal to change our ownership structure. As far as possible, we will ensure that any information on proposals to change our ownership structure provided to you by other parties is fair and not misleading.
- We will comply with our legal and industry obligationsWe will be responsible, prudent managers of our institution, and will comply with all our obligations under the law and relevant codes of practice. We will act fairly and consistently with good banking and financial service industry practice.
- We will recognise our impact on the wider communityThe customer owned banking sector has a strong community focus. We will take account of the impact of our operations on staff, the communities we serve and our customers. We will promote community engagement and will contribute to community activities and projects.
- We will support and promote the Customer Owned Banking Code of PracticeWe will promote the Customer Owned Banking Code of Practice, ensure that our staff is trained to put it into practice, and support its monitoring and effectiveness.
For more details
You can get a full copy of the Code at any of our Service Centres or clicking here. The Code includes detailed provisions on how we will handle fees and rates, credit limit increases, guarantees, account statements, chargebacks, members in financial difficulty, debt recovery, reverse mortgages, finance broking and complaints.
Changes to terms and conditions
The terms and conditions of your accounts will not change. However, the way we tell you about changes to your account will change a little, for the better. From now on:
We will give you at least 20 days advance notice before we:
- Introduce a new fee or charge
- Increase a fee or charge
- Reduce the number of fee-free transactions permitted on the account
- Vary the minimum balance to which an account keeping fee applies
- Vary the method by which interest on your account is calculated, or
- Vary the circumstances when interest is credited or debited to your account.
We will notify you of an increase in the interest we charge on your loan or credit facility no later than the day on which the change takes effect. We will also advise you of any new minimum repayment amount. We will notify you of other changes to your account when we next communicate with you.
Telling you about changes to terms and conditions
We may notify you of changes in these ways: on or with your account statement; notification by letter or other direct communication; announcement via our newsletter or website; or advertisement in the local media or national media. In deciding the method of notification, we will consider the nature and extent of the change, as well as the cost and effectiveness of different methods of notification.
Code Compliance Committee
The Code created an independent code monitoring body, the Code Compliance Committee (CCC). The Committee’s role is to ensure that Code Subscribers meet the standards of good practice we agreed to adopt.
If you believe that we have breached the code, you can contact Code Compliance Committee (CCC):
- telephone CCC General Enquiries on 1300 780 808 between 9am and 5pm ( Melbourne time)
- write to the Code Compliance Committee, PO Box 14240, Melbourne VIC 8001; or
- lodge a complaint online at Code Compliance Committee Mutuals
