The Two-Speed Banking Reality in Remote Australia
For residents of the Dampier Peninsula, 2,000 kilometres north of Perth, accessing basic banking services requires a choice no Australian should have to make: put food on the table or travel to Broome to access their own money. “It has come to the realisation that we either put food on the table or we travel,” said Veronica Johnson, a financial counsellor with Goolboo Jawal, the financial counselling service of Djarindjin Aboriginal Corporation. “But one has to work with the other because if you can’t access your money, then you can’t buy the food”.
This is the reality of financial exclusion in 21st-century Australia. It is not a story of individual failure—it is a story of systemic neglect compounded by the rapid digitisation of banking services that assumes reliable internet access, digital literacy, and proximity to physical infrastructure that many remote communities simply do not have.
A Community-Led Blueprint for Change
Goolboo Jawal is proposing a solution that deserves national attention: an Indigenous-owned and led banking hub that would serve approximately 2,000 residents across the Dampier Peninsula, regardless of which bank they use. The hub would train and employ up to three part-time community members, reducing the need for costly travel to Broome and providing culturally appropriate banking assistance.
Veronica Johnson described the proposal as “a blueprint for the rest of the First Nation communities,” requiring a “modest” contribution from Australia’s major banks. “It’s not a lot given the billions of dollars the banks make in profit, to give back to the most vulnerable,” she said. “I think half a million dollars would get us started and do a pilot”.
The proposal has community support. Bardi Jawi elder Bernadette Angus noted that “if I have problems, they’ll know and can see where we’re coming from. It’d be much easier for us, so we can sit and [they can] talk to us mob and look into things that are difficult for the people here”.
The Broader First Nations Financial Literacy Landscape
The Djarindjin proposal is one of several community-led initiatives gaining momentum in 2026. The Albanese Labor Government has invested an additional $2 million to extend the Hoops for Wealth program in the Northern Territory, delivered in partnership by Hoops for Health and the Brotherhood of St. Laurence. The program provides practical, culturally informed financial education sessions focused on banking, superannuation, scams, debt, and gambling—delivered face-to-face, in language, and designed around local cultural knowledge. More than 250 participants have already completed the program, with up to 400 more expected to participate thanks to the additional funding.
The 2025 Australian Digital Inclusion Index shows that First Nations Australians experience digital exclusion at twice the rate of other Australians, significantly increasing their risk of financial stress and vulnerability to scams. This digital divide means that well-intentioned online financial education resources often fail to reach the communities that need them most.
Why Culturally Responsive Financial Education Works
The success of programs like Hoops for Wealth and the proposed Djarindjin hub lies in their design philosophy: they are First Nations-led, culturally responsive, and grounded in local knowledge and priorities. Minister for Social Services Tanya Plibersek noted that “by backing community-led programs like this, we’re supporting people to build financial capability in ways that respect culture, language and local knowledge—and that lasts”.
This approach stands in contrast to one-size-fits-all financial literacy programs that assume universal banking experiences and digital access. For First Nations Australians, financial education must also contend with historical exclusion from the banking system, intergenerational trauma, and the ongoing impacts of colonisation on economic participation.
The path forward requires sustained investment, genuine partnership, and a recognition that financial inclusion is not merely about access to services—it is about economic self-determination and the ability of communities to shape their own financial futures.