In an Australian-first, ICAN recently took representatives from six major banking organisations inside Lotus Glen Correctional Centre (LGCC) to hear directly from their incarcerated customers and correctional staff about the realities of accessing banking services while in custody.
Representatives from CommBank, Bendigo Bank, ANZ, Westpac, HSBC and the Australian Banking Association (ABA) travelled up the Kuranda Range alongside ICAN’s Prison Financial Wellbeing Team for a day focused on listening, learning and exploring solutions to long-standing barriers impacting financial inclusion in prison.
For ICAN Prison Project Coordinator, Sharon Edwards, the visit marked an important milestone in advocacy work that has been building for more than five years through frontline financial counselling casework. “Whilst our team are constantly working to share the experiences of the banks’ incarcerated customers, nothing replaces direct conversations with people who are living it for themselves. True understanding comes from listening to first-hand experience,” said Sharon.
ICAN first commenced financial wellbeing services in LGCC in March 2021, expecting the work to mirror community-based financial counselling. Instead, the team uncovered much deeper systemic issues.
“What emerged instead was a profound and systemic issue: people in custody were effectively excluded from basic banking services,” Sharon explained. “The demand for support around financial inclusion, particularly access to and control over bank accounts, was so acute that it quickly overtook traditional financial counselling work.”
The barriers are significant. Many people entering custody do not have a bank account, while others lose access to accounts, keycards or identification documents. Once incarcerated, opening new accounts, authorising third-party assistance and accessing funds can become extremely difficult.
Through intake referral data from more than 500 people coming into the prison, ICAN discovered that 17% entered Lotus Glen Correctional Centre without a bank account. Our casework has highlighted ongoing barriers including limited pathways to open accounts in prison, difficulties receiving keycards prior to release, inconsistent recognition of Powers of Attorney and limited communication channels between banks, prisoners and authorised third parties.
For people in custody, these issues have real-life impacts.
Without access to banking, people can struggle to receive money for essential items such as hygiene products, food, postage stamps and phone calls to family which they are required to pay for in prison. On release, the absence of an active bank account can delay access to Centrelink payments, housing and other critical supports needed to successfully reintegrate into the community.
In reflecting on the day, Westpac Director, Vulnerability Strategy, Tess Howard said
“The visit reinforced the complexity of financial needs for incarcerated customers, many of which extend well beyond standard banking,” said Tess.
“The lived experience shared by both individuals and staff was also particularly powerful, reinforcing the need to design responses that are grounded in real world context rather than assumption.”
“It highlights the importance of coordinated, cross-sector responses to help break entrenched cycles and reduce recidivism” she said.
Melissa Clare, Policy Director, Community Engagement at the Australian Banking Association, thanked ICAN for facilitating the engagement and creating a practical opportunity for the banking sector to better understand the challenges people in prison face. “Our recent visit provided banks with a practical and grounded guide to the real barriers faced by people in custody, and the pathways required to overcome them,” said Melissa.
The most tangible and transformative outcome of this work was the creation and launch of the new QCS Banking Form on 12 January, following more than five years of advocacy led by ICAN and other consumer advocates. The new form standardises the banking actions banks may be able to action, eliminates cheque payments in favour of direct EFT transfers and provides greater clarity, consistency and accountability across participating banks.
The impact has been immediate and significant. Turnaround times for banking requests have reduced from six to eight weeks down to as little as 24–48 hours, allowing people in custody faster access to funds for essential items such as phone calls, buy-ups, toiletries and hygiene products. The new process has also improved the ability for people to stop unauthorised transactions, protect accounts from misuse and access timely bank statements and feedback.
Importantly, the changes have reduced stress, decreased crisis referrals and improved financial wellbeing outcomes for people preparing to transition back into the community, including better access to Centrelink payments and essential post-release supports. What may appear administratively minor, a redesigned banking form, has translated into real financial security, dignity and trust for people who had previously been excluded from the banking system entirely.
However, ICAN says continued collaboration between banks, Queensland Corrective Services and community organisations remains critical to achieving meaningful reform.
ICAN is continuing to advocate for practical pathways that allow people in prison to open accounts prior to release, receive keycards before exiting custody and better authorise trusted third parties to assist with financial matters.
As Sharon reflected, the event was ultimately about recognising that access to banking is foundational to financial wellbeing, dignity and successful reintegration into community life.
Related Article: