State boots banks from school
The Victorian Government has banned Commonwealth’s Dollarmites scheme and other “low-quality” school banking programs.
New school-run programs about financial skills will replace the bank-run schemes.
The Dollarmites program, delivered by the Commonwealth Bank (CBA), is the most prominent of the corporate school banking programs.
CBA pays hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to keep the scheme in schools.
A review by the regulator ASIC has found only “limited evidence” that the school banking programs teach students good habits.
Consumer advocacy group Choice and the Australian Education Union are both opposed to the schemes.
“Victorian students deserve high-quality financial literacy free from commercial interests — that's why we're banning financial institutions from delivering school banking programs,” Education Minister James Merlino said in a statement.
The CBA says it is “surprised and disappointment with this decision by the Victorian Government”.
“This will have an impact on thousands of children, families, school communities and volunteers, right across the state,” a spokesperson said.
“We will be supporting our impacted teams and school partners across Victoria and determining what this means for them going forward.”