Money management

The Commonwealth Bank believes that all Australians should have the opportunity to develop money management skills.

The Commonwealth Bank recognises that people with good money management skills will help to build a more secure and financially stable Australia. That’s why we have been supporting financial literacy education for more than 70 years and we encourage our customers to have sensible credit practices.

Our research into financial literacy identified those with the lowest levels of money management skills and we now have programs in place to help these groups. The Commonwealth Bank has developed programs for young people and Indigenous communities to assist them to become more financially literate.

Many of these programs are delivered and funded by the Commonwealth Bank Foundation.

Youth programs

The Commonwealth Bank has a long history of teaching Australia’s youth about banking. It is a tradition our money management programs continue today. We develop programs that are both engaging and effective and seek to measure student progress with a national quantitative assessment.

StartSmart – The Commonwealth Bank Foundation is proud to offer our award winning StartSmart programs free of charge to primary and secondary school students across Australia. Since the program originally started in 2007, we have reached over 120,000 students across Australia.

The Foundation has worked in close consultation with education experts to create a program that is high energy, interactive, engaging and most importantly educational to ensure that young people walk away with essential skills in money management.

Delivered on school premises by our team of expert facilitators, StartSmart has an offering for students at all stages of their education. These sessions do not promote the products of the Commonwealth Bank.

The Foundation also supports teachers with its curriculum resources.

School Banking provides fee-free bank accounts aimed at encouraging young people to save and providing the convenience of conducting their banking at primary school, teaching them the principles of banking and sound money management. 

Indigenous programs

Our Indigenous programs form a key part of our Reconciliation Action Plan. This plan outlines our commitment to assist in closing the 17-year life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children.

The Group believes it is important to support the Indigenous communities in which we operate. The programs and initiatives we have in place are all about supporting economically sustainable Indigenous communities. Our Indigenous Banking Team are focused on the following areas:

• Employment & Training
• Financial Literacy & Education
• Financial Services
• Enterprise Support
• Cultural Appreciation
• Trust & Team Spirit