The Commonwealth Bank’s Customer Advocate will be hosting its Community Council in Tamworth this week to explore the needs of customers in regional Australia, with a particular focus on mental health.
Recent Commonwealth Bank analysis of customer complaint data identified that customers living in regional areas are more likely to refer to mental health issues than those in city areas.
Customer Advocate Brendan French said the visit to Tamworth would help the Bank to better understand how to support customers experiencing mental health issues, review and potentially enhance processes, and ensure staff who are servicing those customers have the training and guidance they need.
“We have been visiting regional communities nationally for the past 12 months because we want to understand how to best respond to local issues,” Mr French said.
“Regional NSW reported high instances of customers reporting to be suffering from mental health related issues, which is why this visit, with the Community Council and executives from across the business is so important.”
The Community Council will include representatives from 20 organisations including Financial Counselling Australia, Domestic Violence NSW, National Seniors, Indigenous Consumer Assistance Network and the Country Women’s Association NSW, with mental health experts and other local stakeholders also joining the two-day workshop.
While in Tamworth, the Customer Advocate will visit local businesses and meet with small-business owners as part of their regional roadshow program.
“The regional roadshows allow us to meet with and hear first-hand from businesses and the community about their needs and how we can best meet those needs,” Mr French added.
The Customer Advocate team has a particular focus on helping customers who are disadvantaged, experiencing hardship, have language difficulties or face other special circumstances. The team also includes a dedicated team offering customers an independent alternative when resolving complaints.
For further information about the Commonwealth Bank Customer Advocate, visit www.commbank.com.au/customeradvocate