BRISBANE, March 11, 2026, 08:05 AEST
ANZ Group plans to bring back its Chinchilla branch in regional Queensland during the second half of 2026, marking an unusual step back into in-person banking for one of Australia’s big lenders. The announcement lands just ahead of the permanent closure of the town’s Suncorp Bank agency, set for May 29.
Timing is key here: regional banking’s become a flashpoint in Australia. Back in February 2025, Canberra reported that since 2017, 36% of regional bank branches had shut down. The government locked in a pledge with the major banks, pausing regional branch closures until July 31, 2027.
ANZ’s latest move ties back to the commitments it made in its Suncorp acquisition. The lender wrapped up the A$4.9 billion Suncorp Bank buyout in July 2024, looking to bolster its footprint in Queensland. With Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ sign-off, the approval came loaded with legal requirements: ANZ and Suncorp branches in regional areas can’t shut for three years, and Suncorp’s branch numbers across Queensland must hold steady through the same window.
Bruce Rush, who heads ANZ operations in Queensland and also serves as Suncorp Bank’s chief executive, pointed to a continuing need for “face-to-face service” among customers, calling the reopening evidence that “ANZ is here”. The branch plans to open its doors five days a week, providing support for households, farmers and small businesses. ANZ
Rush cited the inability to find a suitable new location as the reason for shutting down the Suncorp Bank agency in Chinchilla. ANZ, for its part, said it plans to support Suncorp’s local customers as they move through the change.
The move bucks the broader trend of shrinking physical bank networks. Across Australia, APRA reported a 4.6% drop in bank branches from June 2024 to June 2025. Regional and remote locations, though, saw the slowest pace of closures since APRA started tracking, thanks in part to the government’s freeze on shutting down rural branches.
ANZ, the country’s number four bank, is working to convince investors it can strip back complexity while still pushing into growth markets. Back in February, it reported first-quarter cash profit—its go-to metric that leaves out major one-offs—of A$1.94 billion, a jump of 17% compared to the previous half’s quarterly average. That result, said Citigroup’s Thomas Strong, highlighted “faster than expected progress on costs.” Reuters
The overhaul hasn’t been smooth. Back in January, Reuters flagged that ANZ was slashing jobs in various Suncorp Bank units, which triggered the Finance Sector Union to challenge whether the bank could stick to the assurances it made when the deal got the green light. ANZ responded, maintaining it would honor its commitments on regional branches and jobs.
The federal government’s regional banking commitments shield Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, and NAB until July 2027. ANZ’s decision falls under that same microscope, just like any branch move by Australia’s big lenders.
Timing is the sticking point here. Suncorp’s agency shuts its doors in late May, but ANZ’s branch won’t return before the back half of 2026. That gap puts pressure on ANZ to manage the handover and keep Suncorp customers on board while integration moves ahead.
