A JOINT study by National Australia Bank and the Centre for Social Impact measuring the extent of financial exclusion in Australia has found one in seven Australian adults are either fully or severely excluded from accessing basic financial services.
According to the ‘financial exclusion indicator’, not having access to basic services such as transaction accounts or small personal loans leaves one in seven adults susceptible to predatory lending practices.
It also found that 2.65 million Australian adults would have difficulty raising $3,000 in an emergency, and many lack access to basic banking services.
“As the largest study of its kind, the NAB/CSI Financial Exclusion Indicator is a very important piece of research. It’s the first time Australia has been able to measure and understand the full dimensions of financial exclusion,” CSI chief executive Peter Shergold said.
NAB group chief executive Cameron Clyne said financial exclusion needed to be better understood by governments, the financial sector and community organisations in order to reverse the impacts.
The research aims to define and deepen understanding of financial exclusion in Australia and its relationship with social and economic disadvantage.
This national financial exclusion indicator is an annual measurement, which will be publicly released each year.