Who We Are

The Queenslanders Credit Union was formed for the same reason other credit unions came into existence – as an independent financial co-operative of people with a similar interest and/or a common bond (e.g. same employer industry or resident in a geographical area). The common bond for our credit union is the Public Service (State, Federal and Local).

On 12 November 1963, Mr Leo Barcham (foundation member and director since inception of Queenslanders Credit Union – retired June 1996) addressed the monthly council meeting of the State Service Union Executive, (QSSU), and moved a motion that the Industrial Union sponsor a credit union. The motion was carried.

Mr Barcham again addressed a meeting on 21st November 1963, explaining the credit union proposal. The proposal to form the Queensland Public Service Employees’ Credit Union Limited was endorsed at this meeting. We were the first credit union formed to service the State Government – Teachers and Police followed us. At the beginning we operated with volunteer staff from the QSSU but as the size of our operations increased, permanent paid employees were hired.

Our credit union undertook a major change on 1st June 1996 when we changed our name to Queenslanders Credit Union Limited.

We are Australian owned and the fifth largest credit union in the State and employ 50 staff. Our 20,000 members exercise voting shares, vote at AGMs and elect directors. We have seven Directors.

Queenslanders Credit Union is an ASIC registered, APRA regulated institution selling a full domestic banking service to a niche market using high tech delivery.

History

Credit co-operatives existed in one form or another in some Australian states as far back as 1905. In its early years, the co-operative approach to saving and borrowing attracted considerable public interest. However, during World War II, as a result of the economic conditions that prevailed, an embargo was placed on the formation of credit unions. In 1944 the embargo was lifted and two years later, the first of the modern Australian Credit Unions was registered in Sydney (Universal Credit Union). The founder, Kevin Yates, had observed credit unions during his military service in Nova Scotia, Canada, and what he saw inspired him to pioneer a similar set of social reform principles in Australia.

Although credit unions feature in only the recent chapters of Australian history, the co-operative principles at the core of their operations can be traced to the 1800’s and the early stages of Europe’s Industrial Revolution.

In the late 1840’s in Germany, new ground was broken by the mayor of a small village, Frederick Wilhelm Raiffeisen. He embraced the democratic principles of co-operation to form a mutual co-operative in which local farmers pooled their savings and lent to one another at reasonable rates of interest. By the turn of the century, credit unions gained in popularity and had been adopted by urban and rural communities across Europe, particularly in Switzerland, Austria and France.

In the early 1900’s, the credit union concept was introduced in North America and Canada. By 1934, representatives from 22 American states joined together to form the Credit Union National Association (CUNA).

Today’s credit union philosophy is still one of co-operation with an emphasis on people rather than profit. Credit unions help their member to better manage their finances and promote thrift. This co-operative concept has been embraced by many industry and employer groups and today’s movement is a mix of industry, community and affinity based credit unions.

Who we serve and who they are

Our members are State Public Servants, Local Government Employees and employees of corporatised and privatised government service entities like the Dept of Health, Dept of Primary Industries, Queensland Dept of State Revenue, Corrective Services and Hospitals.

We have our Head Office in the city of Brisbane and a branch in Townsville.

We are owned by our members and our philosophy towards them is very simple – provide exceptional service. We continually seek to expand our range of benefits and services and our Mission Statement reflects these values. We are then better placed to compete with banks, building societies and finance companies. Our goal is to save our members money!

We hold our Annual General Meeting normally in October. This meeting is open to all shareholding members and staff are encouraged to attend.

Financial Environment

Is Queenslanders Credit Union safe? We have been established since 1963 and currently manage a significant amount of assets for Queenslanders and their families. Our membership base is very strong and stable, i.e. public sector employees and their families. We also conform to strict Government Legislation.

Credit Unions were governed/regulated under the Qld Cooperative & Other Societies Act and later in 1986 by The Credit Societies Act. There was a further change in 1992 when they came under the Financial Institutions Code (National Legislation) and as from 1/7/2023 under APRA (Australian Prudential Regulation Authority).

There is a strong perception among consumers that credit unions rate ahead of competitors in interest rates, fees, friendliness, community orientation and their non-profit focus. As a non-bank financial institution or “Credit Union” our direct competitors are other state public service Credit Unions and Building Societies, Regional Banks and Major Banks.

Annual Report 2004 

Click here to download the 2004 Annual Report (619kb)

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