The Department of Education has announced that school banking programs are to be terminated.
The decision follows a review of the programs by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) which found them to have questionable benefits.
Minister for Education, Grace Grace said Queensland students already received extensive financial literacy education.
“It’s a different digital world now to when school banking began more than 50 years ago,” Ms Grace said.
“Our young people are growing up in a world where money can literally be at their fingertips with a wave of their watch or a tap of their phone.”
She said schools were now giving students skills to help manage their money responsibly while being cyber-safe and avoiding the potential pitfalls modern technology could bring.
“Students from Prep to Year 10 are taught the Australian Curriculum and teachers use the MoneySmart resources to tailor lessons to suit different age groups,” Ms Grace said.
“This decision is in the best interests of our students.”
The ASIC report, released last year, found that school banking couldn’t be proven to improve savings behaviour and exposed young children to “sophisticated advertising and marketing tactics”.
It also found that the banks used programs to acquire customers, but were not transparent enough about it.
Ms Grace said the Department of Education’s agreement with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia would not be renewed when its contract ends on 31 July.
Bendigo Bank also operated school programs in Queensland, but withdrew from school banking before the release of the ASIC report.
Ms Grace said students could continue to hold their existing Commonwealth Bank accounts in a private capacity.
