Cheques Transition Updates

August 2025

The Cheques Transition Program has continued to build momentum in line with the Australian Treasury’s roadmap to phase out cheque issuance by 30 June 2028 and acceptance by 30 September 2029.

Significant progress has been made across multiple aspects of the Program:

• ACCC authorisation: AusPayNet received the final determination from the ACCC on 2 July granting authorisation for the Cheques Transition Program on the condition that Treasury remains a permanent member of the Cheques Steering Committee (CSC), Cheques Transition Plan Working Group (CTPWG) and Cheques Communications Working Group (CCWG). The determination came into effect on 24 July 2025. 
   
• Migration planning: industry-wide 'Gold' and 'Silver' Milestones have been established. A detailed roadmap is currently being developed that will reflect Member-level plans. The Program will initiate tracking progress to these milestones in September 2025.
  • The Program is actively working with Members to define an exit criterion for a bank to cease chequing services.
• Migration strategy: key cheques use case categories have been established and a detailed use case repository is currently being developed.
  • Use case migration strategies are currently being developed in collaboration with Members and will further facilitate a coordinated approach to migration.
• Industry progress tracking: the Program has established an approach to monitor progress of the industry and will leverage a set of dashboards to track and publish progress against industry milestones and overall cheque volume decline. 
   
• Cheques user engagement: AusPayNet has initiated engagements with key user groups across the government, consumers (via advocacy groups) and businesses (via peak bodies). Relevant state and territory departments are also being engaged to address legislative and regulatory barriers in a coordinated and timely manner.
   
• Industry-wide communication: common messages are being designed to be used by industry to raise awareness about the transition, related timelines, and to reinforce the commitment of the industry in assisting customers with a smooth and orderly transition. 

The Program will continue to share migration progress updates and will operationalise mechanisms (such as FAQs) to support consumers and end users in their transition to alternative methods. 

For any queries or feedback, please reach out to our Head of Transition Programs.