Cheques Transition Update

February 2026

The Program has successfully delivered Phase 1 (Program Setup, Industry Mobilisation & Roadmap) and has now progressed to Phase 2 (Execution of Transition Plan), which will run until the end of 2027. Phase 2 will focus on supporting implementation and monitoring of industry’s cheques volume-reduction plans (including communication strategies), managing the orderly early exit of any APCS Members, and mitigating associated risks and concerns. The Program will also continue to develop and implement industry-approved processes and industry communication artifacts and assets, identify and design migration strategies for niche use cases, and strengthen stakeholder engagement. As of December 2025, there are 47 Members of the APCS Framework.

Key highlights across the focus areas are outlined below:

Program roadmap and early exits: The early Member Exit process and criteria established in Phase 1 has been put into use to review transition plans of Members that intend to stop issuing or accepting cheques ahead of the Treasury milestone dates. This helps ensure potential customer, operational and ecosystem risks are identified and managed in a coordinated and sustainable manner. Information about early exits will also continue to be published on the AusPayNet website.
Industry transition monitoring: In addition to the industry dashboards introduced in the previous year, the Program is now focused on strengthening data collection to enable granular monitoring and insights development to allow for targeted action by the industry.
Use case migration strategies: The Program continues to identify alternative payment options for niche cheque use cases and develop clear, industry-approved processes and communication materials to facilitate a coordinated transition.
Government Working Group: The Cheques Government Working Group continues to focus on developing and executing plans and approaches for legislative amendments required to support the transition. Government agencies that make high use of cheques have also begun establishing dedicated teams and projects to support the transition away from their own use of cheques.
Industry communications: An initial media release was issued in December 2025 by the Program. The media release highlights the end of the cheques system in Australia, focusing on the volume and value of outstanding bank cheques and encouraging Australians to present these while the system remains open. A dedicated Cheques Transition Program website is planned to launch in Q2 2026, and will be aimed at providing up-to-date information, guidance and resources for the community.
Stakeholder engagement: The Program continues to engage with government agencies, consumer advocacy groups and business peak bodies to raise awareness of the transition plan, ascertain key use cases and customer-segment-specific considerations, and identify any potential concerns for the Program’s consideration.