Plan for businesses to be hit with hefty fines if they refuse cash payments

The use of cash has declined significantly in recent years due to the rise in popularity of digital payments, but independent federal MPs Andrew Gee, Bob Katter and Dai Le want to prevent notes and coins from becoming redundant.

This week they introduced the Keeping Cash Transactions in Australia Bill 2024 into Parliament.

They insist the legislation is “critical to protecting the availability and acceptance of cash payments across the country”.

MPs say many Australians in regional areas, including older people, either don’t have access to online payments or find the process too difficult.

“Many people, both in my electorate of Calare and across our great country, have concerns and fears that the use of cash for transactions in Australia is being phased out and will soon disappear,” Gee said.

“Shockingly, although the law states that notes and coins are legal tender, there is currently no legal requirement for notes or coins to be accepted for transactions in Australia.

“In other words, carrying Australian notes is no guarantee that you’ll be able to make a cash purchase – it’s all at the discretion of the business.” If a business lets you know they won’t accept cash, you don’t have to.”

The bill requires companies that offer goods and services in “face-to-face settings” to offer to accept and must accept cash payments of up to $10,000.

If it becomes law, there will be maximum civil penalties of $5,000 for individuals and $25,000 for companies. The bill also provides for an exemption from “important and practical exceptions.”

Cather, the member for Kennedy, said keeping physical money ensured people had a choice about how they made payments.

“Taking away cash and thereby taking away people’s choices and freedoms is fundamentally unfair,” the Australia Party MP told Katter.

“With money, we control it; we control how we spend them and how we save them.

“If we go cashless, we cede our control to a handful of executives who run the banks.

“These people who make millions of dollars can make decisions about our money with the push of a button.”

Earlier this year, Cater sparked a heated debate at Parliament House when his $50 bill was rejected in a cafe after he tried to pay for a meal.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says businesses can choose which payment types to accept – as long as they inform shoppers about payment terms before they buy.