On 16 February 2017 the Senate established the Select Committee on Lending to Primary Production Customers to inquire and report on the regulation and practices of financial institutions in relation to primary production industries, including agriculture, fisheries and forestry.
The terms of reference for the inquiry are available here.
The closing date for submissions is 16 June 2017. The committee is to inquire and report by 18 October 2017. On 27 November 2017 the Senate granted an extension of time for reporting until 6 December 2017.
The committee has resolved that:
- in conducting the inquiry, the committee will not investigate, or seek to resolve or adjudicate disputes between customers, banks or other parties; and
- where the experience of customers may inform the committee about the practices of banks, the committee welcomes submissions that explicitly address the terms of reference.