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Bendigo Bank’s strategy to kill off its Australian-based operations has taken a ghoulish turn with its Deceased Estates team now at risk of being offshored.  

Previously excluded from the Bank’s offshoring agenda, the Bank has today commenced ‘blueprinting’ in the Deceased Estates team.  

Bendigo Bank has already used blueprinting in other areas of the bank to send jobs to global outsourcing giant Genpact. 

Blueprinting involves employees demonstrating how they perform their work so that offshore workers from Genpact can do it.   

The Finance Sector Union (FSU) believes blueprinting could also pave the way for customer service functions of the Deceased Estates team to be offshored. 

Staff in Deceased Estates are the first point of contact for families sorting out the financial affairs of a loved one after their death. 

The FSU believes the practice of forcing employees to aid the outsourcing of their work is cruel and outsourcing the Deceased Estates team is unnecessary.  

This comes as the Banking Code Compliance Committee called on banks to do more to manage deceased estates following recommendations from a 2023 review.  

The review stated that managing deceased estates is a ‘core responsibility’ and all banks must ensure that processes are accurate, timely and easy to navigate and correct errors before they cause further distress.  

Bendigo Bank should abandon blueprinting and focus on retaining its Australian workforce and ensure that staff who are let go are offered re-training or given fair redundancy packages. 

Around 50 predominantly South Australian staff were shown the door last week as the so-called ‘better big bank’ continued its 2030 strategy of putting profits before people. 

The total number of Bendigo Bank roles that have disappeared overseas is now 450, and the FSU fears more are slated to go in the near future.  

Quotes from FSU National Secretary Julia Angrisano:   

“Bendigo Bank continues to show its lack of empathy for its customers and the community as it continues with its offshoring and outsourcing agenda,” Ms Angrisano said.   

“Perhaps the most vulnerable customers banks deal with are the relatives of someone who has just passed away. 

“They deserve nothing less than personalised, human-centred service, not some wham bam process that’s all about efficiency. 

“I’m calling on Bendigo Bank to, at the very least, spare the Deceased Estates team from the indignity of blueprinting and ensure that grieving Australians aren’t treated as just another transaction. 

Media contact – Sam Burgess 0434 165 630 or [email protected]