The Award: Commonwealth Bank won its fourth CHOICE Shonky Award — making it the most "shonky" company in the award's 20-year history. This year's award is for refusing to refund $270 million in illegal fees to 2.2 million low-income customers.

The Scandal: ASIC found CommBank charged customers on Centrelink payments (JobSeeker, Age Pension, Disability Support) excessive account fees between July 2019 and October 2024, even though these customers were eligible for low-fee or no-fee accounts.

How Others Responded: ANZ refunded $47.9 million to its customers. 21 other banks collectively refunded $93 million. CommBank paid only $25 million to 87,000 Indigenous customers, then refused to refund anyone else—initially saying no refunds at all, then offering only "case-by-case" consideration.

The Optics: CommBank announced a $10 billion annual profit just weeks after refusing the $270 million refund. The bank has $49.6 billion in cash reserves. A national poll found 88% of Australians think CommBank should refund the fees.

Imagine you're on JobSeeker, struggling to buy groceries during a cost-of-living crisis. Your bank quietly charges you $15 per month in account-keeping fees, plus overdraft fees when your balance dips negative.

Meanwhile, your bank offers a free account specifically for people in your situation—but never tells you about it, never transfers you to it, and keeps charging you those fees year after year.

That's what happened to 2.2 million Commonwealth Bank customers. And when caught, Australia's biggest bank refused to give the money back.

"Commonwealth Bank has taken bad bank behaviour to a whole new level," said Ashley de Silva, CEO of consumer advocacy group CHOICE. "We think that's pretty shonky."

On Wednesday, CHOICE announced its 2025 Shonky Awards—an annual name-and-shame report calling out Australia's worst products and dodgy business practices.

Commonwealth Bank received a special prize: its fourth Shonky Award, making it "the most awarded Australian company in Shonky's history."

Previous Shonky Awards for CommBank include:

But this year's award hits different—because it involves taking money from some of Australia's most financially vulnerable people.

July 2024: ASIC's first investigation found banks were charging Indigenous Australians excessive fees despite eligibility for low-fee accounts. CommBank refunded $25 million to approximately 87,000 Indigenous customers as "goodwill payments."

July 2025: ASIC's second investigation ("Better and Beyond" report) found the problem was far bigger—affecting 770,000 customers across........

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