PEOPLE MEETING COMMON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL NEEDS TOGETHER

About Mutuals

A mutual, mutual organisation, or mutual society is an organisation based on the principle of mutuality – people organising together to meet their shared needs. The members of a mutual are its customers, who do not usually contribute to the capital of the organisation through direct investment. Instead, they support the mutual through using its services.

A mutual is a co-operative when each member has one vote and the organisation is guided by the seven co-operative principles.

BCCM have produced a new resource for members to help build understanding about the diversity of the sector. Defining Mutuality is a paper explaining exactly what are co-ops and mutuals and how they fit together as a unified sector.

Examples

APS Benefits Group

The APS Benefits Group is a mutual which offers personal and financial products and services to more than 29,000 members and clients Australia-wide.

Year established: 1905

Type: Mutual

Industry: Banking & Financial Services

Australian Unity

Australian Unity is a national healthcare, financial services and independent and assisted living organisation with over 6,000 employees providing services to nearly a million Australians including some 300,000 members nationwide. Australian Unity’s retirement communities assist over 3,000 older Australians to continue to live as independently as possible in communities with friends and supports. Australian Unity’s history as an independent mutual dates back 175 years.

Year established: 1840

Type: Mutual

Industry: Healthcare, Insurance & Risk Protection, Private Health Insurance

Bank of us

Bank of us is Tasmania’s only customer owned bank with more than 30,000 customers, eight branches statewide and more than $700 million in assets.

Bank of us offers a comprehensive and competitive range of banking products and services designed to meet all personal and business banking needs – from term deposits, everyday and savings accounts through to home loans, personal loans and general insurance.

Year established: 1870

Type: Customer Owned, Mutual