On 4 June 2015 the House of Representatives referred an inquiry into the impairment of customer loans to the committee for inquiry and report by 31 March 2016.

On 4 June 2015 the committee resolved that:

• in conducting the inquiry the committee will not investigate or seek to resolve disputes between customers and banks; and
• where the experiences of customers may inform the committee about the practices of banks, the committee welcomes submissions that explicitly address the terms of reference.

On 22 July 2015 the committee extended the closing date for submissions to 21 August 2015.

On 2 March 2016, the House of Representatives granted the committee an extension of time to report until 20 May 2016.

On 15 April 2016, the inquiry lapsed due to the prorogation of the House of Representatives.

On 19 April 2016, the committee resolved to re-adopt the inquiry using the same terms of reference as the original inquiry referred by the House of Representatives on 4 June 2015 but with a reporting date to be determined by the committee.

On 4 May 2016, the inquiry concluded when the final report was tabled in the Senate. The committee is not accepting any further correspondence or submissions in relation to this inquiry.