NAB has opened its first Community Hub in Werribee, introducing a new community‑based banking model designed to bring specialist, face-to-face support closer to customers, when they need it most.
25 May 2026 | 2 min read
29 May 2026
A conversation at his local NAB community hub made a meaningful difference for Werribee customer Marc Colless.
Based in Melbourne’s outer west, Marc is the full-time carer for his parents and brother – a role he describes simply as “hard work”.
“It’s the same thing every day. I don’t begrudge it – you love your family, so you just do it,” Marc said.
For more than 12 months, he had also been managing his family’s bills, often without the right account access in place. That meant paying expenses upfront while trying to get the correct arrangements set up.
“I’d get everyone sorted in the morning, then try to deal with this, then go back again the next day. It was just ongoing,” Marc said.
When Marc visited NAB’s Werribee Community Hub, he expected another routine interaction as he explained his situation again.
NAB Extra Care Lead Joyce Nicker (left) with team at Salvation Army at NAB's newly opened Werribee Community Hub
Instead, NAB Extra Care Lead Joyce Nicker recognised he needed support.
“Come over, let’s have a chat,” she said.
That short conversation helped set things in motion.
“We spent about 15–20 minutes talking, not just about banking, but how things were at home,” Marc said.
“Within half an hour, I felt like we were finally getting somewhere.
“She couldn’t fix everything that day, but she set the process in place. When I came back, everything was done. All the payments were sorted. Everything was up to date.”
For Joyce, moments like this reflect the role NAB can play in supporting customers facing complex or vulnerable circumstances.
“It’s a blessing to be able to support customers face‑to‑face,” Joyce said.
“You can see their body language and identify just how stressed someone is.
“Many people are going through not only cost-of-living pressures, but also domestic violence, financial abuse, or even homelessness.”
Marc’s story highlights the reason NAB opened their first Community Hub, bringing together bankers, fraud specialists and Extra Care teams to provide in-person support for customers, who may need extra care.
Since opening last month, the hub has supported more than 70 customers in person across fraud and NAB Extra Care, and referred others to external partners including the Salvation Army and National Debt Hotline.
For Marc, the biggest impact went beyond getting his finances sorted.
“I felt like she understood and genuinely wanted to help,” Marc said.
“It shows the bank is concerned about you, not just the banking side of things.”
