Our Credit Union

Our early days

Illawarra Credit Union was established in 1972 as the first open bonded credit union in Australia, serving the people of the Illawarra.

Illawarra Credit Union has merged with a number of other credit unions throughout the years, such as Colliers Employees Credit Union (1973), Norwarra Credit Union (1975), Huntley Credit Union (1989), Western City Credit Union (2005), Unicom Credit Union, and Shoal Haven Credit Union (2006), to expand its membership and reach more customers in the greater Sydney market and Australia-wide.

A period of growth

Given the diverse customer base, Illawarra Credit Union embarked on a digital-first strategy, providing better online services and products to serve our customers wherever they chose to live.

Illawarra Credit Union offers a full range of retail financial services, which have been recognised on numerous occasions by the industry as best in class.

On the 3rd April 2024 S&P Global Rating assigned its ‘BBB’ long-term and ‘A-2’ short-term issuer credit ratings to Illawarra Credit Union Ltd (ICU). The outlook for the long-term rating is stable.

Illawarra Credit Union has also partnered with selective boutique brokers to increase our reach both within the Illawarra market and further afield.

An exciting new chapter begins

On 1 September 2025, an exciting milestone was achieved with the merger of Illawarra Credit Union and Community First Credit Union to create a stronger, more member-focused bank. Today, we’re proud to share that our two brands are now fully integrated, having merged our banking systems in mid September 2025. The merger has seen us grow to member base of over 85,000 and provides enhanced servicing and benefits to our members.

Significantly, it allows us to remain committed to the Illawarra community, one we have proudly been a part of for over 50 years.