If you retired before 5 January 1994, you would have received your pay by means of a not negotiable cheque which somehow you would have had to either cash or deposit at a bank. While researching and writing the history of the Queensland Police Credit Union, I came across many mentions of the disposition of pay cheques in the minutes of board meetings which were the main source of the information contained in the resulting history book. The following is extracted from Chapter 5 – Where and how our members have done business with us.

It was not until 5 January 1994 that the Queensland Police Service (the name changed to this from Queensland Police Force in 1989) did away with pay cheques and introduced electronic fund transfers to financial institutions that included whole-of-pay facilities.

Until then, members, if they were in Brisbane, could go to the Credit Union and cash their cheques on pay days (or late on the previous day with the guarantee by the Credit Union that they were not negotiated until the next day because if someone did that they would be subject to a departmental investigation).

In regard to whole-of-pay facilities, this was first mooted by the Credit Union on 20 April 1978 when it was resolved to write to the police department about the possibility of these facilities being included in its new computer program. Advice was received at the
11 May 1978 meeting that a representative of the police department had advised that such facilities had not been included and that there could be problems if this facility ever became compulsory, especially for country members.

It is significant that the Credit Union at about this time recognised the cheque cashing problem by opening the office at 7.30 am on the Wednesday of pay week. This practice remained in place until it was discontinued through lack of use due probably to the introduction by the QPS on 5 January 1994 of electronic fund transfers to financial institutions.

Until the electronic fund transfer facilities were introduced by the Police Force, which had to await a new computer system, alternatives for country and suburban members particularly would have been to find a friendly publican or business-person who would cash the cheque for them or otherwise put the cheque into a bank account and draw out the amount of money required. (Technically, a member should not have been able to draw against the amount of the cheque until it was cleared by the bank.)

The Credit Union, for example, did this because its board meeting of 24 October 1974 was advised that members had to deposit their pay cheques and then make sufficient withdrawals for their needs. It was resolved at that meeting that the manager be authorised to withdraw sufficient money every second Wednesday to cover the cashing of pay cheques for members only.

 

Much time (probably some, most or all of it the boss’) and effort were expended each fortnight in satisfying members’ desires with their ‘not negotiable’ pay cheques.

 

At one time at the Queensland Police College, Chelmer, staff members—by prior arrangement with the Salary Section at QPS Headquarters—used to have cheques payable to members sent to the college rather than their home station and on pay days a staff member would visit a nearby friendly bank and cash the cheques for members. This was welcomed by members, some of whom would be at Chelmer away from their country station for up to eight weeks.

 

During another period, a credit union staff member used to go to the police college and cash cheques. This practice may have been introduced to overcome the staff member going to a bank to cash cheques. Who knows, the relevant bank may have reneged on its previous unofficial arrangement.

The cashing of cheques by members was before the board on 4 November 1982, when it was resolved that management research the feasibility of country members who cashed their cheques only with other credit unions, being allowed to receive the total value of the cheque and not the $300 that was paid.

This matter was again discussed at the 2 December 1982 meeting. A motion that the full value of cheques be cashed was defeated but it was later resolved that members be permitted to cash their pay cheques to the value of $450 through agencies as from 1 January 1983.

It can be seen that the cheque cashing problem was able to be addressed through the limited number of agencies throughout the state and that many members would have had to resort to other means—some of which have been mentioned previously—to obtain some cash every second Wednesday (pay day for many years). That is why electronic fund transfer was a popular initiative by the QPS.

If a cheque was negotiated prior to the date thereon, this would upset Treasury officials who would request an investigation by usually an Inspector of the Police Force.