called “ foreign ” fees – are not always properly disclosed ( and in many cases are higher than necessary ) ; the earnings stream for owners of independent atms – about half the atms in australia – are limited to the interchange fees paid by banks, which are of course their competitors ; and access by new entrants is difficult, potentially limiting competition. under the new arrangements, there will be no interchange fees. an atm owner will be able to charge the customer directly a fee for the use of the machine, but must disclose the fee prior to the transaction. banks will probably continue to allow fee - free withdrawals by their customers at their own machines, because they expect to cover those costs with the revenue earned across the entire customer relationship. use of another bank ’ s atms will presumably attract a fee by that other bank to cover the costs. but the only cost to a cardholder ’ s bank associated with use of a “ foreign ” atm is the cost of processing the transaction electronically – a matter of no more than 10 cents. given this, we cannot see any strong case for a “ foreign ” fee. independent atm owners will charge for the use of their machines, but that will maintain an incentive to grow their network. otherwise, it is likely that the independents as a source of competition would diminish over time, reducing consumer choice. access to the system will be governed by a code, which caps the price of connections, so that new competitors cannot be unduly hampered by the incumbent players over - charging to connect. the essence of the changes is simple. people have always been paying, one way or another, to use atms. atms do have a cost of operation and somehow that cost has to be covered. even where no explicit charge is levied, somewhere or other the financial institution is making up that cost. they do not provide services for free. now people will know exactly what the price of an atm transaction is, and they will know it before completing the transaction. there should be no “ foreign ” fees of any significance. and competition will be maintained, by allowing the independent atm owners to remain viable and new competitors to enter more easily. that is, in our judgment, an improvement over the arrangements of the past and is the best way of keeping costs down in the long run. my colleagues and i now look forward to your questions.

services has meant that labour markets have been resilient and remain tight. here in australia, employment growth has been strong and the unemployment rate has been 1 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches close to around 3½ per cent for a year now, which is the lowest level of unemployment for almost half a century. the participation rate is also at a record high, and many women and young people are benefiting from this. this is one of the positive legacies of the policy response to the pandemic and it is something we should all welcome. the recent data indicate that there has been some easing in the labour market, with firms reporting that it is less difficult to find workers than it was late last year. nonetheless, employment growth is still strong at a time of rapid population growth. we expect employment to continue to grow, but below the rate of growth in the labour force. as a result, the unemployment rate is forecast to rise gradually to reach around 4½ per cent late next year. the australian economy is currently experiencing a period of below - trend growth and this is expected to continue for a while yet. many households are facing a painful squeeze on their budgets and consumer demand has slowed considerably, not least because high inflation is eroding people's real incomes. the increase in interest rates is also weighing on disposable incomes for many households, although others are benefiting from the higher interest earned on their savings. the rba's staff are working hard to look beyond the aggregate figures and to understand where the financial pressures are most acute and the impact these pressures are having on people. it is clear that some households who borrowed at low interest rates during the pandemic are finding conditions very difficult, as are some renters. looking forward, the bank's central scenario is that economic growth remains subdued for the rest of this year before gradually picking up to around 2¼ per cent by end 2025. the ongoing moderation in inflation will mean that real incomes start rising again and this will ease the financial pressures that people are feeling. business investment has also been in an upswing as firms respond to the pressures on capacity utilisation. and dwelling investment is expected to increase again next year, after the recent difficulties in that sector. recent monetary policy decisions i would now like to turn to the reserve bank board's monetary policy decisions since the previous hearing in february. since that hearing, there have been six board meetings. at three of those the board