If bank goes bankrupt, will the savings in offset account disappear?

Not all ADIs are members of the guarantee scheme. For a list of those eligible see
http://www.guaranteescheme.gov.au/rules/pdf/schedule-1.pdf

There are a few building societies and a lot of credit unions which are listed.

 

http://www.theage.com.au/business/nab-westpac-tapped-fed-20101202-18i58.html

 

Are the little lender arms of the majors on the list covered too?

 

For me, I am moving my equity from the Melbourne property market to the Perth property market. I am doing a townhouse development in Perth and I need the equity from Melbourne to do the Perth development. I checked with my broker about keeping Melbourne but servicing is too tight. Also, I am a bit sick of Melbourne to be honest and it is a good time to cash out. So I thought why not?

 

I was sure at least one of the big banks got help from the government during the gfc and one of the smaller lenders was taken over by the government and then sold to a foreign bank.