During a protest that halted coal exports at Bathurst Resources’ Stockton Mine, activists criticized banks like ANZ for financially backing fossil fuel initiatives. They argued that such financial support deepens climate breakdown and undermines community efforts to protect vulnerable ecosystems.

ANZ has publicly disclosed its political donations from 2015 to 2023, listing multiple contributions to both the Australian Labor Party and the Liberal Party of Australia, among others. The document provides detailed records, including dates and amounts, reflecting the bank's ongoing engagement in political financing.

ANZ is under investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) following allegations that the bank manipulated market conditions during a A$14 billion government bond sale in April 2023, potentially involving insider trading and futures market manipulation. ANZ has also initiated an internal probe into these allegations.

ANZ, after seven years of opposing collective bargaining, has resumed negotiations with the Finance Sector Union for over 20,000 staff following the passage of the federal government's Secure Jobs, Better Pay laws.

On November 5, 2021, ANZ introduced a Grievance Mechanism Framework to address human rights complaints linked to its corporate lending, becoming the first major commercial bank to offer a structured path for affected communities to seek justice. This move comes as part of a conciliation after a complaint regarding the bank's financing of a Cambodian sugar company, which had been implicated in land seizures from local farmers.

ANZ faced severe criticism after it was revealed that the bank had financed Phnom Penh Sugar Co. (PPS), a firm accused of forcibly displacing Cambodian farmers, seizing land, intimidating villagers, and employing child labour. Rights groups filed a complaint with the Australian National Contact Point citing breaches of OECD ethical business guidelines. Although ANZ later cut ties with PPS in 2014, the incident highlights significant lapses in upholding human rights standards in its lending practices.