On 13 September 2024, ACCAN, the Consumer Action Law Centre, CHOICE and Super Consumers Australia welcomed an announcement from the Albanese Government that consultation on a draft bill - the proposed Scams Prevention Framework - will start today. The joint statement can be found below.

“I congratulate Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones and the Albanese Government for pushing ahead with these scam reforms, and imposing tough obligations on industry to protect consumers, I want to thank him for this important work,” Consumer Action Law Centre CEO Stephanie Tonkin said.

“These obligations need to be in place and enforced urgently because for far too long and almost daily, we have been speaking with people who have been losing preventable, life-changing sums of money.

“The impact of scams runs beyond the $billions in annual losses that customers are left to bear, and scams victims want to see the Government action on scams that has been promised,” she said.

“Our focus during the consultation will be on making sure these reforms work effectively to protect Australians from scammers.

“People who fall through the gaps need a clear and simple pathway to redress. On this point, we are pleased to see there will be a single door for dispute resolution -likely to be the Australian Financial Complaints Authority-  that we called for, making navigating disputes somewhat simpler for consumers.

“We are continuing to call for a simple reimbursement model that is consumer-centric and incentivises the banks to substantially increase their investment in frontline prevention measures, which they can do as they have the resources.

“A reimbursement model will be a win-win for all because it will provide the certainty and clarity everyone -including the banks- have been calling for,” Ms. Tonkin said.

Quote attributable to Carol Bennett, CEO Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN)
“Despite strong efforts and good progress, Australians still lose far too much money to criminal scams. ACCAN welcomes the government’s new draft reform bill that covers multiple sectors, including telecommunications and digital media companies, often the first point of contact for scams.  We know that criminals use SMS, phone calls, social media advertising and direct messaging to get their foot in the door. We look forward to working with government, regulators and industry to ensure the final bill will benefit consumers.” 

Quotes attributable to Rosie Thomas, Director of Campaigns at CHOICE
 “CHOICE welcomes the release of draft legislation to make businesses do more to protect us from scams. For too long, the businesses enabling scammers to conduct their criminal activities have faced no consequences, leaving consumers to carry the burden of scams. Strong scam codes with hefty penalties and rights to compensation should give everyone more confidence that banks, telcos and social media platforms are financially motivated to take scam prevention seriously. 

“Consumers should be able to get their money back when businesses fail to protect them from scams. We welcome the decision to make the Australian Financial Complaints Authority the single external dispute resolution scheme but urge the Assistant Treasurer to carefully consider how to ensure consumers can quickly, simply and effectively access their rights without having to resort to external dispute resolution.”

Quote attributable to Rebekah Sarkoezy, Policy Manager Super Consumers Australia
“We are pleased to see the today’s draft legislation, which imposes clear obligations on businesses to tackle scams. Given that superannuation is often Australians’ most significant asset after their own home, it is a prime target for scammers.  We urge the Federal Government to designate the superannuation sector as the next area of focus under the Scams Prevention Framework after banks, telcos and digital platforms, to ensure Australians’ retirement savings are protected.”

Consultation on the exposure draft of the Scams Prevention Framework opens today, Friday 13 September 2024. The consultation period will run for 3 weeks during which written contributions are welcomed.