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Consumer advocates say the passing of the Scams Prevention Framework (SPF) fills a gaping hole in the law and in time should protect many Australians from falling victim to the scourge of scams. But thousands of future victims -many of whom will lose everything to sophisticated scams- have an uphill battle for redress.

“I am happy we finally have a framework to help prevent these terrible crimes,” said Stephanie Tonkin, Consumer Action Law Centre CEO. “I am disappointed the Bill doesn’t explicitly include what we have consistently argued for a -simple and fair pathway to provide victims compensation.”

Ms Tonkin said that Australia is the target of international criminals stealing thousands of dollars from families leaving people shocked and devastated. Last year Australians lost $2.74 billion to scams. “Every day we talk to people on our frontlines who have been victims to these crimes, made worse by the cost-of-living crisis,” she said.

Consumer advocates worked hard to improve the SPF for consumers and changes around business liability and obligations are included, but a victim will still have to jump through hoops and fight hard to prove their case for compensation.

“We had an opportunity to lead the world in scams prevention and response, but we anticipate small business, and individual victims will continue to pay for the failures of the world’s largest and most wealthy corporations,” she said.

Ms Tonkin said Consumer Action and her sector colleagues remain committed to working with the government, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, the National Anti-Scam Centre (NASC) and all stakeholders to strengthen industry obligations through rules and codes to make sure there are straightforward remedies for victims who fall through the cracks.

“A review of the legislation will take place two years from the Codes being enacted, so we will be carefully watching how the legislation works in practice and collecting evidence of issues as they arise.”

Quotes attributable to Dr Domenique Meyrick, co-CEO of FCA 

“Financial Counselling Australia is happy consumers will have clear protections under this framework but it’s also very disappointing that our clients, who are already financially stretched, will have to jump through hoops to get their money back.”

“The new codes will have to set a very high bar to protect people from scams. It will be important to bring the consumer voice and valuable insights of financial counsellors to the code development process and to the two-year review.”

Quotes attributable to Carol Bennett, CEO Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN)  

“This legislation is an important step towards ensuring that consumers who have experienced the trauma of scams and lost their hard-earned money can more readily seek redress. We are disappointed that its stops short of ensuring compensation or a presumption of reimbursement but look forward to working with consumer advocates in the coming months to make sure the legislation better reflects the needs of consumers.”

Quotes attributable to Drew MacRae, Senior Policy and Advocacy Officer, Financial Rights Legal Centre
“Australians desperately need government and industry to act on the ongoing scams crisis. While the legislation lacks a clear reimbursement element, we welcome its passing since at the very least it will incentivise banks and other players to take real steps to address this problem. We will be closely watching the impact of these laws on scamming victims over the next few years to make sure banks, telcos, social media step up and provide improved and more consistent responses to scam losses.”

ENDS

Media contact: Mark Pearce  mark@consumeraction.org.au  Tel: 0413 299 567