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Consumer advocates have slammed the nine-month delay in the implementation of the Scam Prevention Framework (SPF), announced today by Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino, calling it a ‘betrayal’ of hundreds of thousands of Australians who, unprotected, will fall victim to financial crime in the coming months.

“This delay will cause unacceptable harm, with the latest data showing sophisticated scams are on the increase and more Australians are being robbed of billions of dollars with no clear access to justice or redress,” said Consumer Action Law Centre CEO, Stephanie Tonkin.

On the current trajectory everyday Australians will lose a further $2 billion in scam financial crime before the laws take effect.

“The SPF was passed by Parliament in February 2025, and since then there has been leadership shown from some banks but for the most part industry has done its best to drag out the consultation on rules and codes, limiting their liability and ensuring the path to implementation is painfully slow, all the while Australian families continue to be robbed and bear the financial burden in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis,” Ms Tonkin said.

“The Albanese Government is not following through in its election promise to tackle scams quickly and as a priority. Designations were supposed to take effect mid-2025 turning on the high-level obligations in the SPF. We called out at the time that this complex framework will never start as promised, but a two-year delay is even later than our worst predictions.

“Now, the trade-off for letting Australians down must be higher bar obligations on industry, and fast, fair and straightforward access to compensation when businesses’ scam protections fail,” she said.

The Government announced a 4-week consultation on the draft codes and rules for the SPF today.

Consumer Action will be making a forensic examination to ensure they set a high bar for banks, telcos and digital platforms to prevent and disrupt scam activity across their systems and provide compassionate and human centred support to any consumer who lodges a claim. It is critical that the new laws drive down scam harm across industry and make a positive difference for all consumers.

Ms Tonkin said the proposal from the Government for mandatory reimbursement for people scammed of $3000 or less was well intentioned but needs to be higher to avoid the dispute resolution system from grinding to a halt.

“We call for a mandatory reimbursement amount of $10,000 -the bill will be split across multiple businesses, it will save businesses the higher cost of dispute resolution, and the measure is really about saving capacity in the system for complex, high value and multi-party scam disputes” she said.

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Dr Domenique Meyrick, CEO of Financial Counselling Australia:

“Financial counsellors frequently see the devastating harm scams are causing. Delays to the Scam Prevention Framework mean more Australians will remain exposed to increasingly sophisticated scams, with too many left carrying the financial and emotional burden when protections fail.

“The focus must now be on strong obligations on industry and fast, fair access to redress for people affected by scams.”

Carol Bennett, CEO of Australian Counsumer Communications Action Network:

“The sooner we get strong and clear scam protections in place, the sooner consumers will be protected from harm. Disappointingly, delays like those announced today will allow fraudsters to maintain the upper hand.”

ENDS

Media contact: media@consumeraction.org.au or 0413 299 567