Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

This piece of legislation, the Scams Prevention Framework Bill 2024, is going to be very welcome in my electorate. I've held a number of scams forums over the last few years, in Wheelers Hill, Burwood, Glen Waverley, Mount Waverley and suburbs beyond, and they've been incredibly well attended events because there is huge community anxiety about the proliferation of scams. There is also a real sense of relief that our government is taking steps to crack down on scammers. My office has given out countless copies of the The LittleBook of Scams, and I'll use this opportunity in the parliament to remind my constituents that they can contact our office at any time to receive their free copy.

Our government has taken really seriously the responsibility to crack down on scammers. We made a promise ahead of the last election to protect the community from scammers, and, since being elected, our government have committed over $180 million to combat scams and online fraud. So far, there have been really positive signs from our efforts to combat scams. Yet, unfortunately, scam losses do remain unacceptably high. In 2023, scammers stole $2.7 billion from Australians, and scammers continue to cause real psychological and emotional harm to victims and their families. I'm sure most members in this place have had the experience of sitting with, speaking to and listening to constituents who have unfortunately fallen victim to scammers. Scammers are very sophisticated in the way they operate, and anyone can be a victim of their actions.

Current scam protections are piecemeal and inconsistent across the economy, and, therefore, consumers face inconsistent protections and responses from different industries and providers. The Scams Prevention Framework being introduced in this bill is world-leading legislation and a central part of our broader consumer protection agenda, which is economy-wide reform—moving away from that inconsistency that we've seen. This economy-wide reform is designed to protect consumers from scams by requiring the private sector to adhere to consistent principles based obligations and strong tailored industry codes which are enforceable.

The consistent and enforceable approach of the Scams Prevention Framework will ensure that incentives and obligations are in place across key sectors that scammers take advantage of to cause deep harm in the community. The Scams Prevention Framework will ensure that all parts of the ecosystem used by scammers are equally held to account for implementing strong and effective protections that are tailored to that sector's role in the conduct of a scam. This is really essential for the protection of consumers, as its common for scammers to use multiple platforms and services to deceive and steal from people.

Regulated entities will be required to take reasonable steps to prevent, detect, report, disrupt and respond to scams and to have governance arrangements in place relating to how entities will protect consumers from scams. Mandatory sector-specific codes will provide tailored prescriptive obligations to each sector which are consistent with the principles; however, the sector-specific codes do not relieve a business from its obligations to take reasonable steps in all circumstances. Recognising that scams are constantly evolving, businesses must be evolving in their response as well.

Banks, telecommunication providers and certain digital platforms offering social media, paid search advertising and direct messaging services will initially be designated under the Scams Prevention Framework, as they represent key factors of harm for consumers. Bank transfer was the most reported payment method used by scammers, with $212.9 million in reported losses in 2023, according to Scamwatch. Phone calls and social media were the contact methods associated with the highest value of losses. In 2023, these losses were $116 million for phone calls and $93.5 million for social media contact. Again, this information comes from Scamwatch.

Just as a sidenote, Scamwatch is a really important way for the government to keep track of what scammers' activity is. I myself have made complaints and reports to Scamwatch when scammers have attempted to trick me, so I encourage people to put a report through to Scamwatch when they are contacted by scammers.

Other sectors such as superannuation, cryptocurrency, online marketplaces and other payment providers may be designated under the Scams Prevention Framework in the future. A multiregulator model involving the ACCC as the regulator for the principle based obligations and the ACCC, ASIC and ACMA as regulators for the sector-specific codes capitalises on existing industry knowledge and expertise. This is really important. This will ensure that no single regulator will be spread too thinly as the Scams Prevented Framework expands to additional sectors as scam activity shifts.

Regulators have access to significant civil penalties of up to $50 million for the most egregious breaches of the Scams Prevention Framework. This is intended to incentivise compliance and provide adequate penalties to deter regulated entities, who may foresee high possible gains, from breaching the Scams Prevention Framework. Regulators will also have other compliance tools available, such as infringement notices, enforceable undertakings, injunctions, public warnings and remedial directions, to ensure the Scams Prevention Framework is administered as intended to protect consumers.

Additionally, consumers will have access to free and transparent dispute resolution processes if they are the victim of a scam and one or more regulated entities has not met its obligations. Regulated entities must have an internal dispute resolution process in place and become a member of a designated external dispute resolution scheme. With a no-wrong-door approach to internal dispute processes, consumers will be able to approach any regulated entity connected to the scam they've have experienced to raise a dispute. It is really important, too, that no-one is turned away when they make that initial step to raise a dispute.

The government have already announced our intention to authorise the Australian Financial Complaints Authority as the external dispute resolution scheme for the three initial sectors. This single-door approach means consumers will only have to go to one body to escalate their scam complaint, even where it may involve multiple regulated entities.

I've listened so far to some of the speeches that have raised the question of a mandatory presumption of reimbursement approach, such as the one the UK has in place. Our government has decided not to take that approach, because we want to incentivise actions to address scam activity across the entire scam activity chain, not leave some sectors with lower expectations and lower responsibilities in relation to their liability. Placing liability simply on banks alone fails to recognise and hold to account the entities that have many opportunities to stop a scam before the harm to the consumer is caused.

Our government will consult on the Scams Prevention Framework dispute resolution model to ensure that alternative dispute resolution operates effectively. Consumers of course should be able to rely on protections and raise their complaints with all regulated businesses under consistent expectations of how they will be treated. Consumers will also be able to take action in court where they have suffered loss or damage because a regulated entity has not met its obligations under the Scams Prevention Framework. As with the intention for external dispute resolution, liabilities for loss or damage where more than one regulated entity has not met obligations can be apportioned between multiple regulated entities. Again, this is about ensuring we recognise the scam activity chain.

Scams are a global challenge. The Assistant Treasurer's attendance at the inaugural Global Fraud Summit, in the UK in March of last year, really reiterated the important role and influence of Australia and of our government in fighting scams within the international community. This legislation will support our government's efforts and industry's efforts in international engagement and collaboration, including by enabling the sharing of scam intelligence across regulated entities, law enforcement and regulators in Australia and, importantly, by supporting international enforcement action to disrupt illicit scam activities, as, of course, this is a global challenge and we are often engaging with global operators here in the scam activity space.

I know this is really welcomed by my community in Chisholm. People frankly have had enough of being targeted by scammers, and it seems to come sometimes from all directions, as we've described in our comments—the government's contribution. This is something that people are experiencing on social media, via phone calls and via emails. I'm really proud to be part of a government that is taking serious action to protect our communities from the despicable actions of scammers, and I commend the bill to the House.

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