Max Chandler-Mather (Griffith, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

That's his name, sorry. Whilst we are supporting the bill in this House, we strongly urge Labor to improve the bill by including a presumption of reimbursement and ensuring offshore tech companies are held to account. Laws to prevent and respond to scams must support the interests of people, not corporations. Labor's Scams Prevention Framework Bill could have been a much-needed opportunity to crack down on the harm caused by scams. Disappointingly, Labor has chosen to prioritise the interests of major banks and multimillion-dollar profits of those banks over the interests of everyday people. As a result, without significant amendments, the bill will fail to adequately prevent scams from occurring in the first place or support people impacted by scams to quickly seek redress.

In a joint submission on the exposure draft, a broad coalition of consumer groups, including the Consumer Action Law Centre, calculated that, to seek redress for a scam, a typical person would have to go through an almost 30-step process that would take up to two years. Even worse, at the end of this process, there is no guarantee they will get any of their money back. This is because the bill places an onus on the individual to take on their bank, telco and/or social media platforms to prove that each company did not meet the requirements for the overarching principles or sector-specific code. According to the consumer groups, this is a complex, legalistic, time-draining and resource-draining task for an individual. It sets a near-impossible David-and-Goliath battle between people who have been scammed and the potentially massive corporations they have to take on. If a person manages to make it through this convoluted process, a business is only liable to reimburse them if the person can prove the business did not comply with their obligations under the framework. The Law Council of Australia indicated in their submission to the bill inquiry that the proposed laws would primarily result in compensation being denied.

Labor's proposed framework is far from best practice. For years, consumer organisations have consistently called for a model that includes a presumption of reimbursement adapted from the UK's effective approach. Under this model, banks would refund people impacted by scams within 10 days and recover costs from other companies involved in proportion to their liability, including telcos and digital platforms. The Greens support this model because it is evidence based and places the interests of people, not corporations, at the centre. It ensures people who are scammed are quickly reimbursed at the point where they lost their money, and banks, telcos and digital platforms are incentivised to innovate to prevent scams from occurring. The Consumer Action Law Centre indicated in a joint media release that, without reimbursement at its core, Labor's Scams Prevention Framework is simply not going to work.

Instead of listening to consumers, Labor has blatantly caved to the big banks. The big banks don't want a presumption of reimbursement, because it would put them on the hook to take responsibility for scams. Given that the largest four banks raked in almost $30 billion in profits in the last financial year, the Greens believe they can afford to be held to account to protect their customers from scams.

Treasury documents released under freedom of information state, 'Treasury has met regularly with the Australian Banking Association and member banks to align government and industry efforts in relation to the bill.' Even other industry groups were concerned that Labor prioritised the interests of the major banks above all else. DIGI, which represents the tech industry, noted in their submission to the draft bill:

While it appears that there has been intense and ongoing consultation … with the Australian Banking Association … the same level of consultation has not occurred with other regulated industries …

It is clear Labor will do anything to support the profits of their major donors. The latest donations data shows that, in the 2023-24 financial year, NAB, CommBank and Westpac each donated over $60,000 to Labor and over $70,000 to the coalition. It's astounding how much influence just $60,000 will buy from the major parties.

The Greens also want to bring into the Australian jurisdiction the multibillion-dollar tech companies regulated under the bill. Unless steps are taken to bring offshore digital platforms under Australian domestic corporate, criminal and consumer laws, any reform will be difficult if not impossible to enforce. The inquiry of the Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society heard from many witnesses about the barriers to legal accountability and the ability of platforms to avoid legal redress or accountability for harms done on their platforms. Even the basic service of legal documents on Meta to commence a legal action appears to be almost impossible in Australia.

The committee recommended that 'the Australian government consider options for greater enforceability of Australian laws for social media platforms, including amending regulation and legislation to effectively bring digital platforms under Australian jurisdiction'. The Greens supported this recommendation and further recommends herein that the government act urgently to do so. If the government are serious about reining in the power of the tech giants, combating scams and keeping our kids and community safe online, then they will make sure any legislation is enforceable on those they seek to hold to account.

Whilst the Greens are supporting this bill in the House, as we recognise Australia urgently needs regulation to combat scams, we urge Labor to prioritise the interests of people, not multibillion-dollar corporations, by amending the bill to include a presumption of reimbursement and ensuring that offshore tech companies are held to account.

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