Submission: On the Consumer Credit and Corporations Legislation Amendment (Enhancements) Bill 2011

This submission incorporated our previous submission to Treasury on 7 September 2011 commenting on the proposed Credit Enhancement Bill regarding small amount credit contracts.

Our view in summary

Overall, our submission supported the amendments proposed by the Bill, as they will provide important protections for consumers vulnerable to exploitation by unethical practices in the consumer credit market. 

It is important to ensure that consumer credit protections are consistent and workable, as this is an area where consumers are particularly vulnerable to unscrupulous practices. The consequences of poor industry practices impact significantly on consumers, and consumer debt problems can quickly spiral into other problems associated with indebtedness. Consumers are often at a disadvantage due to poor understanding of the consumer credit products they are signing up for, and made confuse sale techniques with financial advice, Strong regulation is necessary to prevent industry participants from taking advantage of this lack of understanding.