The Treasury provides advice on Australia’s competition and consumer policy framework — including the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 and the Australian Consumer Law — and promoting competitive, efficient, well informed and safe markets that enhance the welfare of Australians.
Australian Consumer Law
The Australian Consumer Law provides for:
- National consumer protection and fair trading laws
- Enhanced enforcement powers and redress mechanisms
- A national unfair contract terms law
- A new national product safety regime and
- A new national consumer guarantees law.
For further information, visit the Australian Consumer Law website.
Consumer Policy
Responsibility for developing and implementing consumer policy in Australia is shared between the Australian Government and the States and Territories. New Zealand also contributes actively in Australia's consumer policy development.
Australia and New Zealand are both members of the OECD Committee on Consumer Policy and contributed to the development of the 2010 OECD Consumer Policy toolkit.
For information about consumer policy in Australia and our engagement internationally, visit the Australian Consumer Law website.
Consumer Credit
The Australian Government has responsibility for regulating consumer credit. This includes home loans, personal loans, credit cards, store credit and reverse mortgages available from both bank and non-bank lenders and mortgage brokers. The Government is examining whether to extend its regulatory responsibility to credit for small business and investment purposes.
For further information on the Consumer Credit reforms, visit the Consumer Credit website.
Consumer Protection
Treasury is responsible for providing advice on consumer protection for individual members of superannuation entities. Treasury works closely with the financial services consumer protection and market integrity regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
National Regulators
Consumer laws are enforced by two national regulators.
- Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is responsible for enforcing the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 and the Australian Consumer Law.
Contact: ACCC Infocentre on 1300 302 502 or visit the ACCC website. - Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is responsible for promoting the confident and informed participation of consumers in the financial system through the enforcement of the consumer protection provisions of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001, the Corporations Act 2001 and the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009.
Contact: 1300 300 630 or visit the ASIC website.