Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Bill 2026

Nick McKim

I've got a couple of questions for the minister. Minister, is the government aware that the ACCC, ASIC and a number of organisations in Australia representing consumers, including the Consumer Policy Research Centre and the Consumer Action Law Centre, have all advocated for the government to extend the ban on unfair trading—

Slade Brockman

Senator McKim, I might get you to pause. Could senators please leave the chamber quietly if they're not participating in debate.

Nick McKim

Thanks very much for your protection there, Chair.

Slade Brockman

I couldn't hear what you were saying.

Tim Ayres

I think it's more in my interest.

Nick McKim

I'll start again, will I? Minister, is the government aware that the ACCC wants to extend the ban on unfair trading practices to the financial services sector? Is the government aware that ASIC wants to extend the ban on unfair trading practices to the financial services sector? Is the government aware that peak consumer groups, including the Consumer Policy Research Centre and the Consumer Action Law Centre, want to extend the ban on unfair practices to the financial services sector? If you are aware of those things, why haven't you done it?

Tim Ayres

The government is aware—both from our engagement with the agencies that you've outlined and with those peak councils and more broadly—of that question. It is the government's approach to legislate this tranche of reforms. There will be future reform.

Nick McKim

Minister, are you saying that future reforms from the government will extend the ban on unfair trading practices to the financial services sector? And, if you are saying that, when will that happen?

Tim Ayres

I think the best way of describing it is that, while the government will make decisions about that in the normal way, we are examining precisely those issues.

Nick McKim

What I'm hearing from that is that government is currently considering those issues, but you don't wish to either put a timeframe on any decision point or flag what you think the decision might be. Would that be an accurate categorisation?

Tim Ayres

Yes. I'm mindful of our cabinet decision-making process. I am happy to confirm that we are examining those issues. We're working them through carefully. Our focus now is on delivering this tranche of reforms through the legislation, but we're working carefully through the issues you've described.

Nick McKim

I appreciate that, Minister. This is probably my final question, depending on your response, of course, on this issue: are you able to indicate whether there is a process underway? I'm not asking about cabinet, by the way. I'm asking whether, inside any agencies, there is a process underway. Is there consultation between, for example, Treasury, the ACCC and ASIC on these matters? Are conversations happening? If there is any kind of a process underway, could you just outline that, please, and confirm where you are currently at in that process, if there is a process underway.

Tim Ayres

Yes, the government is engaged across all of the agencies and organisations external to government that you describe. I can't put a timeframe on that, but we're, as I said, working diligently through those questions.

Nick McKim

I won't reprise my second reading contribution here today, which I'm sure is a relief to the entire chamber. But what I will say is that, on behalf of the Australian Greens, I express our significant disappointment in the fact that the government has not chosen to extend the ban on unfair trading practices to the financial services sector.

These have been long held and long expressed views from the ACCC, from ASIC and from peak consumer groups in the country, as well as from the Australian Greens. The government has given no adequate reason for failing to extend the ban on unfair trading practices to the financial services sector, particularly given the view of at least one ACCC commissioner that the harm from unfair trading practices in the financial services sector is likely to be greater than any other sector in the economy. It is time that the government divorced itself from the interests of the big banks and the other financial behemoths in this country that run so much of government policy, and it is time that the government extended the ban on unfair trading practices to the financial services sector.

I'll move my amendments in a moment. I want to quickly respond to Senator Scarr's response to my second reading speech yesterday. I say this to Senator Scarr: I acknowledge the matters that he spoke about in regard to the potential to extend the ban on unfair trading practices to the financial services sector, and I look forward to further engagement across this chamber with a view to ensuring that we protect consumers of financial services in Australia by extending the ban on unfair trading practices to the financial services sector. We'll give everyone a chance to ensure that that happens now. I doubt that it will, but we are going to keep going on this. We will not be silenced on this. We will keep fighting until consumers of financial services in Australia are protected in the same way that consumers of a range of other products and services will be protected under the provisions of this bill.

I seek leave to move Australian Greens amendments circulated in my name, amendments (1) and (2) on sheet 3841, together.

Leave granted.

I move those amendments:

(1) Schedule 1, item 7, page 5 (line 16), at the end of subsection 28B(6), add:

; (e) lead generation.

(2) Schedule 1, item 7, page 5 (before line 17), before subsection 28B(7), insert:

(6A) In this section:

lead generation includes the following:

(a) collecting the consumer's personal information for a sales purpose in an obscure, complex or misleading way;

(b) failing to clearly disclose to the consumer the primary purpose for collecting, using or sharing the consumer's personal information.

Tim Ayres

The government will be opposing the amendments, but on the basis that Senator McKim and I just discussed, and I look forward to the senator's support for those reforms when they arrive here.

Slade Brockman

The question is that amendments (1) and (2) on sheet 3841 be agreed to.