Restrictions on payday loans and rent-to-buy schemes? New private members Bill
Restrictions on payday loans and rent-to-buy schemes? On the 26 February, legislation was introduced to the Commonwealth House of Representatives with the aim of amending the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009; the National Consumer Credit Protection Amendment (Small Amount Credit Contract and Consumer Lease Reforms) Bill 2018 (henceforth, ‘the Bill’). Photo by Olu Eletu on Unsplash The stated goal of the Bill is to help “Australians get a better deal from Small Amount Credit Contracts (commonly known as payday loans) and consumer leases (known as rent-to-buy schemes)”.[1] Today we summarise the provisions contained in the Bill. Background In light of growing concern with exploitative lending practices, and recommendations from the Independent Review of the Small Amount Credit Contract (SACC) Laws (2015), the Commonwealth Government committed to passing legislative reform of payday loans…