Review of Australia's consumer policy framework: final report

While Australia\u27s consumer policy framework has considerable strengths, parts of it require an overhaul. The first step in this process should be the introduction of a single generic consumer law applying across Australia, based on the consumer provisions in the Trade Practices Act, modified to address gaps in its coverage and scope. Responsibility for regulating the provision of consumer credit and related advice by finance brokers and other intermediaries should also be transferred to the Australian Government as soon as practicable, according to this report, with ASIC as the primary regulator. Though only very broad quantification is possible, the Commission\u27s reform package could provide a net gain to the community of between $1.5 billion and $4.5 billion a year. The report was released in two volumes. Volume 1 contains the Terms of Reference for the inquiry, Key Points, Summary and Recommendations, and Volume 2 contains the chapters and appendices