Milton Dick (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to follow Labor's shadow minister for consumer affairs in speaking on this legislation, from this side of the House, and I want to acknowledge the work she's done in advocating for better protections for Australian consumers—something which, unfortunately, this government has continually proven not to be trusted with time after time. However, on the matter we are debating today, I'm happy to see the government come forward with a bill which seeks to address unfairness for Australian consumers.

The Treasury Laws Amendment (Gift Cards) Bill 2018 seeks to enfranchise gift card recipients who have been adversely affected by a previously disjointed state-by-state approach to Australian gift card regulation. As we've heard, we know that in Australia a million gift cards, with an estimated value of $2.5 billion, are estimated to be sold each year by national retailers and small businesses. One of the commonly used terms and conditions of gift cards is the expiry date. If you're anything like me or the thousands of Australians who receive gift cards every year, whether they be from Bunnings or the retailer of your choice, you'll know it's quite easy to be caught out by an expiry date, with the value of that gift diverting straight back to the retailer without any goods being purchased. Losses from Australian gift card expiry are estimated to be around $70 million annually. Whether it be Christmas, a birthday, Mother's Day or Father's Day, it's easy for anyone to fall into the trap of it happening, much to the disappointment of both the giver and the receiver of the gift card.

Research by CHOICE found in a survey of 1,000 Australian that 88 per cent have given or received a gift card in the last 12 months. On average, Australians received and gave two gift cards in the last year. Their report on gift cards stated that, while gift cards might seem like a convenient option, selecting the wrong one can see your loved one wrapped in tricky terms and conditions and stuck with nothing more than a piece of plastic by next Christmas. The current disparity in state and territory legislation means there are no uniform requirements for minimum expiry dates on gift cards, creating complexity for consumers and businesses. This bill implements a minimum three-year expiry period for Australian gift cards, improving fairness for consumers and ensuring they have an appropriate period of time to redeem the balance of a gift card, leading to a reduction in breakage. Basically, you've got a longer period to redeem your gift card.

My sister sends an email out around October each year and says all of her Christmas shopping is done—one of the few Australians I know. Like most of us, I leave my Christmas shopping until perhaps the day or two days before and dramatically run around the stores.

See this speech in context