Michael Ronaldson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

We will be opposing this amendment. The National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009, which came into effect in July 2010, already deals with uncon­scionable or unfair fees and charges. Borrowers can already complain to ASIC or to an external dispute resolution scheme. The borrower or ASIC can seek a review of fees by a court. This proposal would require ASIC to determine what is a reasonable fee, which is beyond the current scope and role of the regulator. As each credit provider's average reasonable costs would be different, this would require extensive ASIC resources and high costs in each case. These higher costs would need to be passed on to consumers or funded by the taxpayer.