Labor proposes Small Amount Credit Contract (SACC) Bill

The Labor Party has reintroduced a bill regarding SACC lending. A private members bill by Labor MP Madeleine King was introduced to the House of Representatives on 18 February 2019 (SACC Bill). The SACC Bill replicates the National Consumer Credit Protection Amendment (Small Amount Credit Contract and Consumer Lease Reforms) Bill 2019 [No. 2], which was introduced to the House of Representatives by Independent MP Cathy McGowan on 22 October 2018, but has since been abandoned.

The SACC Bill amends the NCCP to:

• require SACCs to have equal repayments and payment intervals
• remove the ability for SACC providers to charge monthly fees in respect of the residual term of a loan where a consumer fully repays the loan early
• impose a ceiling on the total payments that can be paid under rent-to-buy schemes
• prevent lessors and credit assistance providers from undertaking door-to-door selling of leases at residential homes
• introduce anti-avoidance protections, and
• increase penalties.

In November 2016, the then financial services minister the Hon Kelly O’Dwyer committed to lowering the cap on SACCs and total payments on consumer leases.[1] However, following an interior backlash, the government failed to introduce legislation to enact the policy.[2]