Responsible lending laws to be scrapped
‘The federal government has revealed it will move to overhaul credit practices by scrapping responsible lending obligations under the NCCP.
Commonwealth Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has announced the government will move to simplify the credit process, by scrapping responsible lending obligations from the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (NCCP), with the exception of small amount credit contracts (SACCs) and consumer leases.
The proposed reforms also involve a shift from a ‘lender beware’ model to a ‘borrower responsibility’ model, allowing lenders to rely on the information provided by borrowers.
These changes, in effect, remove the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s (ASIC) responsible lending remit, with the regulator no longer authorised to exercise its enforcement powers.
However, the government has stressed that lenders would still be subject to regulation from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), which will continue to issue guidance regarding sound credit assessment and approval criteria.’
Charbel Kadib, The Advertisor, 25 Sep 2020
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