Credit, Commercial and Consumer Law

Overview

The Credit, Commercial and Consumer Law (CCCL) Program is a consolidation of the expertise within the QUT Faculty of Law in the broad area of consumer protection law. The research program consists of the work of a number of researchers across traditional areas of law such as contract, trade practices, financial services and particularly consumer credit, corporate and insolvency. These areas are drawn together around a central theme of consumer protection. The CCCL aims to be a dynamic research program that integrates the expertise in these areas of law to answer policy and legal challenges that confront governments, the courts and business in credit, commercial and consumer law.

The CCCL seeks to provide research that can promote a high standard of public debate about the law relating to consumer protection generally as well as inform decision makers in government, business and the broader community. The vision is that the program will be recognised for its contribution in legal, business, government and academic fields by its research output and inculcation of further study in its areas of expertise.

Research program

In the rapidly changing consumer protection regulatory environment  the CCCL Program members are focussing their research efforts on the following topics and questions:

  • Disclosure - examining the 'length and content' and what it actually means to a consumer - is disclosure an effective means of consumer protection and can 'electronic disclosure' facilitate greater consumer engagement and understanding. While the introduction and ongoing development of the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 and refinement of The Australian Consumer Law are a key focus the CCCL is also examining the issue of disclosure generally as it affects consumers' ability to make informed decisions. Disclosure issues relating to the refinements to consumer laws affecting consumer comprehension are being examined particularly with respect to the new provisions relating to 'unfair contract' terms for all financial services and contracts generally such as those relating to utilities including electricity and telecommunications.

  • Financial Advice and Client Well-being - together with a major industry partner an investigation of the direct and indirect associations between financial planning advice and client well-being and life satisfaction (using financial, psychological and other measures) and modelling these relationships with the view to providing both statistical and descriptive evidence on the value of advice to client satisfaction and well-being.

  • National Credit Code (NCC) - the role of responsible lending versus interest rate caps - several states have in place 'interest rate cap' legislation for which no equivalent currently exists in the NCC. The CCCL Program is examining the possible effectiveness of the 'responsible lending' provisions as well as the licensing, disclosure and general consumer protection requirements of the NCC and whether these will provide an appropriate substitute for the protection of vulnerable consumers. See News and Publications for the first report - Phase Two of the National Credit Reforms - Examining the Regulation of Payday Lenders completed in March 2011.

  • Financial products and services regulation and its effectiveness a decade on from the 'Wallis Inquiry' - responding to market failures relating to complex products and services such as 'margin lending' - what role did product design and product intermediation including 'conflicts of interest' (particularly those related to remuneration) play . Should 'Retail' clients have access to certain structured and complex financial products and if so what safeguards should be put in place. The program is also examining the implications of the government's proposals for the 'Future of Financial Advice' (FOFA).

  • The Code of Banking Practice and Guarantor rights - the program aims to examine the impact of the current credit environment on the use of guarantees in lending  to both personal customers and small business customers and in particular the impact on guarantors of sole directorship and partnership business structures.

Details

The CCCL Program, as well as engaging in research also actively contributes to the development and refinement of public policy through the involvement of both the academic and professional staff as well as members of its Advisory Board participating both directly with government policy makers and through pro bono work with consumer bodies and peak trade associations.

The Advisory Board has strong representation drawn from all major stakeholder groups including regulators, major industry participants (including financial service providers and trade associations), financial counsellors, regulatory and compliance specialists and consumer representatives.

Through this participation CCCL is able to provide news updates and information about submissions to government and regulatory authorities made by CCCL and in cooperation with other academics and centres of research as well as updates and commentary from its generous supporters.

News

In July 2010 the CCCL Program welcomed Eleonora Bazzo as a visiting PhD student from the University of Turin, Italy, for a two month research examination of the Consumer Credit regulatory regime in Australia. As part of her PhD Eleonora is conducting a comparison between the Italian and EU Directives in relation to consumer credit with other jurisdictions. Australia and in particular the CCCL Program provided her with an ideal environment to study the recent and further proposed changes to the Australian regulatory environment relating to consumer credit particularly as the CCCL program is undertaking research related to Phase II of the Federal Government's National Credit policy agenda with a specific focus on regulatory mechanisms such as responsible lending and the retention of 'Interest Rate Caps' by several States.

In January 2011 Eleonora submitted the linked article which provides a summary of both the EU Directives and the consequent changes to the Italian regulatory regime applicable to Consumer Credit:

Consumer Credit - the European 2010 Directive and implementation in Italy (PDF file, 279.05 KB)

In September the LJRC welcomed Professor Peter Shears from the University of Plymouth to present a guest lecture as part of the faculty's lunchtime lecture series. Professor Shears shares a common interest in the development of consumer law and as well as researching and teaching he also presents a regular radio program on the BBC.

The Topic of his lecture " Enforcing the Consumer's Right to Be Stupid" was drawn from the Consumer Protection introduced under the Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 which came into force on 26 May 2008 in the UK. The Regulations implemented the EU Unfair Commercial Practices Directive in the UK, and replaced more than 25 pieces of consumer protection legislation that were then in force. These Regulations introduced a general duty not to trade unfairly and seek to ensure that traders act honestly and fairly towards their customers. They apply primarily to business to consumer practices, but they go further. In a schedule they outlaw a number of business practices that have vexed consumers and their advisors over many years. The presentation took an overview of the Regulations and a closer, practical and illustrated view of many of these particular practices. 

Phase Two of the National Credit Reforms - Examining the Regulation of Payday Lenders - Survey and Report March 2011

This study seeks to analyse the adequacy of the current regulation of the payday lending industry in Australia, and considers whether there is a need for additional regulation to protect consumers of these services. The study examines the different regulatory approaches adopted in comparable OECD countries, and reviews alternative models for payday regulation, in particular, the role played by responsible lending. The study also examines the consumer protection mechanisms now in existence in Australia in the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (Cth) (NCCP) and the National Credit Code (NCC) contained in Schedule 1 of that Act and in the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (Cth). 

The research project has been conducted with funding from the Department of Justice and Attorney-General (Qld) by way of a grant from the Legal Practitioner Interest on Trust Account Fund Scheme to the CCCL as well as funding from the National Financial Services Federation (NFSF). In addition the Queensland Office of Fair Trading as well as the NFSF and its members have provided in-kind support and relevant data. 

Phase Two of the National Credit Reforms - Examining the Regulation of Payday Lenders completed in March 2011  (PDF file, 1197.7 KB)

People

Program leader

Professor Michael Lavarch

Program members

While the members of the Credit, Commercial and Consumer Law Program (CCCL) have expertise in a broad cross section of law associated with consumer protection they also have their own particular areas of research interest and activity. The members of the CCCL Program also have connections with faculties other than Law including the School of Accountancy in the Business faculty as well as Institutes and Research Programs both in Australia and overseas in order to examine consumer and small business protection in a practical real world environment.

Advisory board

The CCCL program operates under an academic research committee comprised of representatives from the QUT Law and Justice Research Centre, the Faculties of Law and Business as well as an Advisory Board of key members from the consumer and regulatory sectors as well as industry.

Regulatory, Consumer and Industry Representatives:

  • Mr Randal Dennings - Chair - Partner, National Compliance Division of Clayton Utz
  • Mr Chris Cunnington- Executive General Manager, Group Regulatory Affairs, Suncorp Group
  • Mr Alan Ducret - Queensland Regional Director, Australian Competition & Consumer Commission
  • Mr Calvert Duffy - Executive Director, Governance & Compliance, Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia
  • Ms Fiona Guthrie - Executive Director, Australian Financial Counselling and Credit Reform Association
  • Mr Boyd Honor - Senior Specialist, Deposit Takers, Credit and Insurance, Australian Securities and Investments Commission
  • Ms Melanie Spong - Senior Manager, Credit, Australian Securities and Investments Commission
  • Ms Loretta Kreet - Senior Solicitor, Legal Aid, Queensland
  • Ms Catherine Uhr - Senior Solicitor, Legal Aid, Queensland
  • Ms Judy Loughnan - General Counsel, Suncorp Group
  • Ms Mary McLean - Financial Counsellor, Lifeline, Darling Downs and South West Queensland
  • Mr Denis Nelthorpe - Special Projects Lawyer with the West Heidelberg Community Legal Centre and Footscray Legal Service
  • Mr Damian Sammon - Director, Fair Trading Policy Branch, Office of Fair Trading, Queensland
  • Ms Shirley Watters - Director, Spall Watters Group, specialist consultancy firm to non profit organisations
  • Mr David Thorpe - Associate Director, Australian Finance Conference Limited

Publications

Submissions

In May 2009 the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Competition Policy and Consumer Affairs released a consultation paper entitled "Consumer Voices - Sustaining advocacy and research in Australia's new consumer policy framework". This coincided with the government's announcements relating to the introduction of a single national generic consumer law - The Australian Consumer Law - including law to deal with 'unfair contract terms' and a national set of uniform 'product safety' laws.

Together with seven other Australian university research centres the CCCL Program made a joint submission to The Treasury advocating the establishment of a well funded "Australian Consumer Research Network"

Publications and external research reports

Publications relating to Consumer Credit:

In June 2010 the UK Office of Fair Trading published its report on its review of the high cost credit sector together with its recommendations relating to the regulation of the sector:

Policy Development

Research degree enquiries

Law and Justice

Partnership enquiries

Serita Pinalli - International Engagement Officer