The Australian Securities & Investments Commission announced that the Federal Court ordered National Australia Bank (NAB) and its subsidiary AFSH Nominees Pty Ltd (AFSH) to pay AUD 15.5 million in pecuniary penalties for failing to respond to customers facing financial hardship. The Court found that between 2018 and 2023 NAB and AFSH did not respond to 345 hardship applications within the 21-day timeframe required by law, leaving those consumers unaware of the outcome of their applications. Justice Neskovcin found the National Credit Code provisions breached under section 72 provide an important formal mechanism to protect consumers experiencing hardship and noted the high number of admitted contraventions of section 72(4). In addition to the penalty, NAB and AFSH must publish an adverse publicity notice on their websites, provide a copy of the notice to each affected customer, and pay ASIC’s costs; the failure was attributed to NAB staff incorrectly using a “reject” function in its system, resulting in no communication being sent until after ASIC commenced the proceeding.
Australian Securities & Investments Commission 2025-08-13
Australian Securities & Investments Commission secures $15.5 million Federal Court penalty against NAB and AFSH over hardship response failures
The Federal Court ordered National Australia Bank (NAB) and AFSH Nominees Pty Ltd to pay AUD 15.5 million for not responding to 345 financial hardship applications within 21 days from 2018 to 2023, breaching the National Credit Code. They must also publish an adverse notice, notify affected customers, and cover ASIC’s costs. The delay was due to staff misuse of a system function.