The Australian Securities & Investments Commission published a keynote speech setting out its 2025-26 priorities for consumer credit supervision and enforcement, with an emphasis on testing whether National Credit Act protections are being applied consistently across the sector. The priority areas highlighted were mortgage brokers, motor vehicle finance, lender responses to financial hardship, debt management and credit repair, debt collection, and business models designed to avoid consumer credit protections. Work on mortgage brokers includes engagement with large aggregators on compliance with the best interests duty, using data on recommendations, loan flows, remuneration and complaints, with further review planned of complaints handling, internal dispute resolution, and aggregator audit and compliance supervision. A motor vehicle finance surveillance is examining seven lenders and the conduct of brokers and intermediaries, including outcomes for regional and remote communities and First Nations consumers, and will publish initial insights in the coming weeks with a more detailed report later; ASIC also referenced targeted used-car finance enforcement (including ongoing proceedings against Diamond Wheels and Keo Automotive for alleged unlicensed lending) and noted it is considering next steps after a court largely rejected ASIC’s claims against Money3 Loans but found limited responsible lending contraventions. Financial hardship oversight will continue into 2025-26, alongside court actions including an application for approval of an AUD 40 million penalty against ANZ within an admitted AUD 240 million penalty package, an AUD 15.5 million penalty against National Australia Bank and a subsidiary for missing the 21-day response timeframe, awaiting an outcome in similar proceedings against Westpac, and proceedings against Resimac alleging a ‘one-size-fits-all’ hardship assessment approach. Surveillance of debt management and credit repair will assess compliance across around 100 licensees, while a debt collection surveillance is planned to start in the coming months covering credit providers, debt buyers and contingent collectors; enforcement examples cited included refusal of Bakken Holdings’ credit licence application, infringement notices to Chapter Two Holdings, proceedings against CashnGo alleging hourly monitoring of customers’ balances and unscheduled debits after default affecting about 20% of small amount credit contracts held by over 34,000 customers and generating AUD 77 million in revenue, and actions against alleged avoidance models including a court-imposed AUD 7.4 million penalty against Rent4Keeps and proceedings against Snaffle and Oak Capital.

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