Renee Coffey
Griffith · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“He has also been a leader in sepsis advocacy, helping improve awareness, care and recovery for people affected by sepsis. Professor Hans Peter Soyer received his honour for distinguished service in dermatology, skin cancer diagnosis, medical research and governance.”
“His work aims to find skin cancers earlier, improve patient outcomes and address gaps in access to care, especially in regional, rural and remote Australia. Katarina Carroll AO APM received her honour for distinguished service to law enforcement, disaster management and the community.”
“This year's King's Birthday Honours recognised 14 Griffith recipients whose service reflects the best of our community. In my short few minutes here today, I want to acknowledge a few of them. Matthew Ames received his honour for significant service to community health, engineering, business administration and corporate governance.”
“Christine also contributed to the taskforce on domestic and family violence which delivered the landmark Not now, not ever report. She now serves on the board of DVConnect, continuing to work to support people experiencing violence and abuse. I also acknowledge the other Griffith recipients named in this year's honours.”
“Australia's strength has never come from sameness. It has come from the people who have built lives across difference, from our many First Nations communities with millennia of history and culture—the oldest continuous cultures on earth—to people who arrive with little English, little money and deep hope for their children, people who tur…”
“My friend the member for Reid said in this House in her maiden speech: In just over half a century, we have moved from an embrace of a White Australia policy to a country that is now a majority-migrant nation. But what is more remarkable is how this news was received—not with backlash but with a genuine embrace of modern Australia.”
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“Since 1999, house prices have risen by more than 400 per cent, more than twice as fast as incomes. We owe it to them to level the playing field and give them a fairer pathway into homeownership. That is why this budget rebalances the tax system in the housing market. From July 2027 negative gearing for residential property will be limited to new builds that add to our housing supply. People who want to invest in property, build wealth and use negative gearing still can, but that support will be directed towards building more homes. Under this approach, investment in property will also support the construction of more of the homes that we need. This is not easy reform, but it is the right reform.”
“We are continuing to make medicines cheaper through the PBS, with an additional $5.9 billion to list more medicines, including treatments for cystic fibrosis and chronic kidney disease, so Australians can access life-saving and life-changing treatments without being priced out of care. Across Griffith, I speak with young people who are working hard, saving for a deposit and doing everything they were told would put homeownership within reach, but the path to a first home has become steeper, narrower and less fair. People in Griffith are going to inspections, turning up at auctions and bidding for homes they want to live in—a place of security, stability and belonging. Too often I hear they are competing against investors who have the tax system on their side and they are watching prices move further away.”
“In health, this budget strengthens Medicare and invests in care close to home. We're delivering $1.8 billion over five years to make Medicare urgent care clinics a permanent part of our health system. In South Brisbane, Coorparoo and Carina, the clinics have already supported more than 40,000 presentations in my community. Now they will provide permanent relief to our healthcare system so families can access walk-in bulk-billed care without sitting for hours in an emergency department. We're also delivering an additional $25 billion over five years for public hospitals, including for the Princess Alexandra Hospital, the Mater and Queensland Children's Hospital in my community.”
“Across Griffith I hear the same message in different ways. At my mobile offices, commuter terminals, my coffees at local cafes, community events and in conversations with families, students, renters, first home buyers, workers, small-business owners and pensioners, people are working hard and doing their best. They are making careful decisions about household budgets and they want to know that their government understands those pressures and is acting responsibly to help. This year's federal budget is about helping people now while making responsible changes for the future. That is why we are delivering cost-of-living relief, strengthening fuel security and lifting productivity while reforming our tax system to address longstanding issues of housing. These national changes are felt locally across every suburb in my community.”
“It is weather, memory, family, language, longing and return. It is the city we inherit, the city we make and the city that goes on making us. Perhaps that was true of Malouf himself—gentle, generous, exacting, attentive, a writer who taught us to look again at the world closest to us and to find there the whole world. My condolences to David's nieces and nephews and to everyone who loved him. Vale, David Malouf.”
“In Earth Hour , which he wrote much later in life, he turned again to the fragile gifts of the natural world—light, breeze, blossom, birdsong—and small moments that ask us to notice while there is still time. That is where Malouf's work so often begins—a street, a house, a fall of light, the heat held in a timber floorboard, the shade of a verandah, the river turning quietly through a city. From Edmondstone Street, from South Brisbane and West End, from the remembered textures of an older Brisbane, his imagination opened onto the largest questions: who we are, where we belong, what we carry and how the past continues to live in us. The city has changed. Houses have given way. Streetscapes have shifted. Skylines have most certainly risen. But Malouf reminds us that place is never only in its buildings.”
“In my 20s, I worked evenings and weekends as an usher in Brisbane Powerhouse, a performing arts and cultural centre on Brisbane River. During that time there was a stage production of John no , my first introduction to the writings of Malouf. Watching that show from the darkened wings of the theatre night after night, I couldn't quite believe how consistently and magically I was transported through time to 1940s and 1950s Brisbane and how his writing made me strangely nostalgic for a time I never knew. In Johnno , Malouf gave Brisbane one of its great literary portraits, revealed through memory and affection as anything but ordinary. And 12 Edmondstone Street , named after his childhood home, showed us how a vanished home could remain alive in the mind long after the street had changed.”
“Tall buildings now surround 12 Edmonstone Street in South Brisbane, in my electorate of Griffith. The old weatherboard queenslander is gone. It was a place that David once called home. Today, I pay tribute to David Malouf AO. David is one of Australia's great writers, a Queenslander and, importantly, one of Brisbane's great literary voices. David was born in Brisbane on 20 March 1934. He grew up in South Brisbane. He passed away on 22 April this year, aged 92, leaving behind a body of work that reached across poetry, novels, short stories, essays, libretti and memoir. His writing took us across continents and centuries, from hot, suburban Brisbane to ancient worlds, but it returned us again and again to the questions of memory, identity, belonging and home.”
“After passing the required legislation in March to support Australia's participation in the high-seas biodiversity treaty, this government is now turning that commitment into action through targeted investment and practical project delivery. We're investing $11.5 million to improve the management of Australia's marine parks, support sea country partnerships with traditional owners and strengthen Australia's ocean leadership. Protecting the environment means protecting the places that sustain us and giving the next generation a country where nature is cared for, threatened species have a future and the restoration of nature is backed in. This budget keeps us moving in that direction with care, ambition and the continued national leadership needed to protect nature and the places that Australians love.”
“This budget also provides $110.8 million to continue protecting native species and biodiversity and $21.1 million to continue water reform activities, including support for First Nations people to access and manage water; transparency and integrity in water markets; and the Goyder Institute for Water Research. Queensland is home to six of the world's seven marine turtle species, all of which are considered threatened due to climate change, habitat loss and predation. That is why the Albanese government is continuing to deliver $820,000 for the Nest to Ocean Turtle Protection Program in partnership with the Queensland government. Since 2014, this program has helped an estimated 2.5 million hatchlings begin their journey to the sea, with 90 per cent of eggs now hatched through predator control and direct nest protection measures.”
“For the first time, Australia will have national environmental standards, providing clear and consistent rules to guide decision-making and better protect our environment. This budget now delivers the funding to put those reforms into action, with $250 million to establish Australia's first national environmental protection agency. This is a massive step forward for our country. In just 48 days, Australia will have a strong independent national environmental regulator with the power to enforce our environmental laws, conduct audits, improve accountability and make sure that the rules designed to protect nature are properly upheld.”
“One of the great privileges of representing Griffith is seeing how deeply our community cares for the natural places around us. When I join with the Bulimba Creek Catchment Coordinating Committee or the Norman Creek Catchment Coordinating Committee, when I attend our community forums and meet with our local ACF and WWF members, when I see their practical work that's happening to restore our natural habitats—in particular, the care of the koala populations we have in my area and all the work to keep our waterways healthy—I see that care in action. That's why I'm proud that this budget continues our work to protect Australia's natural environment. Last year, this government passed historic laws through the parliament—landmark reforms that marked a major step forward in the way Australia protects nature.”
“And we're building an additional 100,000 homes reserved just for first home buyers. We will limit negative gearing to new builds, reform capital gains tax arrangements and extend the ban on foreign investors buying existing homes. This budget delivers a historic package of reforms that will help rebalance the system. Young people today deserve the chance to buy their own place. It is clear the status quo on housing isn't working. Australians are facing a housing system that is stacked against them, so we are changing it. This is what real action on housing looks like, not like what we've seen from those opposite, who want to blame it on our migrant communities and God knows what else.”
“More than 20 years ago I bought my first home: a run down flat in Cannon Hill. I was 21. I was living out of home, working multiple jobs and saving half my pay cheque. Within two years, I had a small deposit, and with it I bought a home of my own. For young people today, including my niece. who's up in the gallery, that same pathway is out of reach, and that is not fair. I hear it from young people trying to get a foothold, from parents worried about their children's future and from grandparents who want the next generation to have the same chances that they had. That's why our budget invests a further $2 billion in infrastructure and continues our five per cent deposit scheme, which has already helped more than 1,215 people in my community of Griffith buy their first home.”
“For all of those who have been advocating for these changes and changes beyond this—I absolutely acknowledge their passion, their persistence and their absolute, fierce advocacy on these matters. I thank them very sincerely.”
“It gives victims stronger safety measures, makes it easier to get mental health help, speeds things up and simplifies them, encourages openness and responsibility and puts right something wrong from the past. It will help create a military justice system which is more in line with the principles we expect of our Defence Force personnel—dedication, consideration for others, bravery, honesty and looking out for one another. We need to continue this improvement for all who are serving, all those who have served and their families who share in the burdens of service. There is still so much more work for us to do in this space, but I am so proud of these changes and what they will address. I do absolutely acknowledge the hard work that is happening throughout Australia and, in particular, in my community.”
“People with a close connection to the case, including the families of veterans who have died, can also apply. If a conviction is removed, it will be taken off all Defence Force records, and the person won't have to disclose it. Others will be prevented from disclosing it without permission. This won't erase the pain caused by this past discrimination, but it can reduce ongoing legal and personal problems. It can give back dignity to records that should never have been marked like that. It's telling those veterans and their families that their service is valued, their dignity is important and their record should never have been tainted by prejudice. These reforms go to the real human consequences of a system that must be safer, fairer and more responsive.”
“Victims are kept waiting, those accused are in limbo, families are stressed, commanders are less clear about what's happening, and people lose faith in the system. This bill creates a new system for 'summary contraventions'—less serious offences—as a middle ground in the discipline system. Finally, this bill puts right a shameful injustice. Defence personnel were punished for a long time for having consensual same-sex relations. Some were charged and convicted under Defence Force laws for something that should never have been a crime. These convictions did lasting damage to people's careers, records, reputations, relationships and families and caused unnecessary shame. This bill allows people to apply to have these convictions removed if the activity was consensual and wouldn't be a crime if it happened between a man and a woman.”
“The language in the Defence Force Discipline Act is also being updated, including the offence of 'malingering'. Language, we know, can make stigma worse or reduce it, and, in mental health, this is absolutely, vitally important. In the Defence Force, where people are already reluctant to seek help because of rank, the culture and fears about how it will affect their career, it's even more important. Recommendation 63 of the royal commission endorsed reducing stigma and getting rid of barriers to getting help, and this bill contributes to that. The bill also makes the military discipline system more efficient. This might seem like a technical detail, but it will have a real impact on people. When a case drags on, everybody suffers.”
“A Defence mental health tribunal framework is being established, and courts martial, Defence Force magistrates, review bodies and appeal courts will have clearer ways to order mental health assessments. This is a significant step forward, acknowledging that mental health problems require specialist, structured and compassionate care. If someone is too mentally unwell to enter a plea or to be held responsible for their actions, the system should have a proper route to providing care, treatment, possible detention or release with appropriate protection for everyone. This isn't about letting people off the hook; it's about ensuring accountability is combined with fairness, a good understanding of the clinical issues and public safety.”
“This gives commanders clearer ways to deal with unacceptable behaviour and reinforces the standards expected across the entire ADF. Changing culture isn't just about new laws, but laws can set expectations, give leaders more responsibility and make it harder to excuse, ignore or cover up bad behaviour. A defence force where people are treated with respect isn't a bonus; it's absolutely essential for safety, trust and the Defence Force being able to do its job. People perform best when they feel valued, are more likely to get help early if they'll be treated well and have more faith in the system if they see harmful behaviour having consequences. Important changes are also being made to how mental health is handled within the Defence Force's disciplinary system.”
“Tribunals will have to think about the effect on victims, and the difference in rank between the person committing the offence and the victim will be recognised as important. This is especially vital in the military, where rank is a key part of daily life, and abusing that power can be incredibly damaging. Accountability is also being improved. Some convictions within the Defence Force will now be included in a person's criminal record when they deal with the civilian police. Serious wrongdoing shouldn't just disappear within the Defence Force's internal procedures. Victims need to feel the system isn't downplaying what happened to them, and the public generally have a right to transparency. The bill also introduces a disciplinary issue, a service offence for harassment and a related breach of rules and regulations.”
“I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge a particularly fierce advocate in my community for our veterans—in particular women veterans and women who serve in our defence forces—Julia Delaforce. I am incredibly appreciative of Julia for all of her ongoing work in this space, standing up for the rights of our female soldiers and veterans. The bill makes it easier to suspend Defence Force members and now includes situations where someone is under criminal investigation by the police, not just the Defence Force itself, and where workplace safety could be jeopardised. This is a sensible and kind change. Safety doesn't have to wait for charges to be filed. Defence, like any employer, needs to act when there is a risk of harm. Sentencing for serious violence and sexual offences will also be improved.”
“It makes the process simpler, fairer and faster. It increases openness. It brings parts of the military justice system more in line with the standards Australians expect from other courts. This bill prioritises protecting victims and making workplaces within the Defence Force safer, particularly when investigations into sexual misconduct or serious crimes are happening. The royal commission's entire sixth volume dealt with sexual violence in the military, unacceptable behaviour and military justice, and it's something we should all be deeply concerned about. No-one should ever feel unsafe at work or be made to continue working with someone being investigated if it puts their safety or wellbeing at risk.”
“Someone accused of a crime needs to be treated fairly, have a clear understanding of the process and not have that drag on and on. If mental health is a factor, the system must have the skills and understanding to respond with care. This bill helps move the military justice system in that direction. The Defence Force Discipline Amendment (RCDVS Implementation and Related Measures No. 1) Bill 2026 puts into action important recommendations from the royal commission relating to military justice, specifically recommendations 18, 20, 23, 34 and 63. In effect, the bill aims to bring the military discipline system up to date. It makes sure victims are better protected, especially victims of sexual and violent attacks. It creates better mental health support for people going through military discipline processes.”
“Someone already vulnerable can be pushed even further into crisis if they feel stuck in a system that doesn't hear them, defend them or treat them fairly. That is why the royal commission's conclusions about military justice are so vital. The royal commission showed that people in the ADF who have been involved with the military justice system are more likely to attempt suicide, and it was very clear that a properly working military justice system is essential not only for the good order and running of the Defence Force but also for the mental health and wellbeing of those who serve. That's a significant point. It shows us that justice, discipline and looking after people's wellbeing can't be viewed as separate things. A victim of a crime needs to be protected, informed and supported.”
“Just a couple of weeks ago I was able to visit another service in my community, Mindful Mates Social Services, and its founder, Josh. He's passionate about building mental fitness for veterans, and there are so many other individuals in my community who are doing this really important work. Through these experiences and through my past work in the mental health sector, I know that mental wellbeing isn't just about what happens inside a person; it's also shaped by what support systems are around them. A clear, understandable process can lessen someone's distress. A safe work environment can encourage people to get help sooner. A system that actually listens can help someone feel less on their own. But the reverse is also true. Delays, confusion, people being ashamed to ask for help, and silence can all make things worse.”
“In that moment I thought about the profound responsibility we all share to do everything in our power to safeguard the futures of those who safeguarded ours. I thank everybody at Gallipoli Medical Research for the work they do each day to improve the health and wellbeing of veterans, service personnel and their families. I also acknowledge Legacy for the extraordinary care they provide to families connected to service. For generations, Legacy has stood beside partners, children and families carrying grief, loss and uncertainty after a loved one's service. Their work is practical, compassionate and deeply human, from social connection and advocacy to support for young people, helping families feel less alone when life has changed in ways they never expected.”
“Last year Gallipoli Medical Research celebrated its 20th anniversary, and it was a real joy to be there and join them for that milestone. It was a moment to recognise not only the research itself but the people behind it—the clinicians, researchers, veterans, families, partners and supporters who have built an organisation grounded in service, care and evidence. There was a moment from the last time I had the privilege to visit Gallipoli Medical Research that will stay with me forever. As we walked through the building, we were quietly asked to pause and step aside. We didn't know why at first, and then we saw a flag-draped coffin being carried past—a veteran, a soldier who had served this nation with courage and conviction. The hallway fell silent and we stood united in our respect.”
“For children in defence families, service can mean long goodbyes to a parent, changing schools and suburbs, leaving friends and having to get used to a new life—sometimes multiple times. It brings pride, yes, but also worry to a young person trying to understand a parent's stress, injury, trauma or absence at a time when they may not have the words for it. I saw the strength in those families and how important it is for the support around them to be consistent and respectful and to respond to their needs. When one person serves, the entire family is impacted. I want to take a moment to acknowledge those in my electorate of Griffith who are doing very important work with the veterans who served our country. In Griffith we're fortunate to have Gallipoli Medical Research, whose work has been changing lives for two decades.”
“It was painful and it was freely given with the hope that others will be safer, get better help and be treated with more respect. This bill, the Defence Force Discipline Amendment (RCDVS Implementation and Related Measures No. 1) Bill 2026, is part of how we show courage with concrete action. Service isn't just done by the person in uniform; it is also carried out by their families. Before coming into this place, I worked with the children of defence families, and it's work that has stayed with me. We naturally think of the person in uniform when we talk about service, but it's also carried out at the kitchen table, in classrooms, in the playground and in the normal everyday life of a family.”
“I start by recognising all who currently serve or have previously served in the Australian Defence Force—veterans and their families, those who support them, the people who provide their care and those grieving lost loved ones. Their bravery and courage helped bring the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide into being. Some talked about their own time in the military, others about the person they loved and lost. Some spoke of the systems they tried to use, the phone calls they made, the concerns they raised, and the times when help should have arrived earlier and the damage done when it didn't. To everyone who shared their story with the royal commission, I say: thank you. The evidence provided to the royal commission was deeply felt.”
“Our consumer laws should support them in that. This bill introduces an economy-wide prohibition on unfair trading practices. It tackles those subscription traps. It tackles drip pricing, and it strengthens consumer protections for the way Australians buy, compare and subscribe today. People in our community are working hard. They are budgeting carefully, and they're making thoughtful choices every day. Our consumer laws should meet them with the same honesty and the same fairness.”
“When they sign up for a trial, they should be clearly told when it ends, what it will cost and how they can cancel, and, when they decide a service is no longer right for them, they should be able to leave without being sent in circles. That standard is good for customers, but it is also good for the many businesses that are already doing the right thing. A business that's upfront about its practices and its prices and that's clear about its terms and respectful of its customers should not be disadvantaged by competitors who rely on confusion and on hidden costs. Most people are simply trying to make good decisions for themselves and for their families. They are trying to manage their money, support their children, keep their small businesses running and get through the week with a little less stress and a little more certainty.”
“That support is important because these organisations see the real-world consequences of unfair practices. They hear from people who are dealing with financial stress, confusing contracts, hidden fees, high-pressure sales tactics and systems that make it harder to act in their own interests. These reforms are about treating people fairly in the ordinary decisions they make every day. They recognise the time people spend comparing prices, checking terms and managing household budgets, especially when the cost of living is already stretching families and small businesses. When someone compares prices, they should be able to trust that the first price they see is not hiding mandatory fees.”
“They sponsor our local sports teams, they support our school raffles, they employ locals, and they know their customers by name. They deserve fair treatment too, and the principle should remain at the centre of these ongoing consultations. Seventeen leading consumer groups welcomed the introduction of this bill. The Consumer Policy Research Centre has described a ban on unfair business practices as the missing part of Australian consumer law. CHOICE has put the competition point clearly: businesses should compete on price and quality, not by manipulating or distorting the choices that people make. The Consumer Action Law Centre has said these reforms have the potential to transform the consumer experience away from harm and towards real fairness.”
“That is a balanced approach and gives businesses time to prepare while making the direction clear. While this bill focuses mainly on consumer protections, unfair trading practices can affect small businesses and franchisees too. Many small businesses deal with larger suppliers, platforms, landlords and franchisors. They can face information imbalances, bargaining pressures and systems that are difficult to challenge. That is why consultation on extending protections to small businesses is important. We have already commenced targeted consultations on extending protection from unfair trading practices to small businesses and franchisees and are considering whether further steps are appropriate in the financial services sector. Small businesses are integral to my community of Griffith.”
“This bill deals with conduct that crosses that line. These new rules are backed by real consequences, because a right is only meaningful if it can be enforced. This bill aligns penalties for contraventions of these new unfair trading subscription and drip-pricing provisions with the existing civil penalty settings under the Australian Consumer Law. That sends a clear message: consumer harm cannot be treated as a cost of doing business, and fairness cannot be optional. We have also taken a sensible approach to implementation, with these changes coming into effect on 1 July next year, giving businesses the appropriate time to understand their obligations and to adjust their practices. This bill also provides for a review of the new measures within two years of commencement, which will help ensure the protections are operating as intended.”
“When people are confident in the marketplace, they're more willing to be involved; when they can compare easily, the best businesses can get customers on their own merits; and when unfair practices are discouraged, businesses have a greater reason to come up with new ideas to improve and to compete fairly. This bill is not about stopping businesses from advertising, promoting their products or competing strongly. Businesses should absolutely be able to explain why their product is good value, why their service is useful and why a customer might choose them, but there is a difference between persuasion and manipulation. There is a difference between encouraging a customer and trapping a customer. There is a difference between making a sale and designing a process that makes it harder for someone to make a free and informed choice.”
“Small businesses in our communities work hard for every customer. They understand that how people see them matters and that trust is built up over time through being fair with prices, communicating clearly and offering respectful service. They don't want to be forced into using underhanded tactics simply because others are. Being upfront shouldn't mean they lose out to competitors who use hidden fees, confusing websites or extra steps to make things difficult. This bill creates a more equal playing field. It says that businesses should win customers by offering better products, better service and better value, not by making it harder for people to work out what they're actually buying. This is good for customers, good for businesses, good for competition and good for how much we achieve as a country.”
“Transparent pricing is vital for proper competition. If prices aren't clear to begin with, people can't compare them properly, and, if people can't compare them properly, the market doesn't function as it should. This bill makes it harder to use drip pricing and other charges added at the transaction stage by requiring all transaction based charges to be shown with the original price if they can be calculated at that point or an explanation of how the charge will be worked out if it can't be worked out in advance. Because of this, Australians will be in a better position to see the full cost earlier on, make a proper comparison, decide if they want to go ahead and make a choice with more confidence and all of the information. This change is also about helping good businesses.”
“This bill also tackles drip pricing, which is a familiar frustration for many Australians. You find a price online, it looks okay, you begin to buy and you fill in your details. You choose your date, seat, room, delivery method or ticket. Then, right at the end of the payment process, hidden additional costs are added to the cart: transaction fees, booking fees, service fees and processing fees. The final cost is now significantly different to the price you were initially shown. At this stage, you might feel you've come too far to stop. You've spent time comparing and filling in your details. You may be buying something with a deadline—tickets for your children, travel for a family event—or making plans around work and child care. The true price should have been stated at the very beginning.”
“People who are busy, careful with their money and tired are being made to deal with deliberately confusing systems. The CPRC's research also shows us that 90 per cent of Australians would use the same company again if cancelling were fast and simple. That's a key point in this discussion, as treating people decently isn't against what businesses should do; it's simply good for business. People remember how they're treated when they finish with a company—whether their time was valued, the details were clear and the processes were honest. This bill makes companies reveal all the important details of a subscription at the time of signing up, send reminders at specific points during the subscription and make sure there's a really easy, obvious way to cancel.”
“Half of those people spent longer than they intended simply cancelling, one in three felt pressured to keep it and one in 10 just gave up and continued paying for something they didn't even want. The latest estimates are that these traps are costing Australians around $46 million each year, which is a national price tag for the little, sneaky, irritating and unexpected charges many of us see on our bills. These numbers, of course, represent real people. Think of the parent, up late after the kids are in bed, hunting for the cancel button or the student who signed up for a trial during an exam period and missed the renewal date. Consider the older Australian unsure if a pop-up is actually telling them something or attempting to frighten them into remaining a subscriber.”
“Something that may have taken seconds to sign up for shouldn't take half an afternoon to stop. People shouldn't have to search through many account pages, be shown lots of warnings and offers to stay, or have to phone during work hours when they signed up quite simply online. If you can join with a few clicks, you should be able to leave with a few clicks too. You should be told exactly when a free trial ends, when you'll be charged, how your subscription will automatically renew and, crucially, how to cancel it without being endlessly passed around different departments. The Consumer Policy Research Centre, the CPRC, has been looking closely at the problems caused by these subscription traps, and their research shows that three in four Australians who have subscriptions have had a bad experience trying to get rid of one.”
“They're useful and flexible and can be good value. But all too often these subscriptions depend on people forgetting, missing a renewal date or finding it hard to cancel. Someone might start a free trial intending to cancel if it's not suitable. But then they forget the reminder, the trial finishes and the money is taken. For some households, this might be a small annoying charge. For others, it could be the difference between being okay financially and going over budget. For a small business it could mean paying for software, booking, delivery, wages or marketing they're not using at a time when every expense is important. Then comes the second frustration—trying to cancel. I know every single member in this chamber here this evening has had this frustration.”
“It acknowledges that people can be pushed into decisions that aren't in their favour by difficulties, confusion, being overloaded with information, pressure and, let's be frank, tiredness. These changes will stop business methods that depend on confusion, tricks in the design, unnecessary difficulties or people just being exhausted. They establish a standard that is both clear and fair and one that good businesses should be able to meet. One of the clearest examples of why this reform is needed is subscription traps. Subscriptions are now a huge part of life for both families and small businesses—streaming, music, meal boxes, fitness, kids' learning software, cloud storage, news and so much more. Small businesses use them daily for accounting, wages, booking, point of sale, website hosting, email, rosters and delivery.”
“Sometimes it's about what isn't said upfront on a website, sometimes it's a fee that only shows up at the very end of a purchasing process, sometimes it's a website's design that subtly pushes, pressures or prevents people in ways they don't even realise and sometimes it's where a cancellation option technically exists but is so difficult to find that people often find they just give up trying. I've actually had constituents mention to me in passing that they have found it easier to cancel their credit card and get a new one issued than to actually work out how to unsubscribe from some services. This bill acknowledges that a consumer's choice can be undermined even without a direct lie.”
“This harm isn't only financial; it also includes wasted time, frustration and lost confidence from being forced through systems that aren't meant to be fair for consumers. This is an overdue and necessary update to our consumer protection laws. For a long time, the Australian consumer law has correctly protected us from misleading information and unfair contracts. Those protections are important, but in today's digital age consumers face a different environment.”
“It restores fairness to everyday purchases by ensuring people know the true price before committing, understand the conditions of something before they agree to it and can leave a service without being endlessly redirected. It also supports the many businesses that already are honest and respectful to customers. Australians shouldn't have to be experts in the small print to be able to be treated well. By amending the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, this bill strengthens our Australian consumer law by banning unfair trading practices generally, with specific changes for unfair subscriptions and improved protections against drip pricing and similar charges that appear during a transaction. Fundamentally, this bill is about stopping unfair things that manipulate people's choices, distort what they decide and really harm them.”