Sarah Witty
Melbourne · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“Before entering parliament, I worked in the homelessness sector at Homes for Homes. I there helped to build a pipeline of more than $110 million for social and affordable housing. During my time, I worked with property developers and helped them to engage with the organisation and raise that money.”
“But what had happened to her was that she had experienced domestic violence. Her husband had stopped her bank account. She was living on a friend's couch and couldn't stay there any longer. I was completely shocked. It is also a reminder to me that homelessness can happen quickly and it can happen to anyone.”
“Today, I want to speak about housing, not as a market and not as a headline but as a place where a person can close the door and feel safe. Recently, I met with the Victorian Homelessness Fund. Since 1987, the fund has worked to provide long-term homes for women and children escaping domestic violence. Their model is practical.”
“Where a cancelled flight causes additional cost, the proposed scheme seeks to make sure airlines cover reasonable costs, such as meals, transport or overnight accommodation. This bill is also important because aviation is not experienced equally by everyone.”
“This bill is not pretending every flight will run on time. It is not pretending every disruption can be avoided, and it is not pretending aviation can be simplified by legislation alone, but it does something important.”
“The ombudsperson will provide a fair, accessible and independent external dispute resolution service for complaints about airlines and airports.”
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“That is what this government is doing—taking pressure off households, cutting taxes for workers, strengthening Medicare, building more homes, repairing the budget, making the tax system fairer for the future. The opposition can say what they like, but Australians can see what really is going on—an opposition that opposes relief and then complains people are under pressure, an opposition that defends unfairness and then talks about aspiration, an opposition that offers slogans when families need solutions. This motion should be rejected, because it is about fear. Australians deserve better than fear. They deserve a government that acts. That is what Labor is doing. We promised to help with the cost of living; we are delivering. We promised to strengthen Medicare; we are delivering.”
“That is why we are delivering more tax relief for workers. That is why we are putting fairness back into the system. That is why we are making reforms that help bring the dream of homeownership within reach. This government is making difficult decisions, but difficult does not mean dishonest. Leadership means being straight with people about the challenges in front of us. The housing challenge is real. The cost-of-living challenge is real. The pressure on public services is real. The need to repair the budget is real. As a serious government faces those challenges, a serious government acts. This budget does not just acknowledge the people who feel the system is not working for them; it acts on it.”
“The opposition cannot spend years opposing tax relief and then pretend to be the party of lower taxes. They cannot oppose help for households and then pretend to care about the cost of living. They cannot block, delay and complain, and then ask Australians to forget the record. This is not strength. This is not leadership. This is not honesty. It is politics at its smallest. The opposition attacks these reforms because they do not want the real debate. Should the tax system reward people who work hard for a wage? Should young Australians get a fairer chance to buy a home? Should government make careful choices so we can fund Medicare, hospitals, housing and cost-of-living relief? On this side of the House, the answer is yes. That is why we are delivering tax cuts for every taxpayer.”
“It is delivering a new $1,000 instant tax deduction. It is cutting fuel taxes to help people fill up the car. It is making Medicare urgent care clinics permanent, and it is investing in public hospitals and cheaper medicines. That is the evidence. Not slogans, not fear—evidence. Here is the part the opposition does not want to talk about: when Labor delivered tax cuts, they opposed them. When Labor delivered cost-of-living relief, they opposed it. When Labor backed higher wages, they fought against it. When Labor acted to strengthen Medicare, they stood in the way. The Prime Minister was right when he said the opposition went to the last election arguing for higher taxes and higher deficits. Now they want to lecture Australians about tax.”
“I rise to speak against this motion because this motion is not really about honesty; it's about an opposition looking for a scare campaign because it has run out of an economic plan, but this government has not. Australians know what this government stands for. We stand for lower taxes for working people. We stand for responsible cost-of-living relief. We stand for stronger Medicare. We stand for cheaper medicines. We stand for more homes. We stand for an economy that rewards work, not just wealth. Labor cut income taxes for every taxpayer in our first term. We are cutting them again, and we are cutting them again after that. That is tax relief for working Australians. This Albanese Labor government is putting more money in the pockets of 13.3 million workers through the working Australians tax offset.”
“Urban Camp wants to expand so it can welcome more groups, more students, more community organisations and more visitors into Melbourne. I support that work because Melbourne is a city that welcomes people in. That is the Melbourne I love—a city of laneways, libraries, footy scarves and theatre curtains, a city that says, 'Come in, have a look and be a part of this.' So thank you to Urban Camp for the work you do, and thank you for the kids that have come to enjoy Melbourne.”
“Programs like this strengthen not only the individuals but the entire families and communities that love them. That is what Urban Camp does. It makes the possible practical. That matters because fairness is not only something we talk about in this place; it's something that families should feel in their everyday life. Each year, Urban Camp welcomes thousands of visitors through its doors, and each year it operates at capacity. That tells us the need is real. It tells us schools and community groups are looking for an affordable way to experience Melbourne. It tells us regional and interstate communities want to be part of culture and sporting education life in our city. It tells us that Urban Camp has built something trusted. But it also tells us there's an opportunity to do more.”
“It brought children into Melbourne to visit our theatres, our museums, our laneways and our sporting precincts and connected it with organisations like the Big Issue Classroom, helping young people engage with stories of resilience and disadvantage in ways which stay with them long after they return home. That is what makes it so special. A sporting group can come into the city and watch a game at the G or feel the heart of Melbourne's sporting precinct. For the disability community, it might be a young person building confidence away from home for the first time, learning new skills, making friends and gaining independence in a safe and supportive environment. It also provides support for families and carers, giving them the opportunity to recharge in the knowledge that their loved ones are supported.”
“For more than 40 years, the Urban Camp in Parkville has opened its doors to people from all across Australia, welcoming them in to experience the very best of Melbourne. Urban Camp turns the traditional camp on its head, inviting kids from the country into the city to experience what Melbourne has to offer in the same way that kids from the city head into the bush. I recently had the pleasure of visiting Urban Camp. What stood out to me was the heart of the place. It was more than just a place for kids to sleep. It was a gateway to Melbourne. It opened Melbourne up to school students, sporting groups, community groups, disability groups, regional families and interstate visitors.”
“Their tireless approach to supporting and healing this catchment must be matched by a government that will help protect more of what's precious, repair more of what's damaged and manage nature better for the future, and I am proud to be part of an Albanese Labor government that is doing just that. We have created the first federal EPA and fixed the EPBC Act so it works for our environment, and we continue to bring down emissions year on year through our progressive politics. So thank you to Janet, Carina, Bruce and all the members of our community standing up for the environment.”
“For over 20 years, the Yarra Riverkeeper Association have campaigned for protection and sustainability for the Yarra/Birrarung river. The heart of their work is about maintaining the waterways that have sustained communities for thousands of years and preserving the natural environment of our lands for generations to come. I recently had the pleasure of meeting with the passionate people doing this work. Janet, Carina and Bruce walked me through the challenges they face as community advocates, not just for the 15 kilometres of the Yarra/Birrarung in the electorate of Melbourne but for the over 240 kilometres that this waterway stretches, from the Great Dividing Range through to Port Phillip Bay, covering the electorates of many of the people in this room.”
“It is the idea that requires all of us, both in this place and across the country, to stand up for equality, for truth-telling, for a sustainable future and for the young people who will take up this unique Australian version of democracy. Each generation leaves its mark. Each generation widens the circle a little more. Each generation takes up the challenge of making this a better country. And, after 125 years, that is something worth honouring.”
“As we mark 125 years since the first parliament sat in Melbourne, we celebrate not only the history of the building itself but the generations of Australians who helped shape the country since the first debates echoed through its halls. We honour the people who fought to be included, the people who pushed to be heard, the people who believed Australia could be fairer, broader and more equal over time. And we carry that work forward still because that too is part of our national story. As the Royal Exhibition Building continues to stand in the heart of Melbourne, watching the country change around it for more than 125 years, it reminds us that democracy is never finished. It is something each generation must keep building and protecting.”
“And today this parliament reflects more of modern Australia than ever before, with people of different cultures, different faiths, different ages and different abilities, people whose families came from every part of the world, people with lived experiences that would once have been completely absent from this chamber and, in many cases, even the country. For me, that progress feels especially meaningful because, for the first time since Federation, the people of Melbourne elected a woman to represent them here. That progress matters, not because representation alone solves everything but because democracy becomes stronger when more Australians can see themselves inside it—when more voices are heard and when more experiences shape the decisions we make. That is why the Royal Exhibition Building still matters so much today.”
“There is something powerful in that choice. To paint a woman out is not just to remove a face from a canvas. It is to erase her from the memory of the moment and to suggest she was not central to the story and not important enough to be remembered. Even when women were present in the room, they were often pushed to the edges of the story. Yet, 125 years later, that story looks very different. Australia became the first country in the world to give women the right to both vote and stand for parliament. That was in 1902. In 1943, Enid Lyons and Dorothy Tangney entered the parliament and changed it forever.”
“First Nations people, whose sovereignty was never ceded, were not recognised in the founding of the nation, despite caring for the continent for tens of thousands of years. Women could not sit in this parliament, could not stand for election and could not shape the decisions being made about the future of the country they lived in. There is one story from the opening ceremony that stays with me. A young woman named Sabina Peipers attended the opening alongside her father, the German consul. She was the only woman to sit among the dignitaries on the main floor of the Exhibition Building. She was there for the birth of the nation, but, when the famous painting of the opening was complete, Sabina had disappeared from her seat. She was painted out. In the place where she had been sitting, the artist painted himself instead.”
“This year marks 125 years since Australia's first parliament opened inside the Royal Exhibition Building in the heart of Melbourne. For 125 years, the Royal Exhibition Building has stood as part of our national story. Long before Canberra became the seat of government, before this chamber, before the systems and traditions we now know, the Royal Exhibition Building held the very first parliament of Australia. When we reflect on the first sitting in 1901, we should celebrate how extraordinary that moment was—a new nation coming together for the first time, a parliament beginning its work, a democracy taking shape. But we should also be honest about what that democracy looked like at the beginning. While the parliament gathered inside that grand building, many Australians were excluded from the national story being written in there.”
“That energy was right here in Parliament House, because, when you back young people in music, you back their confidence, their creativity and the culture we all get to be part of. I want to thank the Push for the work they do—for bringing young music and young people together, for bringing the spark back into this place and for backing a generation that is ready to take to the stage.”
“At the launch of the national plan for the Push, here in Parliament House, there was a different kind of buzz in the air. Young people were talking about music, what they were building and where they were taking it next. That is what the Push does. For more than 30 years it has backed young people to jump in, try new things and turn their love of music into something real. That's not just for the artists on stage, but for the people behind the scenes as well—the ones running the gigs, mixing the tracks and building the sets from the ground up. In Melbourne, young people are right at the heart of the live music scene, which is alive, loud and constantly changing. They are filling our venues, starting bands, running shows and moulding the sounds of our city.”
“This bill says something powerful about whose side this parliament is on—not on the side of loopholes, not on the side of technicalities and not on the side of people trying to hide wealth while survivors rebuild their lives piece by piece. This parliament stands with survivors, and today, with this bill, we do just that. I commend the bill to the House.”
“The Albanese Labor government is choosing to act, choosing to close this loophole, choosing to strengthen accountability and choosing to listen to survivors who have spent years demanding change. That matters because, every time a system is improved, every time a loophole is closed and every time survivors are met with seriousness instead of indifference, we send a message about what kind of country we want to be—a country where justice means something in practice, a country where survivors are heard and a country where people who commit these crimes cannot hide behind structures that shield them from accountability.”
“It confronts the fact that abuse creates consequences that ripple through entire lives, that justice delayed or denied compounds the harm, and that systems built without survivors at the centre can unintentionally protect the wrong people. This bill shifts that balance. It says clearly that accountability should follow perpetrators, not burden survivors forever. Ultimately, this legislation is about fairness, dignity and responsibility. It is about ensuring that our financial and legal systems reflect our values—values that say child sexual abuse is among the gravest harms imaginable, values that say survivors deserve meaningful redress, not symbolic gestures, and values that say perpetrators should not be protected by loopholes while survivors carry the lifelong consequences of abuse.”
“This parliament cannot afford complacency in response to that, and I think there is something important about the unity we have seen around this bill. Some issues rise above political pointscoring. The protection of children is one of them. The pursuit of justice for survivors should be one of them, and making sure perpetrators cannot exploit loopholes in financial systems should be one of them. This parliament is at its best when it listens carefully to lived experiences and responds with seriousness and purpose. That is what this legislation represents. There is a line that has stayed with me while reading through this legislation and listening to survivors speaking about it: for many survivors, the trauma did not end when the abuse ended. That is the reality this bill confronts.”
“It creates a pathway for survivors to pursue compensation that courts have already determined they are owed, and it closes a loophole that should never have existed in the first place. I also welcome the review mechanisms included in this legislation, because this bill should not be viewed as the final word on this issue; it should be viewed as a foundation—a significant foundation, a necessary foundation. We must continue listening to survivors and advocates to better understand where barriers still remain, we must continue assessing whether systems are delivering meaningful outcomes, and we must continue improving laws where gaps still exist, because survivors have already spent too long carrying the burden of institutional failure.”
“When institutions protect themselves instead of children, the damage does not stop when the abuse stops; it ripples outward, through entire lives, into relationships, into education, into employment, into housing, into mental health and into a person's ability to feel safe in the world. That is why accountability matters so deeply, because accountability is not about revenge; it's about recognition—recognition that harm was done; recognition that survivors deserve protection; recognition that justice should not stop halfway; and recognition that systems must never make survivors carry the burden while perpetrators protect their wealth and wait out legal obligations. This bill responds directly to that injustice.”
“It says clearly, without apology, that, if you commit crimes against children, you should not get to hide your assets while survivors are left carrying the financial consequences of your abuse. That is the line this parliament is drawing today. It also wants to acknowledge something else that matters in this conversation. For many survivors, the hardest part is not only the abuse itself; it is what happens afterwards: not being believed; being ignored; being told to move on; being left to navigate broken systems alone. And that failure can deepen trauma for years.”
“I can only imagine how difficult it must be for survivors of sexual abuse to be forced into silence, sometimes by fear and sometimes by shame; sometimes because they were children who did not yet have the words for what happened to them; sometimes because systems around them failed to listen when they did speak. The courage it takes to come forward years or decades later cannot be overstated. To tell your story publicly; to enter legal proceedings; to re-live deeply traumatic experiences—that takes extraordinary strength. When survivors do that, the least we can do, as a parliament, is to ensure that the system does not fail them again, at that final hurdle. That is why these reforms matter. They are practical reforms, targeted reforms, carefully designed reforms. But they are also moral reforms, because this bill draws a line.”
“At the centre of this bill are people—people who were harmed as children; people whose lives were permanently shaped by abuse; people who have already carried far more than anyone should ever have to carry. Sometimes, in this place, we speak about legislation in highly procedural terms: schedules, mechanisms, frameworks and technical amendments. But behind every part of this bill is a survivor who deserves better. That matters, because systems can sometimes become so focused on processes that they lose sight of people. This bill pulls that focus back where it belongs: on survivors, on accountability and on making sure that justice has meaning in the real world.”
“They fight to access services. They fight through courts. They fight through administrative processes. They fight to rebuild financially. And then, sometimes, even after all of that, they are still denied the compensation they were legally awarded. That compounds the harm. It tells the survivors that, even after they'd found the courage to speak, even after they'd endured the courtroom, even after the court had ruled in their favour, the system still could not deliver justice. This is unacceptable. This bill is an important step towards changing that, and, while the legislation deals with highly technical areas of super and bankruptcy law, its purpose is deeply human.”
“In a city full of advocates, frontline workers, legal services, support organisations, and survivors who have spent years pushing for change, when representing the people of Melbourne I hear passionately from people working in this space about what recovery really looks like. It's not linear, it's not quick and it does not happen simply because somebody survives. I've spoken with people in my electorate who've spent years trying to rebuild a sense of normality after abuse; people navigating housing insecurity; people trying to stay connected to work while carrying trauma; people trying to trust systems again after being failed repeatedly. One thing comes through clearly, every single time: survivors should not have to spend their lives fighting systems that are meant to support them. But, too often, they do. They fight to be believed.”
“I think what makes this issue especially confronting is that survivors are so often asked to carry that burden of proving, explaining and reliving what happened to them, while the people who caused that harm spend years protected by systems that were never designed with survivors in mind. That imbalance matters, because justice is not only about what happens in a courtroom; it is about what happens afterwards—whether someone can rebuild, whether they can access stability, whether they feel the system stood with them or abandoned them once the headlines faded. This bill says survivors should not be left carrying that burden alone. In my electorate of Melbourne, our community speaks openly and honestly about child abuse, institutional failure and the lifelong impacts trauma leaves behind.”
“The bill also ensures that compensation debt can survive bankruptcy proceedings, because bankruptcy should not become a hiding place for people who have committed crimes against children. Financial manoeuvring cannot outweigh moral responsibility, and I think people across this country instinctively understand that. They understand that there is something fundamentally broken when survivors are struggling to build their lives while offenders continue protecting retirement savings behind legal loopholes. This legislation says clearly that our legal and financial systems should never operate in a way that shields perpetrators from accountability.”
“When compensation orders go unpaid, survivors are forced to absorb another layer of injustice. This bill recognises that. It recognises that accountability must mean something real. This government has made clear that accountability for child sexual abuse cannot end at conviction alone. Justice must mean something in practice. That is why these reforms matter so much. A compensation order should not become meaningless simply because an offender has found a way to hide assets behind technical financial protections. Under these reforms, where a court ordered compensation debt remains unpaid after 12 months, survivors will be able, through a court order, to seek access to certain super contributions made by the offender.”
“It affects mental health, physical health, relationships, education, employment, financial security, safety and trust. For many survivors, the abuse may have happened in childhood but the consequences follow them into adulthood every single day. Too often, those impacts become material as well as emotional. Some survivors struggle to stay in stable housing. Some find it difficult to maintain constant employment. Some carry interrupted education pathways. Some live with long-term health costs. Some spend years rebuilding a sense of stability after violence and abuse shattered it. That reality matters when we talk about compensation because compensation is not abstract. It's often connected to survival, to rebuilding, to counselling, to housing, to health care and to creating some form of safety after profound harm.”
“At its heart, this legislation is built on a very simple principle: people who commit child sexual abuse should not be able to hide their money while survivors are left carrying the cost of that harm done to them. Yet, for too long, that is exactly what has happened. A survivor could fight through the legal system, relive the worst experiences of their life, secure a compensation order through the courts and still walk away without justice being delivered in practice, because offenders could shield assets through super arrangements and bankruptcy structures while survivors were left unpaid. That is not justice. That is cruelty built into the system. This bill closes that loophole, and it matters deeply that we do that. Child sexual abuse leaves lifelong impacts that shape how people move through the world.”
“I rise to speak in strong support of the Treasury Laws Amendment (The Survivors Law) Bill 2026. I want to begin by acknowledging the survivors, advocates and families whose work, courage and persistence brought this legislation to this parliament, because laws like this do not appear out of nowhere. They are built by people who refuse to stay silent after systems failed them; people who carry trauma into courtrooms, into media interviews and into meetings with governments and members of parliament; and people who keep pushing for justice through exhaustion, grief and disappointment. This bill exists because survivors demanded that we do better.”
“People across our communities are all working hard for their money right now. They deserve markets that respect that effort: markets where prices are clear, where cancelling a service is simple, where businesses compete fairly and openly. That is what this bill moves us to do: a fairer marketplace, stronger consumer protections, better competition and an economy where trust matters again. That is good for consumers, good for honest businesses and good for Melbourne. I commend this bill to the House.”
“We should not have to fight hidden fees, confusing systems and manipulative design just to buy a concert ticket, cancel a trial or compare prices online. This bill restores something simple but important: clarity. It gives people back time, back confidence, back agency, and it sends a clear message that in Australia fairness is not an option. This legislation modernises consumer protections for the economy our communities live in today, and it builds a marketplace where good businesses can thrive by doing the right thing. That matters for consumers, that matters for competition and that matters for trust in our economy. Whether someone is buying groceries, signing up for a subscription or heading out to support Melbourne's live music and creative scene, they deserve transparency and fairness.”
“I also want to acknowledge the businesses that are already doing the right thing. Small businesses especially are already operating transparently and fairly. They are not the problem. In fact, many small businesses are hurt by unfair practices from larger competitors. This bill helps create a marketplace where businesses succeed because they offer better value and better service, not because they are better at hiding fees or trapping consumers. Markets work best when people trust them—when prices are what they seem, when information is clear, when consumers can make genuine choices, when businesses compete fairly—and trust matters deeply right now. The people we represent are working hard. Families are budgeting carefully. Every dollar matters more.”
“We made the food and grocery code mandatory, backed by real penalties, and we have increased the maximum penalties under the Competition and Consumer Act from $10 million to $100 million. Penalties matter. If penalties are too weak, they simply become part of the business model. Strong consequences matter because fairness matters, and this agenda stretches right across the economy. Through National Competition Policy reforms, the government is working with states and territories to remove barriers to stop new businesses entering the market. We are improving occupational licensing, supporting the right to repair, improving labour mobility and helping workers move more freely across jurisdictions. Stronger competition drives productivity, and stronger productivity supports living standards.”
“These reforms form part of a much broader agenda from the Albanese Labor government to strengthen competition, improve productivity and create fairer markets, because stronger consumer protections and stronger competition go hand in hand. This government has already delivered the most significant overhaul of merger laws in 50 years. We have increased funding to the ACCC so it can take stronger action against misleading pricing practices. We have outlawed unfair contract terms and introduced penalties for companies that breach those laws. We are strengthening the unit-pricing code and cracking down on shrinkflation so we can clearly see when products shrink while prices stay the same.”
“We are a city built around live music, comedy, theatre and major events, and too often a ticket that looked affordable at the start suddenly becomes much more expensive by the final check-out screens once booking fees and service charges are added on. This bill says that the full mandatory costs should be clear from the beginning. People should be able to decide what they can afford before they commit to buying a ticket, and supporting Melbourne's creative life should feel exciting, not frustrating. Importantly, this bill does not ban transaction fees. It bans hiding them. That distinction matters because transparency matters. Businesses that disclose the true price upfront should not be punished for doing the right thing.”
“We see a product advertised at one price. We click through, invest time and fill in our details, and suddenly extra fees appear—booking fees, service fees and processing fees, one charge after another. By the final screen, the original price barely resembles the real one. That is drip pricing, and Australians are tired of it. This bill tackles that directly by requiring businesses to show mandatory fees upfront and at the same time the advertised price is displayed. Right now, too many of us only discover the true cost after we have already spent time working through the purchase process. In Melbourne, people know exactly what that feels like.”
“It must be easy to find, it must be easy to do, and it must only require steps that are reasonably necessary. A contract that can be entered into in seconds should not have half an afternoon to escape. We all know exactly what that feels like when we can subscribe online instantly but to cancel suddenly we need to phone during business hours, navigate endless menus, answer retention questions or search through page after page, trying to find the right button. This is deliberate friction. This bill says, 'Enough.' Again, this reform supports good businesses too. Many businesses already make subscriptions simple and transparent. Those businesses should not be disadvantaged by competitors relying on confusion and exhaustion to keep customers paying. The third major reform deals with drip pricing, and Australians know this one well.”
“That is not consumer loyalty. That is friction by design. This bill changes that. Businesses will have to clearly disclose key information before someone signs up. We must be told that we are entering a subscription, what it costs, how long it lasts, how renewals work and how we can cancel it. And that information must be prominent and easy to understand, not buried in pages of fine print, not hidden behind vague language and not scattered across multiple screens but simple, clear and visible. The bill also creates a framework for reminder notices. If a free trial is about to end, we will be told. If a renewal is approaching, we will be reminded. That sounds basic, but right now too many systems rely on silence. That is why this bill also addresses cancellation. This part matters. Cancellation must be straightforward.”
“Fair competition depends on fair rules, and fair rules create stronger markets. The second major reform deals with subscription traps. Honestly, we have had enough of them. Subscriptions are now everywhere: streaming services, fitness apps, software, meal kits, news subscriptions and gaming services. Subscriptions can absolutely be convenient. Many businesses use them responsibility, but, too often, subscription systems are designed around one assumption, which is that we will forget—that we will miss a renewal or give up trying to cancel. That is where the problem starts. Research shows Australians are wasting enormous amounts of money on subscriptions that they no longer want to use. We are not staying subscribed because we love the product. We are staying subscribed because leaving has become too difficult.”
“They are not abstract legal concepts; they are lived experiences—the app that keeps pushing 'buy now' warnings designed to create panic, the online forms that hide the cancellation button, the checkout screen where the final cost suddenly jumps. Australians expect businesses to compete fairly. This bill makes that expectation enforceable. Importantly, this is not antibusiness legislation. Good businesses already operate fairly. Good businesses already communicate clearly. Good businesses already complete honestly. I've heard that directly from small-business advocates in Melbourne, including through conversations with business associations across the Melbourne electorate. Businesses doing the right thing should not be undercut by competitors relying on hidden fees, confusing terms or manipulative design to win consumers.”
“Importantly, it is principles based. That means the law can evolve as markets evolve. Because technology changes quickly, digital platforms change quickly and consumer habits change quickly. If we rely only on narrow, piecemeal rules, the law will always lag behind. This approach creates a broad standard of fairness that can respond to harmful conduct as it emerges, and the bill gives practical guidance about what that looks like. It includes examples such as failing to disclose important information; presenting information in a way that is confusing or overwhelming; making it difficult for consumers to exercise legal rights; and using digital design features that place unreasonable pressure on people. These are practices Australians encounter all the time. Most people listening to this debate would recognise them immediately.”
“There have been practices that clearly feel unfair to consumers—practices that distort decision-making and practices that cause harm—but those practices have not always met the threshold of misleading conduct or unconscionable conduct under existing laws. This bill closes that gap. It establishes a clearer principle: businesses must not manipulate consumers or unreasonably distort the environment in which consumers make decisions, in ways that cause harm. That matters enormously in a digital economy, because design is no longer neutral. Buttons matter, defaults matter, timers matter and the order in which information appears matters. We know businesses can shape behaviour through design. Increasingly, small businesses are relying on behavioural pressure as part of their business model. This bill recognises that reality.”
“When businesses deliberately create environments that confuse us, pressure us, hide information or trap us into spending money we did not intend to spend, governments have a responsibility to act. Through this bill, the Albanese Labor government is stepping up in three ways: first, the general ban on unfair trading practices; second, the crackdown on subscription traps; and, third, the ban on drip pricing. Each of these reforms responds directly to experiences we are already having in our daily lives. The first reform is a ban on unfair trading practices across the economy. This is significant reform. For too long there has been a gap in our consumer laws.”