Australia’s Product Intervention Power and Protection from Consumer Harm : An Evaluation

In 2019, the Australian Government invested the Australian Securities and Investments Commission with a new Product Intervention Power, enabling it to intervene directly in the market for financial products to reduce the risk of consumer harm. ASIC made its first Product Intervention Order in September 2019. The order banned a short-term lending model that targeted vulnerable consumers and charged extremely high fees, taking advantage of an exemption in the National Credit Code. This article is the first scholarly study to be published since the Full Federal Court rejected a legal challenge to the order in June 2021. Drawing on this litigation, as well as commentary from legal scholars, industry bodies and consumer advocates, it assesses the value of the Product Intervention Power as a means of preventing harm to vulnerable consumers. While concluding that the power is a valuable addition to Australia’s consumer protection framework, it identifies several measures that would enhance the new regime and increase its effectiveness