ACCC and ASIC ‘s joint debt collection guidelines is a comprehensive guideline for collectors and creditors on Commonwealth consumer protection laws relevant to collection.
These laws include:
• Parts IVA and V of the Trade Practices Act 1974
• Part 2, Division 2 of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (ASIC Act).
The guideline provides practical guidance on what collectors and creditors should and should not do to minimise the risk of breaching the laws administered by ASIC and the ACCC.
Emphasis is placed on the prohibitions and remedies against debt collectors who engage in:
• the use of physical force, undue harassment or coercion
• misleading or deceptive conduct
• unconscionable conduct.
The guideline also refers to other laws and regulations not administered by the ACCC and ASIC, but which are relevant to debt collection including:
• Commonwealth privacy laws;
• state and territory fair trading laws;
• the Uniform Consumer Credit Code;
• the Bankruptcy Act 1966.
