Treasury Laws Amendment (Responsible Buy Now Pay Later and Other Measures) Act 2024 (138 of 2024)

Schedule 2   Buy now, pay later

Part 10   Giving information or documents

National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009

64   Before section 332

Insert:

331 Giving information or documents in connection with low cost credit contracts

(1) This section applies in relation to a provision (a covered provision )of this Act or the National Credit Code that requires or permits a person (a giver )to give information or documents( covered material )to another person (a recipient )in connection with a low cost credit contract.

Making covered material available for retrieval on an electronic document retrieval system

(2) Subject to subsection (6), a giver is taken to give covered material to a recipient for the purposes of a covered provision if:

(a) the giver notifies the recipient, in accordance with subsection (3), that the covered material is available for retrieval by the recipient on an electronic document retrieval system (see subsection (5)); and

(b) the giver makes the covered material available for retrieval by the recipient, in accordance with the notification, for a reasonable period after the giver gives the notification to the recipient; and

(c) the covered material is made available for retrieval by the recipient in such a manner that it is reasonable to expect that the recipient will be able to save the covered material to an electronic file and print it.

Note: This subsection does not limit the ways in which a giver may give covered material to a recipient for the purposes of a covered provision.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(a), the notice must:

(a) explain the nature of the covered material; and

(b) include any information relating to the covered material that the recipient needs in order to be able to retrieve the covered material.

Note: The information mentioned in paragraph (3)(b) might include, for example, the covered material's electronic address or any password protecting the covered material.

(4) The giver is taken to give the covered material to the recipient at the first time:

(a) that occurs at or after the time the giver gives the recipient the notification mentioned in paragraph (2)(a); and

(b) at which the covered material is available for retrieval by the recipient as mentioned in paragraphs (2)(b) and (c).

(5) For the purposes of this section, covered material is available for retrieval by a recipient on an electronic document retrieval system if the covered material is available on an information system for retrieval by electronic communication by the recipient.

Note: For electronic communication and information system , see subsection 5(1).

Mandatory requirements relating to giving covered material

(6) The giving of information or documents is to be disregarded for the purposes of a covered provision if:

(a) the regulations prescribe requirements relating to the giving of information or documents for the purposes of the covered provision; and

(b) those requirements are not satisfied.

No effect in relation to other kinds of credit contracts

(7) To avoid doubt, if a covered provision requires or permits information or documents to be given in connection with a credit contract that is not a low cost credit contract, this section does not apply in relation to the giving of the information or documents.

Interaction with other provisions

(8) If this section is inconsistent with any other provision of this Act or the National Credit Code that deals with the giving of information or documents in connection with a low cost credit contract (even if the other provision also deals with other matters), then the other provision has no effect to the extent of the inconsistency.

Note: For example, section 187 of the National Credit Code (application of the Electronic Transactions Act 1999) has no effect to the extent that it is inconsistent with subsection (6) of this section.