Treasury Laws Amendment (Banking Measures No. 1) Act 2018 (9 of 2018)

Schedule 5   Credit card reforms

Part 3   Interest charges

National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009

20   At the end of Part 3-2B

Add:

Division 7 - Calculation of interest under credit card contracts

133BS Credit provider not to impose retrospective interest charges

Requirement

(1) A licensee who is the credit card provider under a credit card contract must not, in relation to a statement period covered by a statement of account, impose on the consumer who is the debtor under the contract a liability to pay a rate of interest if the rate of interest would:

(a) be applied to the balance, or a part of the balance, of the credit card contracton a day in the statement period; and

(b) be applied because of facts or circumstances coming into existence after that day; and

(c) be higher than the rate of interest (including nil) that would have been applied to that balance, or that part of the balance, on that day if those facts and circumstances had not come into existence.

Civil penalty: 2,000 penalty units.

Offence

(2) A person commits an offence if:

(a) the person is subject to a requirement under subsection (1); and

(b) the person engages in conduct; and

(c) the conduct contravenes the requirement.

Criminal penalty: 50 penalty units.