FCVic welcomed the opportunity to join with several community service and consumer advocate groups to comment on the Treasury Laws Amendment (Responsible Buy Now Pay Later and Other Measures) Bill 2024 (The Bill). This submission only addresses Schedule 2 of the Bill, relating to buy now pay later (BNPL). This submission is made on behalf of the following organisations:

• CHOICE
• Consumer Credit Legal Service
• Financial Rights Legal Centre
• Economic Abuse Reference Group
• Consumer Action Law Centre
• Redfern Legal Centre
• The Salvation Army
• Financial Counselling Victoria
• LawRight
• Financial Counselling Australia

If passed, Schedule 2 of the Bill would regulate BNPL as a low cost credit product (LCCC) under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (NCCPA). Our organisations have long advocated for BNPL to be regulated as credit, and so we welcome the Bill’s introduction to Parliament.