Consumer affairs reporter Michael Atkin has taken a look at what’s in the budget to help fight against scams, which are costing Australians more and more each year.
A record number of scams hit Aussies hard last year, making paying the bills even harder for people struggling with the cost of living.
Despite better efforts to coordinate the response by the National Anti-Scam Centre, some scams prove stubbornly hard to stop.
Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones has been talking up the government’s next step, which involves putting “tough” new obligations on banks, telcos and tech giants.
But we have no idea what those obligations will be just yet.
This budget sets aside $67.5 million over the next four years, but that’s mainly to see in the mandatory industry codes, with money going to the ACCC, ASIC and the ACMA, who will be tasked with enforcing these codes.