TITLE: Australian Banking Association Responds to Government Scam Prevention Framework Release
BODY:
On May 28, 2026, the Australian Banking Association (ABA) released a statement acknowledging the government's release of designations, draft industry codes, draft rules, and a discussion paper regarding the Scam Prevention Framework (SPF).
The ABA said banks would carefully scrutinise the SPF settings to ensure they remain focused on an ecosystem approach with scam prevention at the forefront, make Australia a less attractive target for scammers, set clear obligations for designated businesses to help reduce losses, and continue efforts to encourage consumers to take sensible steps to avoid being scammed. ABA chief executive Simon Birmingham said the most important policy objective of the SPF needed to be preventing scam losses in the first place. Birmingham noted that scams are a global challenge that no government nor any single industry can solve alone, which is why Australia's ecosystem approach is critical. The SPF builds on protections Australian banks have already implemented through the industry's Scam-Safe Accord, including Confirmation of Payee and the flagging of high-risk payments.
Birmingham highlighted that banks particularly welcome obligations that close gaps in scam prevention, such as other sectors being required to identify their customers, as banks are already expected to do. The ABA noted that around 90 percent of scam losses come from individuals losing more than AUD5,000, making it critical the SPF focuses on stopping these high-value losses. Birmingham said any compensation should be tied to SPF code breaches by designated businesses, not simply redistribute losses across the economy. The ABA urged the government to extend the SPF to other sectors such as dating applications and cryptocurrency platforms to cover the full gamut of scam activity and make it harder for global scam networks to operate in Australia.