The Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) today applauded the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agreement for the Commonwealth to take responsibility for the regulation of all credit providers, saying the move would better protect consumers from unscrupulous lenders and brokers.

Late yesterday afternoon, Senator the Hon Nick Sherry, Minister for Superannuation and Corporate Law, announced that the Commonwealth would assume responsibility for personal loans, credit cards, pay day lending and micro loans, mortgages, mortgage brokers, trustee companies, non-bank lenders and margin loans.

“The MFAA has been advocating for tighter legislation in the mortgage and finance industry to help weed out some unsavoury practices that existed on the fringes,” said Phil Naylor, CEO of the MFAA.

“The decision by COAG for the Federal Government to take on the task of regulating all consumer credit is a win for common sense. It would have been wholly unworkable to split regulation of consumer credit and the provision of mortgages between the States and the Commonwealth.

“Yesterday’s agreement should result in a regulatory system that is free from unnecessary duplication that currently exists between the different tiers of Government. We hope that a simplified system will result, reducing business costs for the industry and offering better protection for consumers,” said Mr Naylor.