People scammed out of $3000 or less could be able to claim automatic reimbursement from banks, phone companies or tech companies, under a new Federal Government proposal.

There were 481,523 scam reports in Australia last year, worth $2.18-billion, with a median loss of $400 – an increase of 7.8 per cent from the year before, but down since scams peaked at $3.1-billion in 2022.

The government has last week released new details of its Scam Protection Framework, which will make banks, telcos and digital platforms set up stronger anti-scam systems by March 31, 2027.

Part of that new framework is a proposed dispute resolution process, making banks, telcos and digital platforms ‘automatically reimburse scam victims for verified scam losses below $3000’.

The goal of the automatic repayments is to prevent low-value scam claims needing to go through costly dispute resolutions, saving time and stress for scam victims, and avoid wasted time for police and companies involved.

The reimbursement costs would be shared by the banks, telcos and digital platforms, which would repay people scammed via their services. 

It follows a similar approach in the United Kingdom, where banks sending and receiving fraudulent payments are equally responsible for the reimbursement cost.

However, in the UK scam victims can seek reimbursement of up to £85,000 per claim within five business days for standard cases. 

Member for Mallee Anne Webster has encouraged scam victims to have their say on a small step toward getting their money back.

“I am pleased the government has stated its belief that scam victims with verified losses below $3000 should be automatically reimbursed, but I am concerned the government is not really committed to that outcome,” she said.

“I have been speaking up for years for scam victims who deserve better under Labor and helping victims get some form of reimbursement.”

Dr Webster said she was shocked to discover in her Mallee’s Biggest Survey last year that one in five respondents said they had been scammed over $1000, with the internet the most common source at 56 per cent.   

“Being scammed is embarrassing, I have been a victim myself, and we need to create a culture where it is okay to talk about it and ensure vulnerable victims are reimbursed,” she said.

Dr Webster said she had spoken to constituents and raised scams in Parliament.

“I spend significant amounts of time with vulnerable scam victims because some of them are understandably lost in the complexity of how they were scammed, and it is unjust that sometimes it takes a member of parliament’s involvement for banks to be reasonable,” she said.

“Sometimes banks offer only a few dollars ‘compensation’ for a scam – it is appalling.”

Stakeholders have until June 25 to provide feedback on the draft rules and codes, which can be found at consult.treasury.gov.au/c2026-765133.

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