Regulating Mortgage and Finance Brokers

Towards the end of 2004 the Ministerial Council on Consumer Affairs (CCA) published a discussion paper proposing a uniform national regulatory scheme for finance and mortgage brokers in Australia. This update summarizes the paper's recommendations.

Notwithstanding the relatively significant size of the broking industry in Australia – a 2003 survey estimated that the industry generated A$630 million in that year alone – there is no national scheme for the regulation of brokers. Therefore, the broking industry is currently subject to varying degrees of regulation at the state and territory level.

As a consequence of unprecedented growth in the broking industry and increasing levels of consumer detriment, consumer advocates and the industry called for the federal government to consider regulating the broking industry at a national level. The CCA was charged with devising a regulatory scheme covering entry requirements, standards of conduct and dispute resolution within the