The next chapter in the class action litigation challenge to ANZ bank fees

The Full Court of the Federal Court has delivered another twist in one of Australia's largest class actions, overturning the decision of the primary judge that some of ANZ's bank fees were void for being penalties.

The Full Court stressed that such fees will only be void if they are 'extravagant and unconscionable' and that the fees in this case did not clear that 'high hurdle'.

The background to the case

The case concerns a challenge to a number of bank fees imposed by ANZ. While the bank fees all contained different terms and conditions and were imposed in a variety of different circumstances, they can largely be grouped into four categories:

• Late payment fees – which were charged on credit card accounts at a flat rate whenever a customer failed to make a repayment by a nominated time.