While Australia's consumer policy framework has considerable strengths, parts of it require an overhaul.

• The current division of responsibility for the framework between the Australian and State and Territory Governments leads to variable outcomes for consumers, added costs for businesses and a lack of responsiveness in policy making.
• There are gaps and inconsistencies in the policy and enforcement tool kit and weaknesses in redress mechanisms for consumers.
• These problems will make it increasingly difficult to respond to rapidly changing consumer markets, meaning that the associated costs for consumers and the community will continue to grow.

Addressing these problems will have significant direct benefits for consumers. Also, by better engaging and empowering consumers and furthering the development of nationally competitive markets, reform will enhance productivity and innovation.

A set of clear objectives and supporting principles is required to anchor the future development of consumer policy.

• The overarching objective should be to improve consumer wellbeing by fostering effective competition and enabling the confident participation of consumers in markets in which both consumers and suppliers can trade fairly and in good faith.

A pressing need is to put in place institutional arrangements that are more compatible with the increasingly national nature of Australia's consumer markets and which will deliver more timely and effective policy change than the current regime.

• In keeping with many of the other key policies governing commerce in Australia, greater responsibility for consumer policy development and enforcement should reside with the Australian Government.

The first step in this process should be the introduction of a single generic consumer law applying across Australia, based on the consumer provisions in the Trade Practices Act (TPA), modified to address gaps in its coverage and scope.

• The Australian Government, through the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), should be responsible for enforcing the product safety provisions nationally, though possibly with scope for States and Territories to implement, time limited, interim product safety bans.
• The remaining provisions should be jointly enforced by the ACCC and State and Territory consumer regulators, though individual States and Territories should have the option to refer their enforcement powers to the Australian Government.
• The new law should include a provision voiding 'unfair' contract terms that have caused consumer detriment.
• In addition to the enforcement tools currently in the TPA, it should provide for civil pecuniary penalties, banning orders and substantiation and infringement notices.

Responsibility for regulating the provision of consumer credit and related advice by finance brokers and other intermediaries should also be transferred to the Australian Government as soon as practicable, with ASIC as the primary regulator.

CoAG, in consultation with the Ministerial Council on Consumer Affairs, should oversight a general reform program for industry-specific consumer regulation to:

• identify and repeal unnecessary industry-specific consumer regulation, with an initial focus on removing regulations that apply in only one or two jurisdictions;
• identify other areas of specific consumer regulation where divergent requirements and/or lack of policy responsiveness are particularly costly; and
• determine how these costs should be reduced, including explicit consideration of the case for transferring policy and, where appropriate, enforcement responsibilities to the Australian Government.

In addition:

• Some particular regulatory requirements for consumer credit, utility services and home building should be modified.
• Consumers' access to remedies where they suffer detriment from breaches of consumer law, should be enhanced by consolidating some ombudsman arrangements; streamlining small claims courts' procedures; making it easier for regulators to bring representative actions; and increasing funding for legal aid and financial counselling services.
• Mandatory disclosure requirements should be improved by more 'layering' of the information provided to consumers and greater testing of its comprehensibility and relevance to them.
• Subject to appropriate governance arrangements, there should be additional public funding for consumer advocacy and for policy related research, including to enable the establishment of a National Consumer Policy Research Centre.

Many of the Commission's proposals would benefit vulnerable and disadvantaged consumers, with some being primarily designed to assist these groups. However, for some groups, specific additional strategies may be required.

The proposed changes would also further the economic integration goals of the Australian and New Zealand Governments.

Though only very broad quantification is possible, the Commission's reform package could provide a net gain to the community of between $1.5 billion and $4.5 billion a year.

A tabular representation of the Commission's individual proposals, and the benefits they would provide, is presented at the end of this summary.