To read the full Australian Spam Prevention Framework go to Scams Prevention Framework – Protecting Australians from scams | Treasury.gov.au.
As we are seeing in several countries, leadership is stepping up and working in collaboration with key sectors (e.g., banks, telcos) including civil society to confront scams in ways we have not seen before.
More countries like Canada, are embarking down this same path, with a commitment to develop and implement their own national anti-fraud strategy. Who will be Canada’s champions to speak out and deliver the early success Australia – a Five-Eye partner and commonwealth county- is having, to detect and stop fraud, before it brings devastating impact on so many victims and untold loss of wealth to proceeds of crime?
In this framework document, it states the following.
The NASC has brought together the expertise of regulators, law enforcement and industry to stop scammers reaching consumers. Their united efforts are working, with scam losses reported to Scamwatch falling by 41 per cent in the first 12 months after establishing the NASC.
NASC is Australia’s National Anti-Spam Centre. The above metric is impressive and motivating to show what can be done when you act and take proactive steps to stop scams before it is too late for the innocent victims of fraudsters exploiting consumers and businesses.
Time is of the essence to address this economic-wide issue and keep people’s hard-earned wealth for them to spend and divest instead of losing millions of dollars to illicit criminal activity.
The summary of Australia’s strong leadership and response to preventing scams is below.
Australian Scam Prevention Framework (SPF) – Summary (January 2025)
Purpose and Context
The Australian Government introduced the Scams Prevention Framework Bill 2024 to create world-leading, enforceable protections against scams. The SPF establishes mandatory, economy-wide obligations on businesses operating in sectors most commonly exploited by scammers, shifting responsibility away from individuals and onto the institutions best placed to prevent harm.
The SPF is a central pillar of Australia’s broader anti-scam strategy, supported by over $180 million in funding since 2022, including:
- Creation of the National Anti-Scam Centre (NASC)
- A registry for SMS sender IDs to prevent impersonation
- Enhanced powers to take down scam websites
Why Action Was Needed
Scams have reached crisis levels in Australia:
- 601,000 Australians lost $2.74 billion to scams in 2023
- Impacts include financial loss, emotional distress, and psychological harm
- Digital technology has enabled scammers to reach victims faster, cheaper, and at scale
- Existing laws placed most responsibility on consumers, with limited accountability for businesses
The SPF responds to the reality that scams are an economy-wide problem requiring an economy-wide solution.
Core Design of the SPF
The SPF imposes mandatory obligations on regulated businesses to:
- Prevent scams
- Detect scams
- Disrupt scam activity
Failure to meet these obligations can result in penalties of up to $50 million.
The framework is adaptive, allowing obligations to evolve as scam methods change and enabling expansion to new sectors (e.g. superannuation, cryptocurrency).
Who Must Comply
Initially, the SPF applies to three high-risk sectors:
- Banks
- Digital platforms (including social media)
- Telecommunications providers
These sectors are targeted because:
- Scams usually originate via telecom networks or digital platforms
- The ultimate target is typically consumer funds held in banks
What Counts as a Scam
Under the SPF, a scam includes:
- Attempts to deceive a consumer into making a payment
- Attempts to deceive a consumer into disclosing personal information
Importantly:
- Actual loss is not required — unsuccessful attempts still qualify as scams
Not covered by the SPF:
- Credit card fraud or identity theft without consumer interaction
- Cybercrime such as hacking or data breaches
- Faulty product disputes
- Crimes involving physical violence
Who Is Protected
The SPF protects:
- Individuals and small businesses
- Australian residents overseas using Australian-based services
Sector-Specific Obligations
Mandatory codes of conduct will set baseline requirements for each sector (to be developed in 2025 through consultation).
Examples include:
Banks
- Real-time transaction alerts and warnings
- High-risk payment controls and friction
- Strong identity verification (including biometrics)
- 24/7 scam reporting channels
Digital Platforms
- Verification of financial advertisers (e.g. AFSL checks)
- Identification and removal of scam ads and accounts
- User education and proactive warnings
- Freezing suspected scam accounts
Telecommunications Providers
- Blocking scam SMS and malicious links
- Monitoring high-risk calling patterns
- Tracing and blocking scam call origins
- Consumer education initiatives
Intelligence Sharing
A key innovation of the SPF is mandatory intelligence sharing:
- Businesses must report scam intelligence to the ACCC
- The ACCC distributes intelligence across sectors, regulators, law enforcement, and international partners
- Enables early, coordinated disruption of scams before losses occur
This creates a whole-of-ecosystem defence, rather than isolated responses.
Consumer Compensation and Accountability
The SPF introduces clear pathways for compensation where businesses fail to meet their obligations.
Key features:
- Businesses must have transparent internal dispute resolution (IDR)
- A “no wrong door” approach allows complaints to be made to any involved business
- A single external dispute resolution (EDR) body:
- Delivered by the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA)
- Covers banks, telcos, and digital platforms
- Can apportion responsibility across multiple businesses
- Consumers may also pursue court action
- Regulators can seek compensation on consumers’ behalf
Overall Significance
The SPF represents a fundamental shift in scam regulation:
- Moves responsibility from individuals to institutions
- Mandates prevention rather than relying on consumer awareness alone
- Introduces enforceable obligations, penalties, intelligence sharing, and compensation
- Positions Australia as one of the toughest jurisdictions globally for scammers
The framework’s focus on prevention, accountability, and consumer redress makes it a global benchmark for modern anti-scam policy.
