National Consumer Credit Protection Amendment (Low Cost Credit) Regulations 2025 (F2025L00303)

Schedule 1   Amendments

Part 1   Main amendments

National Consumer Credit Protection Regulations 2010

9   After Part 7-1

Insert:

Part 7-1A - Extended application of the Code: buy now pay later and low cost credit

69F Meaning of buy now pay later arrangement and buy now pay later contract - arrangements or series of arrangements that are not buy now pay later arrangements

(1) For the purposes of subsection 13D(2) of the Code, this regulation prescribes arrangements or a series of arrangements that are not a buy now pay later arrangement.

Medical financing at no cost to the consumer

(2) An arrangement or a series of arrangements is not a buy now pay later arrangement if all of the following apply:

(a) the merchant is a related body corporate of the BNPL provider;

(b) the merchant supplies a service to the consumer;

(c) the service is a service for which medicare benefit is payable under Part II of the Health Insurance Act 1973;

(d) the BNPL provider provides credit to the consumer at no cost to the consumer.

69G Meaning of low cost credit contract - fees or charges

(1) For the purposes of paragraph 13E(1)(d) of the Code, this regulation prescribes requirements relating to fees or charges that are, or may be, payable under a contract (the relevant contract ) entered into, or to be entered into, between a credit provider and a debtor.

(2) The fees or charges that are, or may be, payable under the relevant contract satisfy the requirements in this regulation if those fees or charges could not result in a breach of a cap applicable under this regulation to the credit provider and the debtor in a fee period.

Note: For the definition of fee period , see subregulation (4).

(3) A breach of a cap applicable to the credit provider and the debtor in a fee period occurs if the sum of all the fees or charges of a kind specified in column 1 of an item of the following table that become payable in the fee period under:

(a) the relevant contract; and

(b) any other low cost credit contract between the credit provider and the debtor;

exceeds the cap determined for that kind of fees or charges for the fee period under column 2 of that table item.

Definitions

(4) In this regulation:

fee period , for a credit provider and a debtor, means any of the following:

(a) the period of 12 months beginning on the later of:

(i) the earliest day on which the debtor ever became a debtor under a low cost credit contract with the credit provider; and

(ii) the day on which the delayed commencement time (within the meaning of item 8 of Schedule 2 to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Responsible Buy Now Pay Later and Other Measures) Act 2024) occurred;

(b) each subsequent 12 month period.