17th Oct 2018, 10:15 AM – Representatives Treasury Laws Amendment (Gift Cards) Bill 2018 - Second Reading - Criticism of Government

The majority voted against an amendment to the usual second reading motion, which is that the majority agree to the main idea of the bill (or, in parliamentary jargon, that the majority read the bill for a second time). The amendment was:

That all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:

"whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House:

(1) notes the Government's lack of support for, and failure to protect, Australian consumers; and

(2) calls on the Government to reinvigorate the national Consumer Affairs Forum process, to enable the much-needed reform of Australian Consumer Law".

Because this amendment was unsuccessful, the original second reading motion will remain unchanged.

What does this bill do?

The purpose of the bill is:

to introduce a national regime to regulate gift cards, including requirements that: gift cards must have a minimum three year expiry period; information about the expiry of a gift card must be displayed prominently on the card itself; terms and conditions cannot allow certain post-supply fees to be charged; and certain fees cannot be charged after a gift card is supplied.