Stopping Scams at the Source: Australia’s World-Leading Prevention Framework in Action

Australia has enacted the tough anti-scam laws, establishing a comprehensive Scams Prevention Framework that fundamentally reshapes how banks, telcos, and digital platforms must protect consumers. With scammers causing devastating financial and emotional harm to hundreds of thousands of Australians, this landmark legislation introduces enforceable obligations backed by penalties of up to $50 million for non-compliance.

This event will examine the Framework’s six core principles – govern, prevent, detect, report, disrupt, and respond – and explore how mandatory sector-specific codes will transform industry practices. The discussion will address critical implementation challenges, including cross-sector intelligence sharing, the multi-regulator approach with ACCC, ASIC and ACMA oversight, and pathways to compensation for scam victims through mandatory dispute resolution.

Key topics will include the requirements for social media platforms to verify advertisers, banks to confirm payee identities, telecommunications providers to implement SMS Sender ID registers, and the establishment of safe harbour provisions for entities disrupting scam activity. Panelists will discuss how this world-first approach compares to international models and whether the Framework’s ambitious goal to make Australia the hardest target for scammers can be achieved through this whole-of-ecosystem approach.

Confirmed Speakers:

• Jeremy Fenton, Executive Manager, Unsolicited Communications and Scams Branch, Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA)

• Christiane Gillespie-Jones, Deputy CEO, Australian Telecommunications Alliance (ATA)

• Sunita Bose, Managing Director, Digital Industry Group Inc. (DIGI)

• Carol Bennett, CEO, Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN)

Moderator:

• Isabelle Guyot, Partner, Allens