A recurring hindrance to efficient debt recovery process is the pursuit of ‘unrecoverable’ debts.
These are situations where consumers are long-term welfare dependent with low prospects of fulltime employment, increased earning capacity or improved future financial position.
In particular, RLC is concerned that garnishee orders are approved by a court registrar without regard to individual circumstances, and that social security payments are garnisheed without regard to their subsistence nature or the legislative protections for them.
To this end, RLC recommends review of NSW civil procedure; adoption of legislative protections which prevent garnishee of Centrelink income such as those in Victoria, South Australia and the Northern Territory; review and revision of the ACCC/ASIC Debt Collection Guidelines (2005) to reflect recent updates to the Australian Consumer Law and the National Credit Code; and the creation of a debt recovery ‘industry code of practice’.
Read RLC’s submission.