{"id":"F2019L01328","name":"Competition and Consumer (Price Inquiry—Home Loans) Direction 2019","slug":"competition-and-consumer-price-inquiry-home-loans-direction-2019","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":100177,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2019L01328-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"Part 1","sectionType":"part","heading":"Preliminary","content":"## Part 1—Preliminary","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Name","content":"#### 1 Name\n\n  This instrument is the Competition and Consumer (Price Inquiry—Home Loans) Direction 2019.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Authority","content":"#### 3 Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definitions","content":"#### 4 Definitions\n\nNote: Expressions have the same meaning in this instrument as in the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 as in force from time to time—see paragraph 13(1)(b) of the Legislation Act 2003.\n\n  In this instrument:\n\n> Australian credit licensee has the meaning given by the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009.\n\n> authorised deposit-taking institution has the meaning given by the Banking Act 1959.\n\n> exempt supply has the meaning given by subsection 95A(1) of the Act.\n\n> goods has the meaning given by subsection 95A(1) of the Act.\n\n> home loan means a loan secured by a mortgage over one or more residential premises.\n\n> inquiry has the meaning given by subsection 95A(1) of the Act.\n\n> price has the meaning given by subsection 95A(1) of the Act.\n\n> residential premises has the same meaning as in the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999.\n\n> services has the meaning given by subsection 95A(1) of the Act.\n\n> State or Territory authority has the meaning given by subsection 95A(1) of the Act.\n\n> supply has the meaning given by subsection 95A(1) of the Act.\n\n> the Act means the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"Part 2","sectionType":"part","heading":"Price inquiry into the supply of home loans","content":"## Part 2—Price inquiry into the supply of home loans","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commission to hold an inquiry","content":"#### 5 Commission to hold an inquiry\n\n  (1) Under subsection 95H(1) of the Act, the Commission is required to hold an inquiry into the market for the supply of home loans. The inquiry is not to extend to any of the following:\n    (a) the supply of a good or service by a State or Territory authority;\n    (b) the supply of a good or service that is an exempt supply;\n    (c) the conduct of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority or the Australian Securities and Investments Commission;\n    (d) the conduct of a mortgage broker.\n\n> Note: The matters referred to in paragraphs (c) and (d) fall within scope of other inquiries.\n\n  (2) For the purposes of subsection 95J(1), the inquiry is to be held in relation to goods and services of the following descriptions:\n    (a) home loans supplied by authorised deposit‑taking institutions;\n    (b) home loans supplied by Australian credit licensees;\n    (c) home loans supplied by a person who would be covered by paragraph (a) or (b) apart from an exemption in force under the Banking Act 1959 or the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009.\n  (3) Under subsection 95J(2), the inquiry is not to be held in relation to the supply of goods and services by a particular person or persons.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Directions on matters to be taken into consideration in the inquiry","content":"#### 6 Directions on matters to be taken into consideration in the inquiry\n\n  Under subsection 95J(6) of the Act, the Commission is directed to take into consideration all of the following matters in holding the inquiry:\n    (a) the prices charged, since 1 January 2019, by suppliers covered by subsection 5(2) for providing home loans, including:\n    (i) differences between the prices advertised and the prices actually charged or paid, with particular regard to interest rates published by suppliers and the interest rates paid by customers; and\n    (ii) differences between the prices charged to, or paid by, existing customers as compared to new customers; and\n    (iii) supplier pricing decisions following changes in the Reserve Bank of Australia’s target for the cash rate (which is the overnight money market interest rate), including:\n    (A) the extent to which any resulting price changes were due to changes in suppliers’ access to, and costs of, finance; and\n    (B) the timing of suppliers’ announcements of price changes and their implementation of those changes; and\n    (b) the extent and existence of supplier practices and strategies that create an impediment to existing home loan customers refinancing to an alternative supplier (commonly referred to as ‘switching’), including impediments resulting from product features and the effect of product bundling; and\n    (c) other impediments to existing home loan customers refinancing to an alternative supplier, with particular regard to:\n    (i) consumer behaviour, including consumer decision‑making, biases and choices; and\n    (ii) the availability to the public of information about prices actually being charged, or paid, for home loans.","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Directions as to holding of the inquiry","content":"#### 7 Directions as to holding of the inquiry\n\n  Under subsection 95J(6) of the Act, the Commission is directed to do the following in holding the inquiry:\n    (a) have particular regard to the activities of those with the largest shares of outstanding home loans by market value; and\n    (b) give to the Treasurer an interim report on the inquiry by 30 March 2020.","sortOrder":7},{"sectionNumber":"8","sectionType":"section","heading":"Period for completing the inquiry","content":"#### 8 Period for completing the inquiry\n\n  For the purposes of subsection 95K(1) of the Act, the inquiry is to be completed, and a report on the matter of inquiry given to the Treasurer, by no later than 30 November 2020.","sortOrder":8}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a targeted, time-bound ministerial direction for a specific market inquiry. The scope remains tightly focused on home loan pricing and customer switching behaviour as originally intended. No evidence of scope creep — the exclusions in section 5(1) and the specific matters to consider in section 6 keep the inquiry bounded."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument: only 8 sections across 2 Parts","Heavy reliance on external definitions: 11 terms defined by reference to other Acts (Competition and Consumer Act 2010, Banking Act 1959, National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009, GST Act)","Simple conditional structure: one main exclusion list in section 5(1) and scope definition in section 5(2)","No nested exceptions or complex cross-referencing within the instrument itself","Straightforward directive format: primarily instructs the ACCC what to do rather than creating regulatory obligations for the public"],"plain_english_summary":"The Treasurer has ordered the ACCC to run a formal price inquiry into how banks and lenders set home loan prices, focusing on whether existing customers pay more than new ones and why switching is difficult. The ACCC must report an interim finding by March 2020 and final findings to the Treasurer by November 2020.\n\nThe inquiry compels authorised deposit-taking institutions and credit licensees to cooperate, excludes mortgage brokers, and aims to reveal pricing gaps, switching frictions and pass-through of cash rate changes."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument itself defines the inquiry’s scope: home loans supplied by authorised deposit‑taking institutions and Australian credit licensees, with explicit exclusions (State/Territory authorities, exempt supplies, APRA, ASIC, mortgage brokers). The text contains no indication it alters or narrows an earlier stated scope; it sets the scope and procedural deadlines for the Commission."},"complexity_factors":["Cross‑references to multiple statutes for definitions (Competition and Consumer Act 2010, Banking Act 1959, National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009, GST Act) increase interpretive steps.","Specified analytic tasks require economic assessment of pricing behaviour since 1 Jan 2019, including pass‑through of RBA cash‑rate changes and timing of price announcements.","Directive excludes particular suppliers and actors (State/Territory authorities, exempt supplies, APRA, ASIC, mortgage brokers), requiring careful scope application in evidence gathering.","Reporting deadlines (interim by 30 Mar 2020; final by 30 Nov 2020) create tight time and resourcing constraints for data collection and analysis.","Mandated consideration of consumer behaviour and information availability pulls together quantitative price data and qualitative behavioural evidence, raising methodological complexity.","Prohibition on person‑specific inquiries (subsection 5(3)) limits investigative methods and may affect remedies or follow‑up action."],"plain_english_summary":"This direction requires the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to run an inquiry into the home‑loan market for loans supplied by authorised deposit‑taking institutions and Australian credit licensees, and to deliver an interim report by 30 March 2020 and a final report by 30 November 2020. The Commission must examine pricing since 1 January 2019 (including advertised vs. actual rates, differences between new and existing customers, and lender responses to RBA cash‑rate moves) and barriers that stop borrowers switching lenders, including product features, bundling and information availability."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/competition-and-consumer-price-inquiry-home-loans-direction-2019","history":"/api/acts/competition-and-consumer-price-inquiry-home-loans-direction-2019/history","analysis":"/api/acts/competition-and-consumer-price-inquiry-home-loans-direction-2019/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/competition-and-consumer-price-inquiry-home-loans-direction-2019/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/competition-and-consumer-price-inquiry-home-loans-direction-2019/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/competition-and-consumer-price-inquiry-home-loans-direction-2019/documents"}}