Australian scam victims could automatically get their money back up to $3,000 as government looks at new rule that forces banks to pay up

By LUCINDA GARBUTT-YOUNG FOR AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: 05:32, 28 May 2026 | Updated: 05:54, 28 May 2026 Victims of scams could soon receive automatic compensation under plans from the federal government. Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino said scam victims with verified losses below $3,000 will be automatically reimbursed to decrease the cost of investigations. 'We are working with industry to make sure that the system is as robust as possible, so that we can prevent scams happening in the first place,' he said on Thursday. 'Where very low-value scams occur, we don't want those cases to go through very lengthy and costly and stressful dispute resolution processes.' Major banks will be responsible for paying the reimbursements. The federal government will also release frameworks for the banking and communications sectors, along with digital platforms, about how they must respond to scams. Sectors will be required to take stronger action from March 31. Mr Mulino did not confirm specific requirements in the frameworks, but said he expected industries to do more work in preventing and detecting scams. The government will release frameworks for the banking sector about how they must respond to scams 'We've been involved in in-depth consultations with all three sectors, and also consumer groups, to make this work,' he said. Australians lost $2.18 billion to scams in 2025, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. The largest types by monetary value were investment and redirection scams. In the three months between October and December 2025, almost 110 million scam calls and 41 million scam texts were blocked. 'Everyone, including the telecommunications industry, has a role to play to stop people being ripped off by dodgy scams,' Communications Minister Anika Wells said. 'The Scams Prevention Framework is another way the Albanese government is cracking down on those who are being taken advantage of.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.