Ted O’Brien MP
Federal Member for Fairfax
Deputy Leader of the Opposition
Shadow Treasurer
Pat Conaghan MP
Federal Member for Cowper
Shadow Assistant Treasurer
Shadow Minister for Financial Services
JOINT MEDIA RELEASE
Australians who tap their phones to pay with Apple Pay, Google Pay or other digital wallets will soon be protected by updated financial regulations – with the Coalition securing an important safeguard to keep the system transparent and accountable.
After insisting the legislation should not be amended, the Albanese Government has backflipped at the final hour and agreed to a Coalition amendment to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payments System Modernisation) Bill 2025 – after it became clear the amendment was likely to pass the Senate with Green and crossbench support. The amendment will ensure that there is parliamentary oversight over any new decisions about payments systems made by the Treasurer and the Reserve Bank under this Bill.
Today’s reform is in line with a recommendation from Senator Andrew Bragg in a previous Senate Economics Reference Committee and follows a 2021 Coalition-led review into Payment Systems.
Shadow Treasurer Ted O’Brien and Shadow Minister for Financial Services Pat Conaghan said the outcome shows that when the Coalition pushes for practical, common-sense changes, Australians come out ahead even if it takes the Government a while to catch up.
“This Government dodges scrutiny and it was unacceptable that their original plan avoided an important layer of accountability and transparency over important decisions affecting Australians,” Mr O’Brien said.
“The Coalition is always willing to be constructive where we can and critical where we must as we seek to provide the best outcome for all Australians, and today we delivered.”
The new laws update payments regulation for the first time in over 25 years, giving the Reserve Bank authority to oversee platforms like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and buy-now-pay-later services, just as it already does with Visa and Mastercard. They also cover new technologies like blockchain payment systems.
The Coalition’s safeguard means any new Reserve Bank directive can be disallowed by Parliament – a simple check to make sure the rules are fair.
“We’ve listened to fintech innovators who are concerned the Reserve Bank could get it wrong when it comes to their sector, potentially reducing competition from start-ups against the big end of town,” Mr Conaghan said.
“This outcome proves that a constructive Opposition makes a real difference. The Government may have come late to the table, but the Coalition will always be persistent to deliver the best outcomes for Australians.”