Australia Scam Prevention Framework Bill

Introduction

Australia approved the Scams Prevention Framework Bill 2025 in February 2025. Focusing on banking, telecommunications, and digital platforms in a specific manner, this landmark legislation seeks to create a framework for preventing, detecting, disrupting, responding to, and reporting scams in critical industries. The Bill makes these businesses take “reasonable steps” to protect customers from the increasing threat of online fraud.

Scope of the Law: Targeting the Scam Ecosystem

An all-encompassing approach towards tackling the scam environment is proposed by the Scams Prevention Framework Bill 2025. Its aim of protection from financial loss, fraud, and the dissemination of misinformation inherently covers and pertains to scenarios involving the use of deepfakes in an illicit fashion, although it does not solely focus on deepfakes. The Bill is aimed at the underlying systems supporting scams to propagate, as well as the platforms that may be utilized to host and distribute harmful content.

It should be mentioned that deepfakes made for amusement or satire are not specifically exempt under this version of the law. However, preventing financial loss is the bill’s primary goal. For example, the Criminal Code Amendment (Deepfake Sexual Material) Act 2024 makes it illegal to make and share sexually explicit deepfakes without permission.

Key Provisions of the Scams Prevention Framework Bill 2025

• Platform Obligations: The key concept behind the Bill is to make online platforms responsible. The platforms are now required to take proactive steps to recognize, prevent, and step in when there are scams happening on their platforms. This can be done through policies to recognize and delete content that may be fraudulent.
• Sector Responsibilities: The Bill also puts particular obligations on the banking and telecom industries to improve their anti-fraud mechanisms and safeguard their customers.

Fines and Enforcement 

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is responsible for prosecuting criminals. This law is enforced by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), whose main duties include enforcing compliance and taking legal action against those who breach their obligations. The Bill requirements will attract serious penalties of  fines of up to AUD $50 million against non-compliant parties. 

Precedents or Notable Cases 

The Scams Prevention Framework Bill 2025 came into effect in February 2025; yet it has not been extensively tested in court. Its introduction, however, is likely to trigger more close examination of platform and industry practices in preventing scams and may open the door to future legal action against facilitators or authors of scams, which could involve deepfakes.

Practical Implications

The Scams Prevention Framework Bill 2025 requires platforms and regulated industries to have strong systems and processes in place to identify and prevent scams. This may involve possibly strengthening content moderation capacity and having plans to detect and respond to fraud, including the possible use of deepfakes. For scam victims, reporting to the AFP or ACCC continues to be important for investigation and possible recovery work. Companies must also be watchful and proactive in making their users aware of the dangers of internet scams, including those that would use manipulated media.

Future Prospects

By appreciating the correct facts of the Scams Prevention Framework Bill 2025, we can better understand Australia’s dedication towards an improved, safer internet space for its consumers and businesses in the wake of more and more sophisticated scamming methodologies.

As deepfake technology continues to evolve, it is likely that Australia’s legislative framework will adapt to address new threats and incorporate advancements in detection technologies. The Scams Prevention Framework Bill 2025 provides a foundational imperative for how the future of digital fraud prevention and scamming laws is to be approached in Australia, and it might be followed by more specialized legislation regarding the abuse of technologies such as deepfakes in the future.