On 1 October the Australian Finance Industry Association's Finance Industry Code of Practice came into force, binding signatory non-bank and specialist lenders to common standards on hardship support, scam protection, and the use of AI. Australian Broker reported AFIA describes it as an Australian first, covering both consumer and business finance.
Why a business borrower should care
If you fund outside the major banks, you have historically dealt with a patchwork of conduct standards. The code sets a baseline for signatories: stronger support for customers in hardship or vulnerable circumstances, tighter protections against scams, fraud, privacy breaches and financial abuse, plain-language product information, and prompt complaints handling with access to dispute resolution. It also sets expectations around cybersecurity and the responsible use of technology and AI.
The standards apply across a product's whole life, from design through to how it is sold and serviced. For a business weighing a non-bank facility, that is a clearer set of expectations to hold a lender against if something goes wrong.
Two caveats worth keeping in view. First, the code only binds lenders that sign up. AFIA has launched an online Code Hub listing current signatories, so whether a given lender is in or out is now a checkable fact rather than an assumption. Second, a conduct code governs behaviour, not price. It does not change what a facility costs or whether you qualify for one.
Context
Non-banks accounted for 7.2% of new residential lending through the broker channel in 2025, up from 6.5% a year earlier, per the MFAA's inaugural broking report. The share is small but growing, which is roughly the argument for a shared standard before the sector gets larger.
The independent Finance Industry Code Compliance Committee will monitor compliance, and its chair has urged lenders outside the code to join. The signatory list will tell you who did.
General information only.