Information about the Inquiry

Inquiry into the Australia's Mandatory Last Resort Home Warranty Insurance Scheme

Information about the Inquiry

On 19 March 2008, the Senate referred the following matter to the Senate Standing Committee on Economics for report by May 2008:

Australia's mandatory Last Resort Home Warranty Insurance scheme, including:

  1. the appropriateness and effectiveness of the current mandatory privatised Last Resort Builders Warranty Insurance scheme in providing appropriate consumer protection and industry management;
  2. the reasons for and consequences of the ministerial decisions relating to the removal of consumer protection provisions in respect of Corporations Regulation 7.1.12(2);
  3. the ramifications for the future supply of this insurance product following the draft recommendations from the Productivity Commission report released in December 2007;
  4. any potential reforms and their costs and benefits which may lead to appropriate consumer and builder protection and improved housing affordability; and
  5. any related matters.

The Committee invites written submissions which should be sent to:

Committee Secretary
Senate Economics Committee
Department of the Senate
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia

Update 30 June:  Closing date for submission is now 30 June 2008.

The Committee requests that where possible, submissions should also be provided by email to economics.sen@aph.gov.au, preferably as MS Word or RTF format documents. Notes to assist in preparing submissions are available from the website https://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/wit_sub/index.htm or telephone the Secretariat on 02 6277 3540, fax: 02 6277 5719, or e-mail at the above address.

Once the Committee accepts your submission, it becomes a confidential committee document and is protected by Parliamentary Privilege. You must not release your submission without the Committee's permission. If you do, it is not protected by Parliamentary Privilege. At some stage during the inquiry, the Committee normally makes submissions public. Please indicate if you want your submission to be kept confidential.

Inquiries from hearing and speech impaired people should be directed to the Parliament House TTY number (02 6277 7799). Adobe also provides tools for the blind and visually impaired to access PDF documents. These tools are available at: http://access.adobe.com/. If you require any special arrangements in order to enable you to participate in a committee inquiry, please contact the Committee Secretary.

If you need any further information, consult the Committee's website at https://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/economics_ctte/inquiries.htm or contact the Committee Secretary on (02) 6277 3540 (phone), (02) 6277 5719 (fax); or by email to economics.sen@aph.gov.au or by writing to the above address.

For further information, contact:

Committee Secretary
Senate Standing Committees on Economics
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia

Phone: +61 2 6277 3540
Fax: +61 2 6277 5719
Email: economics.sen@aph.gov.au