15 May 2023

Fighting back against scammer scourge - Government announces new anti-scams centre

Every day, scammers are ripping money out of the pockets of hard‑working Australians, and the Albanese Government is fighting back.

Today, as part of the 2023‑24 Budget we are announcing a $86.5 million package to combat scams and online fraud, headlined by the establishment of a cutting‑edge National Anti‑Scams Centre (NASC).

Australians lost over $3 billion to scams in 2022 alone, and scam losses have increased nearly five‑fold since 2020. The average loss from a scam is around $20,000. The average household has about $34,000 in savings.

The NASC will be the Government’s primary weapon to detect, disrupt and deter scammers and tackle online fraud. In a world‑leading partnership between government agencies, banks, telcos and digital platforms, the NASC will:

  • use cutting‑edge technology to share intelligence across Government and with authorised industry participants to interrupt scams in real time;
  • combine the expertise of Government and the private sector to disrupt scams and;
  • raise consumer awareness on the risk of scams and how to avoid them.

Fighting scams is everyone’s business. We can’t do it without collaboration across Government and, crucially, with the private sector.

The NASC will sit within the ACCC and will be operational from 1 July 2023.

This Government will not stand by and let scammers come after Australians’ hard‑earned savings.