Just get your CashnGo

ADVERSE PUBLICITY NOTICE PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

1. On 31 August 2026, Justice Jackman of the Federal Court of Australia ordered Venture 5 Group Pty Ltd (ACN 156 288 078), trading as CashnGo, to pay a pecuniary penalty of $3.5 million to the Commonwealth in proceedings brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) concerning the inclusion of unfair contract terms in Small Amount Credit Contracts (SACCs) and failures to provide consumers with compliant default notices.
2. During the period from 20 April 2022 to the day of the orders, CashnGo entered into SACCs with consumers that contained terms which the Court has declared to be unfair. Those unfair contract terms have been declared void by the Court.
3. The Court ordered that CashnGo pay a pecuniary penalty of $3.5 million in relation to the following:
   1. contravening section 12BF(2A) of the ASIC Act on 189,676 occasions during the period 9 November 2023 to 7 June 2026 by proposing and entering 47,419 SACCs which included four unfair contract terms;
   2. contravening section 12BF(2A) of the ASIC Act on 870 occasions during the period 8 June 2026 and 30 June 2026 by proposing and entering 435 SACCs which included two unfair contract terms; and
   3. contravening section 12BF(2C) of the ASIC Act on at least 658,245 occasions during the period 9 November 2023 to 30 June 2026 by applying and relying on two unfair contract terms.
4. The following terms in CashnGo SACCs have been declared unfair and void from 31 August 2026:
   1. Default Term: this term permitted CashnGo, following a default, to withdraw outstanding amounts from a consumer's bank account whenever funds became available in the account without providing prior notice of the timing, frequency or amount of the withdrawal (see clauses 8.3 and 8.7(2) of CashnGo's Offer to Provide Credit).
   2. Authority Terms: these terms authorised CashnGo to use consumers' bank login credentials to access and monitor consumers' online banking facilities. Until 11 August 2023, the Lara Pay Service Terms and Conditions also authorised CashnGo to enter payment instructions in a consumer's internet banking facility, and required the consumer not to cancel that instruction (see clause 2 of CashnGo's Lara Pay Service Terms and Conditions, as contained within CashnGo's Direct Debit Request, and clause 2 of its Bank Feed Terms of Use).
5. The Default and Authority Terms enabled CashnGo to access and monitor consumers' bank accounts, and following default, undertake unscheduled withdrawals without notice as to the timing, frequency or amount of those withdrawals. This practice risked leaving consumers with insufficient funds to meet essential living expenses such as food and rent, and consumer complaints indicate that consumers were left with insufficient funds to meet those expenses, that accounts were overdrawn, and that consumers lost control of their finances.
6. The Court ordered that in existing contracts, the Default Term and Authority Terms be replaced with fair terms from 31 August 2026. Accordingly, the Default and Authority Terms have been replaced with terms that require CashnGo to give consumers who default on a payment at least 72 hours' notice and an opportunity to withdraw their consent to unscheduled withdrawals, before undertaking any unscheduled withdrawals.
7. The Court declared that the following terms in CashnGo SACCs are unfair and void from the date that each relevant SACC was entered into (void ab initio):
   1. Indemnity Terms: these terms required consumers to indemnify CashnGo for a broad range of losses, costs and expenses including those arising from intentional or dishonest acts by CashnGo (see clause 8.1 of the Lara Pay Service Terms and Conditions, as contained within CashnGo's Direct Debit Request, and clause 7 of CashnGo's Bank Feed Terms of Use).
   2. Limitation of Liability Terms: these terms substantially limited or excluded CashnGo's liability for loss suffered by consumers arising from acts or omissions by CashnGo (see clause 9.1 of the Lara Pay Service Terms and Conditions, as contained within CashnGo Direct Debit Request, and clause 8 of CashnGo's Bank Feed Terms of Use).
8. The Indemnity and Limitation of Liability Terms should be treated as though they never formed part of the contracts.
9. The Court also declared that during the period from 11 March 2021 to 6 June 2023 (inclusive), CashnGo failed to give defaulting consumers a default notice that complied with section 87(2) the National Credit Code on 67,545 occasions with each occasion being a contravention of the National Credit Code.
10. CashnGo has not previously been found by a court to have engaged in similar conduct. CashnGo admitted the contraventions shortly before trial, agreed the facts with ASIC and agreed the penalty, and its cooperation in these respects resulted in a reduction in the penalty ASIC would otherwise have sought.

Further information

For further information about the conduct, see the following:

• The court's judgment on penalty;
• Australian Securities and Investments Commission media release;
• Statement of Agreed Facts and Admissions filed in the proceeding; and
• Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Venture 5 Group Pty Ltd (trading as CashnGo) [2026] FCA 1278.