The Full Federal Court has unanimously dismissed appeals by Latitude Finance Australia and Harvey Norman Holdings over a national “60-month interest free, no deposit” promotion, finding the campaign misled consumers about the true cost and conditions of the offer.
The advertisements, run thousands of times across print, radio and television between January 2020 and August 2021, promoted interest-free purchases at Harvey Norman stores. ASIC alleged they failed to disclose that customers were required to have, or be approved for, an eligible Latitude credit card such as the Latitude GO Mastercard, and would be charged monthly account service fees and, until 15 March 2021, establishment fees.
At a hearing on 28 August 2025, the Full Court dismissed the appeals, agreeing with the trial judge that the undisclosed conditions were material. In written reasons delivered on 3 September 2025, Justices O’Bryan, Cheeseman and Bennett said it was ‘regrettable that the final determination of remedies in this proceeding has been delayed by the unmeritorious applications for leave to appeal’ and that ‘the decision of the primary judge is not attended by any real doubt and that the draft grounds of appeal lack merit and are barely arguable.’
Confirming that ‘the promotional message was misleading’, the Court rejected submissions that ordinary consumers ‘would know it was too good to be true’ and observed that ‘there is no reason for a consumer to doubt or second guess the simple terms of the advertised offer.’ Their Honours continued: ‘the promotional message was clear and very attractive to consumers. It concerned the financial terms on which goods could be purchased at Harvey Norman stores. In our view, ordinary and reasonable consumers would have assumed that the offer made in the advertisements was stated accurately, particularly in light of Australia’s strong consumer protection laws.’
ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court said, ‘This is an important win for consumers. ASIC took this case because we believed many consumers were unaware of the financial arrangements they were entering into, and they deserved to be fully informed.
‘This decision reinforces the importance of truthful advertising,’ the Deputy Chair said.
ASIC launched proceedings in October 2022 alleging breaches of sections 12DA, 12DB and 12DF of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (Cth) over the campaign’s failure to adequately disclose the requirement to obtain an eligible Latitude credit card and the associated fees, including monthly account service fees where the statement balance was $10 or more. In October 2024, Justice Yates found both companies had breached the law and in November 2024 made declarations and set the matter down for a hearing on relief. Latitude and Harvey Norman then sought leave to appeal; the Full Court granted leave but dismissed the appeals.
The matter will return to court on a date to be fixed, when ASIC will seek pecuniary penalties, adverse publicity orders, an injunction and costs.
