Law change 'could help with credit card debts'

A change to consumer credit laws could give a helping hand to those people struggling with credit card debts.

The law changes are designed to give extra legal rights to people who owe up to A$500,000. It covers a number of different forms of credit, ranging from credit cards through to personal loans and mortgages.

Under the changes, individuals will be able to legally challenge their lender if they refuse to grant leniency on repayments.

The laws have largely been welcomed by consumer groups across the country, the Australian reports.

Anncouncing the changes, corporate law minister Nick Sherry said the laws are designed to ensure that consumers do not get "saddled with unmanageable debts".

"The Rudd Labor government intends to crack down on irresponsible lending, and we intend to weed out dodgy providers of credit finance and dodgy advisers from this industry," Mr Sherry said.

Such a change also replaces state and territory laws with a single national legal framework for the management of credit lending.