Cairns pawnbroker Cash Lenders, who offered high-interest credit contracts to consumers in one of Australia's most disadvantaged areas, has been convicted and fined $12,000 for engaging in credit activity without a licence.
Following a guilty plea, Cash Lenders was convicted and fined in the Cairns Magistrates Court on 23 June 2025.
The Court found that between 24 July 2015 and 29 May 2020, Cash Lenders issued 9,641 pawn tickets which were effectively credit contracts, as they included a term allowing the pawnbroking business to take debt recovery action against customers for any unpaid debts. Ordinarily, a pawn brokers only recourse for unpaid loan amounts is to sell the good or item that was pawned.
ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court said, 'By operating unlawfully outside of the credit regime, Cash Lenders charged extremely high levels of fees and interest and used debt collectors while pretending the loans were backed by pawned items, which either did not exist, or could never cover the value of the loan.
'In some instances, Cash Lenders failed to explain key contractual terms of a loan agreement and did not confirm a consumer had the financial means to repay the loans.'
The Court heard that one customer obtained a $700 loan from Cash Lenders to pay for travel costs but ended up paying a total of $2,204.60, leaving her in financial distress and struggling to pay for basic items including food and electricity. The customer was unable to get another loan at the time after defaulting on the original Cash Lenders agreement.
This matter was prosecuted by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth) (CDPP) following a referral from ASIC.
Background
Cash Lenders, located in Cairns, QLD, has a customer base located predominately in Far North Queensland and the Torres Strait Islands.
In 2017, former Cash Lenders director Colin Hulbert was ordered to pay a pecuniary penalty of $220,000 for breaches of consumer credit laws following a proceeding brought by ASIC in the Federal Court (17-108MR).
In 2018, he was permanently banned from engaging in credit activities after he was found to have been knowingly involved in 73 contraventions of credit legislation between 2008 and 2012 (18-177MR).
On 19 April 2023, Mr Hulbert along with Cash Lenders Pty Ltd, was charged in relation to engaging in credit activity without a licence and in conduct that contravened an order banning him from engaging in any credit activities (23-100MR).
On 15 January 2025, the prosecution against Mr Hulbert was discontinued following his death on 6 November 2024.
Businesses or persons engaged in the provision of credit to consumers are required to hold an Australian Credit Licence, must comply with the National Credit Act and are regulated by ASIC. Pawnbrokers are exempt from these requirements on the basis that their only recourse, should a consumer default on their pawnbroking agreement, is to sell the consumer's pawned goods.
The Indigenous Consumer Assistance Network (ICAN) first brought ASIC's attention to the conduct that led to the charges in the Cairns Magistrates' Court. ICAN provides financial counselling services to Indigenous consumers in North QLD.
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