Harvey Norman and Latitude face $55m penalty for misleading ad campaign

Harvey Norman and Latitude face combined $55m penalty for misleading ad campaign Tue 28 Jul 2026 at 1:06pm In short: Harvey Norman and Latitude Financial have been issued a combined penalty of $55 million by the Australian corporate regulator for a misleading advertising campaign. The businesses were found to have spruiked a 60-month interest-free payment scheme to millions of Australians that required them to take out credit cards and pay additional fees. What's next? In addition to the fines, both companies were ordered to immediately publish corrected advertising on their websites for 90 days. Harvey Norman and Latitude Financial have been issued a combined penalty of $55 million by the Australian corporate regulator for an advertising campaign that misled customers into taking out a credit card when buying products. The penalty is the largest issued by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to a company for misleading conduct. Harvey Norman will be required to pay $35 million of the total penalty, and the remaining $20 million was issued against Latitude Financial. The case against the two businesses related to newspaper, radio and television advertisements published and broadcast to millions of Australians between January 2020 and August 2021 that spruiked 60-month interest-free payments and no need for a customer deposit when buying high-ticket items. The advertisements "masked that consumers were required to take out a credit card, such as the Latitude GO Mastercard, to purchase goods, and were liable to pay monthly account service fees and, up to 15 March 2021, also establishment fees", according to ASIC. The regulator said customers who signed up to a GO Mastercard between March 16 and August 11, 2021, bought a Harvey Norman product using the 60-month interest-free payment method and paid it off during that time, were liable to pay a minimum of $537 in additional fees. ASIC chair Sarah Court described the penalties as "a strong warning to the market" that reinforced "integrity in consumer marketing". "Consumers were entitled to know that this offer involved more than simply paying for their purchase in 60 instalments," Ms Court said in a statement on Tuesday. "The advertising encouraged consumers into an ongoing credit arrangement that carried additional costs and obligations. "Today's outcome sends a strong message that businesses must give consumers a clear and accurate picture of the products they are promoting and the costs that come with them." Harvey Norman issued an apology to its customers after the ASIC ruling was released. "While the Company did not intend to engage in false, misleading or deceptive conduct, the Company apologises unreservedly to the Court and customers," a statement said. "The Company is committed to promoting a culture of compliance with all its legal obligations and will continue to work hard to comply with those obligations." The retailer also posted an ASX update saying it had accrued at least $16.2 million "in anticipation of this possible outcome", but expected to record an additional financial hit this financial year due to the penalty. A spokesperson for Latitude told the ASX the company "accepts responsibility for its conduct and apologises to its customers". The lender also said it had "largely provisioned" funds to pay its $20 million penalty. The penalties come after appeals lodged by legal representatives for Harvey Norman and Latitude Financial were dismissed in the Federal Court in September last year. The businesses were first found in October 2024 to have breached consumer law by misleading customers during the advertising campaign. In his ruling on Tuesday, Justice Michael O'Bryan said Harvey Norman had been issued a higher penalty than Latitude because the retailer "exhibited a different level of contrition". "Public statements made by Harvey Norman's Chairman show a disregard for the potential harm suffered by consumers from Harvey Norman's misleading conduct,"he said. "A higher penalty is warranted to deter repetition and to motivate Harvey Norman to improve its compliance processes." Both companies were also ordered to immediately publish corrected advertising on their website home pages for 90 days. In April, Latitude Financial was also ordered by the Australian Communications and Media Authority to pay $3.96 million for breaking spam laws more than 2.7 million times. The regulator found Latitude had sent more than 2.3 million spam messages between March 2024 and April 2025 that failed to include company contact information as required by law. Almost 345,000 of those messages were sent without a working unsubscribe function, ACMA said. The financial lender was also ordered to pay an additional $1.5 million in fines for similar breaches in 2022.