When a debt collector contacts your children about money you allegedly owe, it crosses every line in the book. This isn’t just unethical — under Australian consumer law, it’s classified as undue harassment, coercion, or unconscionable conduct. And the penalties for collectors who do it are severe.

The Law Is Crystal Clear: Leave the Kids Out of It

The ACCC/ASIC Debt Collection Guideline explicitly states that debt collectors must not communicate with a debtor’s child — anyone under 18 — about a debt. The only narrow exceptions are where you specifically authorised and initiated it, or where the child is voluntarily acting as a translator.

But the protections go even further. Collectors cannot threaten to report you to family welfare authorities. They cannot make threats about your children. They cannot use your kids as leverage to pressure you into paying. Any attempt to pressure a debtor through their child is classified as unconscionable conduct under the law.

Real Case: Children’s Toys Threatened With Repossession

In the Excite Mobile case, a company threatened that a court would order all of a debtor’s assets repossessed — including children’s toys. The Federal Court found this was unconscionable conduct. The company was fined and its directors were personally penalised and banned from managing corporations.

In Victoria, any communication with someone under 18 about a debt — if that person isn’t the debtor — is specifically prohibited by law. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) oversees how your personal information is handled, and involving minors in debt recovery is a clear privacy violation.

If a debt collector has involved your children in any way — by speaking to them, threatening them, or using them to pressure you — they have broken the law. You have every right to fight back, and a law firm with 16 years of experience can make sure they answer for it.