The Consumer Action Law Centre has gone for broke in the debate about code enforceability, calling for all sectors of the finance industry to be covered by codes, all businesses operating in a sector to be code signatories and all code provisions to be enforceable.CALC's submission in response to a Treasury consultation paper on code enforceability says: "Any less would create further complexity in communicating rights and remedies under the code to customers and staff alike."CALC says: "We note that the final report of the royal commission recommended that industry should identify the provisions that it says govern the terms of the contract and that these should be enforceable code provisions. The implication is that not all clauses of an industry code should be enforceable."We think the better approach is that all code provisions should govern the terms of the contract and give rise to contractual remedies in cases of a breach. It is not clear what benefit there are to clauses of the code that do not also form part of the contract."Last month, Treasury issued a consultation paper, Enforceability of Financial Services Industry Codes, asking for responses to a range of questions, including whether subscribing to approved codes should be a licensing condition and under what circumstances the government should prescribe a mandatory code.The Hayne royal commission identified a number of limitations in the current industry code of practice framework. It said there needed to be clarification of the status of undertakings companies make when they sign up for codes.It said the status of code commitments was not always clear, which in turn means that those promises were not always enforced, whether by code signatories or the regulator. Hayne said there should be greater certainty about the enforceability of key code provisions.Hayne recommended that industry codes approved by ASIC may include "enforceable code provisions", which would have the force of law, and that ASIC may take into consideration whether particular provisions of a code have been designated "enforceable code provisions" in determining whether to approve a code.Industry would be required to identify the provisions of its code that govern the terms of the contract between a financial services company and the customer.Currently, voluntary codes under the Corporations Act represent a form of self-regulation and setting of standards. There are 12 codes in the financial services industry. Enforcement is usually a matter for the industry itself.In its submission, CALC says it is not uncommon for financial services providers to simply fail to comply with code commitment. It cites the example of recent data from the Customer Owned Banking Code Compliance Committee, which found "unacceptably high" non-compliance with direct debit obligations."The committee found that over half of bank staff gave incorrect responses to questions about the cancellation of direct debits, despite the rights being clearly stated within the Customer Owned Banking Code of Practice.CALC says that if an industry sector does not develop a code, ASIC should be given the power to make a relevant industry code itself. It says