OPINION: Banks, get tougher on scams
An edited version of this opinion piece appeared in the Herald Sun 18 February, 2023 You’d be hard-pressed these days to find someone who hasn’t been the target of a scam. Whether it’s a fraudulent...
Consumer Action calling on banks to block payments to scammers and reimburse victims
Australia’s banks should quickly introduce measures to stop scams, make their systems safer and reimburse victims or be made by Government to do so, says Consumer Action CEO Stephanie Tonkin. Ms Tonk...
PODCAST: “The best job I will ever have in my career,” Gerard Brody on his 10 years as Consumer Action CEO
PODCAST: In his last week as Consumer Action CEO, Gerard Brody sat down to reflect on some of his experiences at the centre. One of the most incredible aspects of Gerard's leadership is his calm and v...
A Strategic Plan for the Payments System
We consider the safety and resilience of the payments system to require urgent attention and intervention and outline the reasons for this in our joint submission with Financial Rights Legal Centre....
Inquiry into the extent and nature of poverty in Australia
Consumer Action’s financial counsellors and lawyers advise and assist people experiencing financial hardship and poverty on a daily basis. The data Consumer Action collects, as well as the reflections...
Australia’s banks should follow CBA’s lead and introduce stronger measures to stop scams
The Commonwealth Bank (CBA) has announced it is introducing measures to strengthen its payment system that will make it harder for crooks to scam their customers. The measures called NameCheck and Cal...
Regulate Buy Now, Pay Later like other credit products to boost customer safeguards, consumer groups say
Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) late fees and charges would be capped, and providers would be licensed and banned from making unsolicited offers of credit, under recommendations for proper regulation of the...
Treasury Options Paper, Regulating Buy Now Pay Later in Australia
Consumer Action has joined with 22 other organisations as part of the "Close Lending Loopholes Alliance" to make a submission to Treasury on its Options Paper, Regulating Buy Now Pay Later in Australi...
Review of the Australian Finance Industry Association (AFIA) Buy Now Pay Later Code of Practice
Consumer Credit Legal Services (WA) Inc. (CCLSWA) has drafted these submissions on behalf of the Consumers’ Federation of Australia (CFA) and its members. CFA is the peak body for consumer organisatio...
High Court dismisses last ditch appeal by rogue lender
Consumer advocates have welcomed the dismissal by the High Court of a special leave application by Cigno Pty Ltd (Cigno) and BHF Solutions Pty Ltd (BHFS) against the Full Federal Court’s finding in en...
Robodebt Royal Commission: refer debt collection misconduct to the ACCC
Consumer Action has partnered with Financial Counselling Australia and Economic Justice Australia to make a submission to the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme. The submission asks the Roya...
Revision to Banking Code of Practice needs teeth to really help those doing it tough
Consumer advocates are calling for Australian banks to maintain and enhance robust consumer protections, following an independent review of the Banking Code of Practice (the Banking Code). The Aust...
Consumer protections for high-cost and harmful payday loans and consumer leases finally pass Parliament
After a late-night Senate sitting, Consumer Advocacy groups across Australia are celebrating the passing through the Federal Parliament of long overdue reforms that will protect consumers from falling...
Financial Services Legislation Inquiry –Interim Report B
Consumer Action has joined with Financial Rights Legal Centre and Redfern Legal Centre to make a submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission in response to its Financial Services Legislation In...
Dodgy rent-to-buy houses scheme leads to jail
A Victorian County Court verdict today handed Sheree Becker a three year and six month sentence jail sentence with 15 months before parole for 7 counts of fraud against the ANZ Bank. In the scheme...
‘A matter of urgency’: Community sector calls on Senate to pass the Financial Sector Reform Bill now
Community organisations that are part of the Stop the Debt Trap Alliance are urging the Senate not to further delay the Financial Sector Reform (FSR) Bill. The Bill needs to be passed as a matter of u...
Buy now pay later changes must go all the way, consumer groups say
Buy now pay later (BNPL) products must be fully regulated as credit to protect consumers and put all credit providers on a level playing field, a coalition of consumer groups has said. The group, i...
Let’s pass the Finance Sector Reform Bill: The Stop the Debt Alliance strongly endorses Senate committee recommendation
The Stop the Debt Trap Alliance, a coalition of dozens of consume advocacy organisations from around Australia, including financial experts, community advocates and service providers has strongly endo...
“Time for the financial harms to stop”: Consumer groups urge Senate to quickly pass reforms on payday loans and consumer leases
Consumer Action is one of 20 community organisations strongly recommending that the consumer credit reforms in the Finance Sector Reform Bill (FSR Bill), relating to Small Amount Credit Contracts (SAC...
Financial Sector Reform Bill 2022 – Compensation Scheme of Last Resort and Financial Accountability Regime
Consumer groups strongly support the passage of a well-designed Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (‘CSLR’) and Financial Accountability Regime (‘FAR’). These reforms are landmark recommendations of t...
Submission to Senate Economics Committee: Financial Sector Reform Bill 2022 – consumer credit reforms
The submission, on behalf of 20 community organisations, recommends that the consumer credit reforms in the Finance Sector Reform Bill (FSR Bill) relating to small amount credit contracts and consumer...
Harvey-Norman and Latitude case alleging misleading ‘interest-free’ credit card promotions welcomed by consumer advocates
Consumer Action, Financial Rights Legal Centre and CHOICE have welcomed the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s (ASIC) commencing legal action against Latitude Finance Australia and Har...
OPINION: Optus data breach underscores urgent need for reforms to protect Australians from scams
Opinion piece by Gerard Brody, CEO Consumer Action The massive data breach affecting up to 9.8 million Optus customers has shone a spotlight on what can be done to protect Australians from harm and...
People should get their money back quicker and more easily following new ASIC guidance, say consumer advocates
The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has today published updated and revised remediation guidance for financial firms with the goal of treating wronged customers fairer and ensur...
Quality of Advice Review: Proposals Paper
Australians who seek financial advice have the right to expect that the advice they receive will be independent, high quality and in their best interests. Poor financial advice has lasting impacts on...
Finally, time to Stop the Debt Trap!
Consumer advocates making up the Stop the Debt Trap coalition across Australia have welcomed the introduction of the Financial Sector Reform Bill 2022 which, among other things, enhances long overdue...
With scams at crisis levels, banks and payment system providers must do more
Online and telephone scams targeting Australians are now at crisis levels and victims will continue to bear the burden of financial losses, which will only get worse without urgent action from governm...
Quality of Advice Review proposal: A major step backwards in consumer financial protection
Consumer groups have responded to the Quality of Advice Review’s proposal to dismantle core consumer protections Quotes attributable to Consumer Action Law Centre CEO Gerard Brody “One of the si...
Our Policy and Campaign Priorities for 2022-23
Consumer Action has revealed its Policy and Campaign Priorities for 2022-23 with a refreshed focus on making the marketplace for consumers fairer. Director of Policy and Campaigns Tania Clarke said...
Intense cost of living pressures make longstanding reforms to high-cost credit urgent
An edited version of this opinion piece appeared in the Herald Sun on 19 July 2022 Way back in November 2016, the Turnbull Government announced that it would implement recommendations made by an in...
ASIC lending model ban on rogue lender Cigno applauded
Consumer Action welcomed today’s announcement from the corporate regulator Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) that it will use its product intervention power to ban the excessivel...
Consumer and social service groups welcome community consultation on removing buy-now-pay-later and other credit loopholes
Key consumer and social service groups are welcoming the Federal Government’s announcement that the process of introducing better safeguards for buy now pay later (BNPL) and other credit products has...
Banks can do more to stop scams say consumer advocates
Australia’s banks can do much more to stop the plague of scams that is destroying families and costing the economy more than $2 billion annually. That’s the message from consumer advocates in response...
Consumer advocates praise court decision against Cigno loans
Consumer advocates have welcomed a Full Federal Court decision striking down a credit law avoidance strategy used by Cigno Pty Ltd and BHF Solutions. For years, fringe lender Cigno has preyed upon...
Government’s commitment to regulate buy now pay later products welcomed
Key consumer and community groups are welcoming comments by the new Minister for Financial Services, Stephen Jones, that the Government will move to regulate buy now pay later (BNPL). Minister Jone...
ASIC litigation against payday lender: new Federal Government must deliver overdue reform
Consumer Action has welcomed the Australian Securities and Investment Commission’s (ASIC) announcement that it is suing Sunshine Loans for breaches of the National Credit Code for charging unlawful fe...
Crypto: As risky as gambling and a haven for scams that demands action
Consumer Action is calling for meaningful protections from scams to apply to businesses operating in the crypto sector. The call comes in a submission to the Treasury’s consultation paper Crypto as...
Crypto asset secondary service providers consultation paper
Consumer Action broadly supports the intention of the Government to introduce regulation to oversee the rapidly growing crypto asset environment. The crypto marketplace currently poses significant...
ASIC litigation against fictitious high-cost ‘leases’ protects against exploitation
Consumer Action has welcomed the Australian Securities and Investment Commission’s (ASIC) announcement that it has sued Rent4Keeps and Layaway Depot for breaches of the National Credit Code involving...
US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Inquiry into Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) Providers
While there have always been various forms of instalment credit products in the marketplace, Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) is a uniquely Australian invention, that has now been exported around the world....
US Government urged NOT to follow Australia’s lead with self-regulation of buy now pay later products
Australian consumer groups have warned the USA’s chief consumer regulator, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), about major flaws in the self-regulation of buy now pay later (BNPL) product...
Banking Code Compliance Priorities 2022-23
The Banking Code Compliance Committee’s (BCCC) administration and enforcement of the Banking Code of Practice (the Code) is a key aspect of regulatory oversight in the banking sector. The BCCC’s mo...
Hayne Royal Commission findings on conflicted remuneration forgotten by Federal Government in long-awaited review
Consumer Advocates are calling for an urgent rewrite of the Federal Government’s Draft Terms of Reference (Draft TOR) for the Quality of Financial Advice Review (Advice Review). “This review is sup...
Product intervention orders in credit: A joint submission
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action), Financial Rights Legal Centre (Financial Rights), the Indigenous Consumer Assistance Network Ltd (ICAN), the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service and WEstju...
Time to finally end the harm done by Cigno loans
Consumer groups and financial counsellors are urging the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to act now to put an end to the use of harmful lending models used to charge excessive...
Our submission on Buy Now Pay Later to the UK Woolard Review
Our casework experience in Australia shows that buy now pay later (BNPL) debts are causing or exacerbating financial hardship in substantially the same manner as detailed in the Woolard Review. In...
Australian consumer groups warn UK Government against industry “self-regulation” of Buy Now Pay Later
Financial Counselling Australia and the Consumer Action Law Centre have shared Australia’s experience of weak consumer safeguards for Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), as part of the UK Government’s consultat...
Consumer protections and the Post-2025 Distributed Energy Resources Implementation Plan
As the Energy Security Board (the ESB) begins to develop its 3-year reform road map to unlock value for customers from the integration of Distributed Energy Resources (DER) and flexible demand into en...
Banks should take more responsibility for scams
The Treasurer’s proposed transformation of the regulation of payment systems is an opportunity to embed financial safety, and ensure protections are built in from the outset says Consumer Action's CEO...
Joint Consumer Submission to Regional Banking Taskforce
Banking is an essential service that is critical to the wellbeing of consumers, small businesses and community organisations in regional Australia. However, accelerating branch closures are creating v...