Media Release - Consumer Action Law Centre

More ‘trouble with telcos’ as bad service, hidden costs, and shoddy sales practices revealed

A report* published today by the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) reveals that telco sales culture, practices, and cost structures before and during COVID are continuing to fail Australia’s...

Telstra cops record $50 million fine, consumer groups say industry must improve its practices

The Federal Court today upheld the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) $50 million fine against Telstra for its treatment of Indigenous people in rural and remote parts o...

Consumer group calls for unsolicited sale ban after solar company fined $3 million

This week the Federal Court of Australia ordered Vic Solar to pay a $3 million fine for violating provisions of the Australian Consumer Law relating to unsolicited sales, among other breaches of cons...

ASIC must reject licence applications from predatory debt vultures

Consumer Action has welcomed the news that Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg MP has made new regulations requiring debt management firms – also known as ‘debt vultures’ – to be licenced to provide ser...

Surge in disconnections a blow to thousands during COVID

The latest data from the Essential Services Commission (ESC) reveals a big surge in the number of people being disconnected from their energy supply and increasing numbers of people struggling to keep...

Telco conduct harming customers reveals why self-regulation is a failure

A new report by Financial Counselling Australia has criticised the selling practices, customer service and financial hardship programs offered by the telco industry in the wake of COVID-19, revealing ...

Vic Government called on to act as big gaps in consumer protection put solar customers at risk

Consumer Action has today published a report calling on the Victorian Government to fix the gaps in consumer protections that are leaving thousands of solar customers prey to high-pressure sales tacti...

Consumer advocates ‘gobsmacked’ by majority Senate report on predatory lending laws

A newly released report by the Senate Economics Legislation Committee has recommended Parliament pass proposed laws that fall woefully short of what advocates say is needed to protect people from pred...

“Recipe for economic disaster”: Consumer groups slam Senate report on lending laws

Consumer groups condemn the majority’s recommendations of today’s Senate Inquiry Report, as the vote looms next week on the Government's disastrous proposal to axe safe lending laws. The repeal of...

Buy now pay later sector must be regulated by Government not itself

Consumer groups have united to call for Federal Government regulation of buy now pay later (BNPL) services to protect consumers and put all credit providers on a level playing field. Today the Aus...

Over 590,000 Australians have relied on safe lending laws for justice

As the Senate Economics Committee hosts hearings in Canberra today, over 22,000 Australians have joined the call for Federal Senators to strengthen instead of repeal safe lending laws, with many sha...

Royal Commission add-on junk insurance reforms must be implemented industry-wide

Community legal centres are urging the Government to deliver on Commissioner Hayne’s recommendation that the deferred sales model for add-on insurance apply ‘industry-wide’. The Final Report of the...

Consumer groups support licensing of ‘debt vultures’ but reforms must go further to stop the harm

While some businesses stepped up to help Australians to recover from the COVID-19 crisis, others sought to profit from people’s desperate financial circumstances. Unregulated debt management firms ...

REPORT: Telcos miss the mark on hardship support during COVID, time to treat them as an essential service

A new report by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) Customer financial hardship in the telco industry reveals stark variations in hardship support offered during the COVID-19 cris...

‘A disastrous winding back of consumer protections’: Consumer groups call on lawmakers to reject proposed changes

Proposed changes to consumer credit laws before the Senate must be rejected as they risk harm to individuals and families and hindering the economic recovery they are intended to promote. That is t...

Consumer advocates call for Parliament to vote against watered-down protections against predatory lenders

Consumer advocates have rejected the Federal Government’s proposed changes to laws governing high-cost payday loans and consumer leases, calling for Parliament to vote against the Bill in a submission...

Up to 1.9 million Australians paid debt vultures in the last 12 months: REPORT

According to a new report released today by Consumer Action Law Centre, approximately 1.4 to 1.9 million Australians have paid for debt management or credit repair services in the last 12 months. Thes...

Image of Australia's Parliament House in Canberra

Consumer groups comment on Banking Royal Commission reforms

Consumer groups welcome today’s passage of Royal Commission recommendations into law, but condemn the government for introducing the law to axe safe lending laws into the House. “This week the govern...

Victoria’s energy reforms positive but enforcement needed: Report

Victoria has taken the lead among Australian states in recent years with significant reforms designed to protect Victorians from being ripped off by energy retailers and ensure people receive appropri...

Federal Court finds multiple breaches of Australian Consumer Law in relation to credit repair, but not debt management

Federal Court finds multiple breaches of Australian Consumer Law in relation to credit repair, but not debt management The Federal Court has found that J Daniels & Associates (JDA), a debt mana...

Private member’s Bill addresses Government’s ‘half-baked’ proposals on payday loans and high-cost leases

A private member’s Bill introduced in Parliament today by Andrew Wilkie MP would, if passed, greatly reduce the harm that high-cost payday loans and consumer leases cause to thousands of Australians....

Lower bills a welcome relief for people on the Victorian Default Offer but room for further reductions

The Essential Services Commission’s (ESC) announcement today that electricity bills will decrease for households on the Victorian Default Offer (VDO) is good news, but it is disappointing that the cos...

Report reveals telco failures during COVID-19 crisis

Consumer Action has today published a report with case studies and data documenting the ways the telecommunications industry in Australia continues to fail the community, even during the COVID-19...

Scrapping lending laws would take away legal rights and hinder economic recovery

Consumer advocates have published a submission on exposure draft legislation that would repeal lending consumer protections in the National Consumer Credit Protection Act, in direct contradiction of t...

Energy efficiency and targeted rebate plan to help with big energy bills the right approach

Consumer Action Law Centre has welcomed the Victorian Government’s announcement today to help thousands of concession holders manage their energy bills. For many people in our community, home ener...

Buy now pay later report reveals one-in-five users going without essentials like meals

A report released today on the buy now pay later (BNPL) industry reveals statistics that suggest many Australians are being pushed into financial harm. The report by the Australian Securities &...

Parliament must kick ‘rent-to-buy’ products off Centrepay for good

Consumer Action has thrown its support behind a private member’s Bill introduced to the Senate yesterday to stop ‘rent-to-buy’ operators from accessing the Government’s bill paying service. The Bi...

One step forward, two steps back: Banking Royal Commission reforms welcomed but deep concerns remain

Consumer groups* have strongly welcomed the introduction of a Bill today in Parliament to prevent hard-sell tactics for insurance and other financial products. The Bill introduces some of the 76 lo...

Telco industry fails individuals and businesses during the pandemic

Data released today on the telco industry shows the sector has failed to meet community expectations throughout the pandemic, leaving families and business customers high and dry in their time of need...

“Stop the harm”: Renewed calls for consumer lease providers to be kicked off Centrepay

The Commonwealth Ombudsman recently handed down its final decision on Consumer Action Law Centre's complaints about Services Australia failing to enforce the Centrepay Policy against predatory consume...

Predatory lending risks undermining Government’s economic recovery effort

With jobs, household spending and economic recovery the focus of last night’s Budget, the Stop the Debt Trap Alliance is warning that lax protections from predatory lenders risk undermining the Gover...

Corporate regulator takes legal action to stop harmful rogue lending

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) this week commenced legal proceedings against Cigno Pty Ltd (Cigno) and BHF Solutions Pty Ltd (BHFS), alleging the companies provided credit...

Government waters down payday lending reforms

The Government has announced that it will weaken proposed consumer protections it promised to implement nearly four years ago in relation to small amount credit contracts (payday loans) and consumer l...

Consumer groups call for an end to telco rip offs

Consumer groups* have shared harrowing stories of telco companies mistreating people around Australia and are calling on the Federal Government to fix the system so people are treated fairly. The c...

Consumer groups slam move to remove responsible lending law

Removing credit protections will cause harm to people and the economy CHOICE, Consumer Action Law Centre, Financial Counselling Australia and Financial Rights Legal Centre have responded to the Gov...

Revamped Koorihelp website and Facebook page launched for community

Consumer Action has launched a revamped Koorihelp website and new Facebook page focused on providing the latest information about pressing consumer issues and services to Victoria’s Aboriginal and Tor...

Government-led Senate Committee backs strengthening consumer protections for predatory payday loans and high-cost leases

A Senate Committee has handed down its final report on proposed reforms to payday loans and consumer leases in the National Consumer Credit Protection Amendment (Small Amount Credit Contract and Consu...

Consumer groups welcome South Australian crackdown on predatory lenders

Consumer groups have applauded the South Australian government’s plans to crackdown on payday lenders and consumer lease providers. The government’s proposed laws would introduce important consumer pr...

Australian Competition Tribunal decision: A missed opportunity to improve solar sales practices

The Australian Competition Tribunal (the Tribunal) has handed down its decision today on the New Energy Tech Consumer Code (the Code), the proposed industry code for new energy technology such as sola...

Extension of bankruptcy threshold protections should be made permanent

Consumer groups have welcomed the Government’s extension of bankruptcy threshold protections until the end of the year because of the COVID emergency and are calling for the changes to be made permane...

Standing up against systemic racism

Consumer Action Law Centre stands in solidarity with all those protesting systemic racism over recent months. Our colleagues at Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS) have issued a statement reg...

Report misses the mark on buy now pay later regulation

The Senate Select Committee on Financial Technology and Regulatory Technology has published its Interim Report. Consumer groups say the Interim Report has missed the mark on its recommendation encoura...

$28 million of junk add-on insurance claims and counting… ASIC must act now to fix junk insurance

Consumer Action Law Centre, Financial Rights Legal Centre and WEstjustice have made a submission to the corporate regulator urging a crackdown on junk insurance sales in car yards. The submission c...

Consumer groups welcome NAB crackdown on debt vultures

Consumer groups have welcomed a crackdown on debt vultures by National Australia Bank (NAB). In a statement today, NAB says it will no longer deal with unlicensed debt management providers. Cons...

Responsible lending law reform needed urgently

Consumer groups are extremely disappointed in ASIC’s decision not to appeal the Full Federal Court’s decision in the Westpac case to the High Court of Australia.[1] The Financial Rights Legal Centr...

Regulator proposes to stop the latest predatory lending model involving Cigno

The corporate regulator is proposing to again use its product intervention power (PIP) in relation to Cigno and BHF Solutions. Consumer Action Law Centre supports the move, saying there is a desperate...

Banks Announcement of Further Assistance for Customers a Timely Relief

Today’s announcement by the banking industry of further assistance to help customers experiencing financial hardship will provide some important relief to those who continue to be impacted by COVID-19...

Regulator reveals telcos failing to do proper credit checks

The telco regulator has released worrying findings from its mystery shopping study into companies' credit assessments today. The study released today by the Australian Communications and Media Aut...

Consumer groups: Federal insurance pricing monitor a ‘national priority’ ahead of next bushfire season as NSW office closes

The closure of the NSW insurance pricing monitor today leaves a gap in consumer protection that should be filled by an independent national body says a coalition of consumer groups. The NSW Emergen...

Consumer Action asks Tribunal to stop ‘buy now pay later’ solar rip offs

Today the Australian Competition Tribunal will commence hearing arguments on the New Energy Tech Consumer Code (the Code), the proposed industry code for new energy technology such as solar panel sale...

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