Overall, we support the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA’s) current compliance and enforcement priorities and recommend they are extended into 2025-26 as there is more work to be do...
Consumer Action Law Centre has welcomed today’s draft decision from the Essential Services Commission (ESC) on the Victorian Default Offer for 2025-26 but calls on the Commission and Energy Retailers...
We welcome the opportunity to provide our submission responding to the Discussion Paper released as part of the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) Strategic Review. Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer A...
The Fair Call Coalition* of consumer advocates has written to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) urging the Regulator to refuse to register the Telecommunications Consumer Protec...
Consumer Action Law Centre welcomes the opportunity to provide our submission to the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) in response to the Consumer Energy Resources (CER) Con...
Consumer Action Law Centre has warmly welcomed today’s announcement from Communications Minister Michelle Rowland further strengthening consumer protections and increasing the Australian Communication...
The cost-of-living crisis has deepened the urgency of ensuring an affordable energy price for Victorians. On Consumer Action’s frontlines, we hear from Victorians every day who are struggling to meet...
Consumer Action supports the objectives of the Essential Services Commission (ESC’s) proposed reforms to ensure people experiencing payment difficulty are receiving the best price for energy from thei...
Consumer Action Law Centre has welcomed the Victorian Government's announcement today of a major overhaul of the Victorian Building and Plumbing Regulator's enforcement powers and structure, and domes...
Consumer Action Law Centre Acting Director of Policy and Campaigns Luke Lovell said the new protections for telco customers experiencing domestic and family violence (DFV) announced today by Minister...
We welcome the opportunity to provide our feedback to the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) strategic review. Consumer Action supports the VEU program objectives of helping Victorians to make energy...
Consumer Action Law Centre campaigned long and hard for a ban on door-to-door sales in Victoria and we are delighted that the ban for businesses that are part of the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) ha...
As extreme weather events continue to increase, it is imperative that Victorians’ access to essential services is protected and prioritised by Government, regulators and industry. Consumer Action L...
We welcome the opportunity to provide our submission to the Essential Services Commission’s (ESC) review of the Energy Retail Code of Practice (the Code). In this submission, where relevant, we hav...
Consumer Action Law Centre, with Financial Counselling Victoria, the Federation of Community Legal Centres (FCLC), Anika Legal, Westjustice and Community Information & Support Victoria (CISVic),...
Consumer Action Law Centre is delighted to make a submission to the Network Outage Review. We were contacted by a small number of consumers impacted by the network outages in February 2024, and som...
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has called on the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to reject a proposed consumer protections code drafted by the telecommu...
Consumer Action welcomes the opportunity to provide our submission to the Australian Energy Regulator’s (AER) review of the National Energy Customer Framework (NECF). In this submission, we draw predo...
Consumer Action Law Centre CEO Stephanie Tonkin says the Centre’s new report Energy Assistance Report 4th Edition: Keeping the Lights On published today, highlights that thousands of Victorians are st...
The fourth edition of Consumer Action’s Energy Assistance Report outlines the growing trends of people facing energy hardship; barriers to accessing hardship assistance; and priority areas for targete...
Consumer Action Law Centre CEO Stephanie Tonkin says the Essential Services Commission’s (ESC) decision to lower the Victorian Default Offer (VDO) price is welcome but doesn’t go far enough to help th...
Telecommunications consumers experiencing domestic and family violence (DFV) must see mandatory protections through direct regulation, say consumer advocates, in the wake of an important speech by the...
More callers in paid employment contacting the National Debt Helpline are struggling with energy debt and reporting an increase in energy retailers providing inadequate hardship assistance. That’s...
Consumer Action welcomes the opportunity to provide our submission to the Essential Services Commission (ESC) Draft Decision of the Victorian Default Offer 2024-25. We welcome the ESC’s draft deci...
Thank you for the opportunity to provide input on the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) compliance priorities for the 2024-25 financial year. Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer...
Consumer Action reaffirms our strong support of the implementation of this ban on both telemarketing and door to door sales as an important step in addressing the consumer harm that unsolicited sales...
The Australian Communications Consumer Network's (ACCAN) submission has been informed by feedback from consumer and community organisations who regularly assist consumers affected by scams and other d...
Consumer Action Law Centre CEO Stephanie Tonkin has welcomed draft decision by the Essential Services Commission (ESC) that will see a modest decrease in energy bills this year, but as more families a...
Consumer Action’s CEO Stephanie Tonkin says new telco supports flagged by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) are a significant step in the right direction, but further work must...
The Communications Alliance, the peak industry body for the Australian communications sector, has released a proposed framework and review package for the Telecommunications Consumer Protections (TCP)...
This submission represents the shared view of leading Victorian community sector organisations and energy consumer advocates. Our submission identifies where there remains work to be done, and Victori...
Consumer Action reaffirms the importance of the policy intent underpinning the Victorian Default Offer (VDO) to provide a simple, trusted and reasonably priced electricity option that safeguards consu...
We are delighted to publish our Impact Report 2022-23 which highlights our organisation’s achievements over the past year working for and with the people we help. Read about the many successes we h...
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) has filed a class action in the Federal Court of Australia against Taylors Business Pty Ltd. The lead plaintiff, a Victorian woman, represents herself and...
Hear an expert panel discuss why we need a better system for resolving car disputes in Victoria at the launch of a major report on the consumer experience of faulty cars in Victoria by Consumer Policy...
A groundbreaking report from the Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC) has found that over half (54%) of all Victorians who bought used or new car in the past five years experienced major or minor fa...
The latest figures released in the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman’s (TIO) 2023 Annual report show that the nation’s telcos are still not providing an acceptable standard of service in many key...
The vast majority of Telstra customers will pay $5 per month more on their internet bills following price increases announced this week. Consumer Action Law Centre CEO Stephanie Tonkin said a growi...
We strongly support the Minister’s intention to introduce a ban on telemarketing within the VEU program. We have long advocated for bans on telemarketing (as well as doorknocking) as inherently probl...
Understanding the experience of Victorians dealing with energy hardship Access to affordable, reliable energy is one of the key challenges facing governments, the energy sector, and consumers in 20...
A new report released today by Consumer Action Law Centre has found that while Victoria’s energy retailers continue to improve their support for people in financial hardship, many Victorians continue...
Consumer Action’s Acting CEO Tania Clarke has congratulated Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland for acting swiftly to address the growing list of concerns from consumer advocates and telco cu...
Consumer Action Acting CEO Tania Clarke says Minister for Communication Michelle Rowland should act now to implement tough new laws to clean up the telco industry. Ms Clarke’s call for action comes...
This latest report by the Telecommunications Ombudsman (TIO) published today, Time for Change is shocking to read and makes it clear that industry self-regulation has failed on almost every level when...
Consumer groups and the financial counselling sector have welcomed the launch of a new customer code for the energy sector. The Knock to Stay Connected customer code requires network companies to visi...
The Essential Services Commission (ESC) has listened to consumer groups’ calls for a reduction of the proposed increase to the Victorian Default Offer (VDO) for energy in Victoria. However, today's an...
A new report from the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman has revealed that the telco industry is still not doing enough to help people suffering from financial hardship. Consumer Action's David...
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the standard draft decisions released by the Essential Services Commission (ESC) as part of the 2023 Water Price Rev...
Telco providers are far less likely than other essential services to provide hardship assistance to Australians when they find themselves in financial crisis and here’s the proof: last year 406,428 cu...
Consumer Action Law Centre welcomes the announcement from Solar Victoria that all solar photo voltaic (PV) and battery retailers participating in their Solar Homes and Solar for Business programs will...