The Rooftop Solar Sector Review: Our Submission

Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to provide input into the Clean Energy Regulator’s (CER) review into the rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) sector. There has been...

November 4, 2020

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...

October 28, 2020

Modernising the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Terms of Reference

Westjustice, Consumer Action Legal Centre (‘Consumer Action’), Financial Rights Legal Service(‘FRLS’), and Financial Counselling Australia (‘FCA’) provide legal casework and financial counselling serv...

October 28, 2020

Victorian Default Offer 2021 – Draft Decision

Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Essential Service Commission’s (the Commission) Victorian Default Offer 2021 Draft Decision (the Draft Decision)...

October 21, 2020

Not serving the community: Why we oppose the Cashless Debit Card scheme

Consumer Action seeks to enhance the rights of consumers and promote a marketplace where business plays fair. The Cashless Debit Card (CDC) undermines the role of the market in serving consumer and...

October 19, 2020

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...

September 25, 2020

Telecommunications Consumer Safeguards: Choice and Fairness

Consumer Action, WEstjustice, VALS, FCVic, BCLS, HRCLS and HAAG consider it beyond dispute that telecommunications services, including internet services and mobile phones, are necessary for social inc...

September 25, 2020

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...

September 15, 2020

Modernising the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Terms of Reference

WEstjustice, Consumer Action Legal Centre, Financial Rights Legal Service, and Financial Counselling Australia provide legal casework and financial counselling services to consumers, particularly thos...

September 11, 2020

The sale of add-on financial products through car yard intermediaries

Consumer Action Law Centre, Financial Rights Legal Centre and WEstjustice have made a submission to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) Consultation – Product intervention: The...

August 24, 2020

Inquiry into Victoria’s Response to COVID-19

COVID-19 has deeply affected the Victorian community in unprecedented ways. With a significant number of job losses and most of the population staying at home in compliance with public health orders,...

August 10, 2020

Submission to the Essential Services Commission on the Victorian Default Offer

Consumer Action has made a submission to the Essential Services Commission on the Victorian Default Offer electricity price that is to apply from 1 January 2021. We consider that there is room to r...

July 21, 2020

Supporting energy customers through the coronavirus pandemic – Draft Decision 

COVID-19 has caused significant disruption to households in Victoria and has highlighted the need to ensure that people’s health is not put at risk because of barriers to accessing energy for appropri...

July 15, 2020

Submission supporting the re-authorisation of the Solar Code

Consumer Action has supported the Clean Energy Council (CEC)’s application for re-authorisation of the Solar Retailer Code of Conduct (the Solar Code). Principally, we support the application to avoid...

July 6, 2020

Submission: Essential Service Commission’s Electricity Distribution Code review

Consumer Action has commented on the Essential Service Commission’s (ESC) Electricity Distribution Code review – customer service standards draft decision (Draft Decision). We generally support the pr...

July 6, 2020

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...

June 30, 2020

Submission: Maximum prices for embedded networks and other exempt sellers

Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Essential Service Commission’s (ESC) Maximum prices for embedded networks and other exempt sellers Draft Decisio...

June 17, 2020

A joint submission to the Electricity Distribution Price Review (2022-2027 Victorian EDPR)

Affordable electricity remains critical for vulnerable Victorians and a lack of energy affordability denies people sufficient access to an essential service. Further, high energy costs are a major cau...

June 16, 2020

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...

June 9, 2020

Overwhelmed by bills or struggling financially as a result of COVID-19?

COVID-19 means this year we are staying at home now more than ever. As a result, your bills might be a lot higher than they were.   As we enter the winter months, keeping warm and safe is more impo...

May 28, 2020

Australians urged to share their stories about financial hardship during COVID-19

Today, Consumer Action Law Centre has launched an online form to enable people to share their experiences of financial hardship during the Covid-19 emergency. The goal is to help track the severity an...

May 20, 2020

Are you experiencing financial hardship during the Covid-19 crisis?

...

May 18, 2020

$3.7 million package announced for Victorians struggling with energy bills

Consumer Action Law Centre CEO Gerard Brody says that the Victorian Government’s $3.7 million package for people having difficulty paying their energy bills is a well-timed funding boost as we head in...

May 13, 2020

Over 1,000 requests to disconnect Victorians for not paying their electricity bills during Covid-19 health crisis

The latest figures from the Essential Services Commission (ESC) reveal that more than 1,000 requests have been made to disconnect Victorians from electricity for not paying their bills since late Marc...

May 1, 2020

Assessing the energy retail market’s competitiveness and efficiency

Consumer Action has provided a submission to the Essential Services Commission’s (ESC) consultation "Assessing the competitiveness and efficiency of the Victorian energy retail market" The submissi...

April 6, 2020

Telco companies are failing people in financial hardship

A report released this week by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) shows that telco providers are not adequately identifying and supporting customers experiencing financial hardsh...

April 3, 2020

Community and consumer organisation joint proposal: COVID-19 National Energy Hardship Relief Package

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre joins a coalition of leading consumer and community organisations to call for immediate Commonwealth Government funding and stronger commitments by energy businesse...

March 30, 2020

Keep communities connected, urge more than 40 community organisations across Australia

As more people face the prospect of losing work due to the COVID-19 health  crisis, community organisations are calling on banks, telcos, energy retailers, and rental providers to help people stay con...

March 19, 2020

Keeping communities connected

...

March 18, 2020

A little relief will go a long way for thousands struggling due to COVID-19

Widespread disruption caused by COVID-19 is being felt across Australia. It won’t be long before we have thousands of people trying to survive on a reduced income, worried about whether they can pay t...

March 16, 2020

Households in embedded networks need fair electricity prices

Households in embedded networks are often in effective monopoly situations with little regulatory oversight. For this reason, they need the same or better protections than their peers with conventiona...

March 6, 2020

Maintain households’ rights when accessing essential energy services

As new energy products and services create more options for consumers to access energy offers with non-conventional pricing or features, the complexity of making decisions increases and poses more ris...

February 18, 2020

New report reveals how irresponsible lenders are causing harm in Victorian Aboriginal communities

Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) and the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS) are launching a new report on how irresponsible lenders are causing harm in Victorian Aboriginal communit...

February 14, 2020

Consumer Issues in Victorian Aboriginal Communities: Integrated Practice Project Report 2020

‘Consumer issues in Victorian Aboriginal communities’ reports findings from Consumer Action Law Centre’s (Consumer Action) and the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service’s (VALS) Integrated Practice proje...

February 14, 2020

Implement strong protections to ensure households benefit from new energy technology

Consumer Action’s legal and financial counselling services have regularly assisted consumers experiencing harm as solar technology grows in popularity in Victoria. Our Power Transformed, Knock It Off!...

February 13, 2020

Critical moment to fix and prevent systemic mis-selling of junk insurance and warranties through caryards

Since 2016, Consumer Action’s free tool, DemandaRefund.com has helped people to generate over 9,000 demands totalling an estimated $17 million in refunds for junk consumer credit insurance (CCI), guar...

February 5, 2020

Energy contracts can only be fair if all Victorian energy users have the same protections

Despite the introduction of the Victorian Default Offer for electricity, the state’s most vulnerable energy consumers still face challenges in the market. Energy prices changing unexpectedly, excessiv...

January 21, 2020

Remove barriers to energy efficiency for rental properties

Consumer Action’s National Debt Helpline service provided financial counselling to over 11,000 people in the 2018/19 financial year. Often issues with low quality rental properties or disputes with re...

January 16, 2020

FinTech and RegTech should support positive outcomes for consumers

While we support the development of innovative services and business models that genuinely meet the needs of consumers much of the existing legal and regulatory frameworks are no longer fit for purpos...

December 23, 2019

Lack of minimum efficiency standards put renters at greater risk of energy debts

The financial counsellors working on Consumer Action's National Debt Helpline service provided financial counselling to over 11,000 people in the 2018/19 financial year. Often issues with low quality...

December 18, 2019

Fairness must drive consumer policy in 2020

by Gerard Brody, CEO of Consumer Action Law Centre   Fairness will be the big issue in consumer policy during 2020. It is being talked about like never before. This follows on from Kenneth...

December 17, 2019

A dynamic year for consumer advocacy

There’s no denying that 2019 was a dynamic one for Consumer Action, bringing a wave of change for consumer rights in Australia. You can find out more about what we’ve been up to this past year in our...

December 17, 2019

Strong compliance and enforcement is needed in telecommunications industry

Consumer Action receives 2-3 new calls per week through our legal assistance and worker advice lines or the National Debt Helpline about clients who are negatively affected by unaffordable phone debt....

December 12, 2019

Tricky terms in electricity and gas contracts to be abolished

Victorian energy users are set to benefit from more clarity and fairness when it comes to their energy bills. This comes as a result of the Essential Services Commission (ESC) draft decision on Recomm...

December 10, 2019

Enhanced protections and clearer responsibilities will better support retirees

There are many systemic issues exist with retirement housing that adversely affect retirees’ wellbeing in their golden years. These include housing providers using threats of eviction to discourage re...

December 6, 2019

Victorian Default Offer price determination protects everyone’s right to a fair price for electricity in 2020

Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the Essential Services Commission’s (ESC) announcement of ongoing price protection for household electricity supply in Victoria. The Victorian...

November 25, 2019

Giving energy users access to fair finance for new energy tech

Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the AA1000439 – New Energy Tech Consumer Code— consultation on proposed amendments to draft Code (Proposed Amendment...

November 7, 2019

All Victorians deserve access to fair energy pricing

Since its implementation on 1 July 2019, the Victorian Default Offer (VDO) has given more Victorian energy users access to fairer pricing for their essential electricity services. In our comment to...

October 17, 2019

Energy compliance and performance reporting guideline

Monitoring is only as effective as the information gathered. In our submission to the Essential Services Commission (ESC) Compliance and Performance Reporting Guideline updated to include new entit...

October 14, 2019

The mortgage broking industry is long overdue for reform

The mortgage broking industry is long overdue for reform. Landmark inquiries from the Banking Royal Commission and the Productivity Commission, as well as a number of ASIC investigations, have all...

October 4, 2019