SCAMS Opinion: Let’s leapfrog other jurisdictions with a uniquely Australian reimbursement model

First published on News.com.au 7 October, 2024 By Stephanie Tonkin, CEO Consumer Action Law Centre Today in the UK, new laws have commenced that require banks to repay their customers’ scams los...

October 7, 2024

OPINION: The victims of scams should not have to pay

First published in today's Herald Sun, by Stephanie Tonkin, CEO Consumer Action Law Centre I speak to the victims of scams every week and their stories leave me shaken and sad. Often, what’s stolen...

June 4, 2024

OPINION: Slam the legal door on scams

By Stephanie Tonkin, CEO Consumer Action Law Centre (published in the Herald Sun, 18 March 2024) Last week, Scamwatch, our national body fighting scams and part of the Australian Competition and Co...

March 18, 2024

OPINION: Scammers raid Australians’ accounts while banks hands-off approach stings  

Tania Clarke, Acting CEO Consumer Action Law Centre  Last year bank customers in the UK experienced a 17% drop in scam losses while in Australia, bank customers experienced a 62% increase. Between...

July 13, 2023

OPINION: Banks must use their windfall profits to tackle the scam crisis  

By Stephanie Tonkin, CEO, Consumer Action Law Centre   The big four banks are tipped to make record profits this financial year, with some analysts suggesting they will collectively rake in more th...

March 27, 2023

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...

February 20, 2023

Opinion: Equity must be central to gas market intervention

An edited version of this opinion piece was published in The Guardian on 5 December 2022 The Treasurer Jim Chalmers is set to intervene in the gas market to push down very high bills, likely throug...

December 5, 2022

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...

September 29, 2022

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...

July 19, 2022

Opinion: Victoria needs a fair default offer for household gas supply

Reports of gas bills to rise by $150 per annum adds unwanted pressure to Victorian household budgets, when inflationary pressures are already biting.* Over a long period, unfair market tactics have...

June 6, 2022

OPINION: That lemon car sour taste just keeps getting worse

Opinion piece by Gerard Brody, CEO Consumer Action Law Centre A version of this opinion piece appeared in the Herald Sun today The pandemic has helped drive second-hand car prices up 50 percent...

March 10, 2022

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...

January 3, 2022

COVID, scams and growing risks: Why we need consumer protections with teeth

Opinion piece by Gerard Brody, CEO Consumer Action.  If there is one thing that changed about our lives from COVID-19, it’s the dramatic shift to online communication and shopping. According to the...

November 4, 2021

Scam losses are increasing dramatically- what should be done?

Opinion piece by Gerard Brody, CEO Consumer Action As more and more people contact Consumer Action Law Centre regarding scam losses, and increasingly large losses, I've been thinking about the adequa...

September 23, 2021

Opinion: Responsible lending law repeal will undo good

First published in the Herald Sun, 8 February 2021. In the two years since the Hayne Royal Commission Final Report while the Federal Government has made some changes to strengthen consumer protecti...

February 8, 2021

Calling out the banks: Why responsible lending laws need to stay intact

First published in The Age/Sydney Morning Herald, 2 December 2020 It's a great pity that the banks are weighing in so publicly to support the rollback of our responsible lending laws. Just when...

December 4, 2020

COVID is making the debt crisis worse, let’s act now and treat people fairly

First published in the Herald Sun 10 September 2020 Australians’ debt problems will skyrocket due to the COVID-19 recession. We need to act now to ensure people in debt are treated fairly in the mo...

September 10, 2020

Taking advantage: The negative impact of funeral insurance in Aboriginal Communities

This opinion piece is by Kaylee Anderson and Mark Holden and it is based on an article – ‘The impact of funeral insurance in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities’ –  which first appeared...

August 28, 2020