Submission to the NDIS Review
As part of Consumer Action’s NDIS project, we prioritise data collection and analysis for clients calling our advice lines with NDIS related matters. Concerningly, our casework reveals that NDIS parti...
AFCA Rules and Operational Guidelines – Proposed Amendments
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the proposed amendments to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority’s (AFCA) complaint resolution scheme rules (Rules) and Operational Guidelines (Guid...
Feedback on standard draft decisions: 2023 Water Price Review
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...
AFCA’s approach to claims for non-financial loss
Consumer Action is responding to the proposed amendments to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority’s (AFCA) approach to non-financial loss claims (Amended Approach). We generally support the go...
Victorian Default Offer 2023-24 Draft Decision: We need a meaningful reduction to the proposed 31% increase
To date, we believe that the Victorian Default Offer (VDO) has been successful in achieving the policy objective of providing consumers unable or unwilling to engage in the market with a simple, trust...
Token crypto mapping consultation paper and the need for adequate protections and safeguards
The crypto marketplace currently poses significant risk to consumers and there is a pressing need for adequate protections and safeguards. Consumer Action applauds the Government for its commitment...
Exposure draft – consumer credit regulations
Consumer Action, and the various organisations from the Stop the Debt Trap Alliance, routinely advise and assist people who have multiple payday loans and/or consumer leases that they took on due to t...
Anti-avoidance provisions for credit product intervention orders
This is a joint submission made on behalf of: • Consumer Action Law Centre • Financial Rights Legal Centre • Indigenous Consumer Assistance Network • Financial Counselling Australia • WEstjusti...
Submission Select Committee on Cost of Living
In responding the cost of living crisis, consumers are contacting our services for advice and assistance. In 2022, there were 6,494 contacts to our financial counsellors via the National Debt Helpline...
Australian Securities and Investments Commission – inquiry into investigation and enforcement conduct
Effective enforcement action is a critical task of consumer protection regulators and essential to a well-functioning consumer market. In recent years, ASIC has completed a significant amount of meani...
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...
Code Governance Committee’s monitoring and compliance program for 2023-24 consultation
We are grateful for the opportunity to provide input to the Code Governance Committee’s (CGC) monitoring and compliance program for the 2023-24 financial year. In our submission we recommend that t...
Victorian Default Offer 2023-24: Consultation Paper
Consumer Action Law Centre welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Essential Services Commission’s (ESC) Consultation Paper on the review of the Victorian Default Offer (VDO) for 2023-24. On bal...
Submission to the Department of Treasury and Finance ahead of the 2023-24 Victorian Budget
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action), WEstjustice, Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS), Hume Riverina Community Legal Service, Barwon Community Legal Service and Eastern Community Legal...
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...
Draft Telecommunications (Infringement Notice Penalties) Determination 2022
We welcome the opportunity to comment on the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts (the Department) consultation on the draft Telecommunications (I...
Financial Counselling Industry Funding Model
Consumer Action Law Centre and Financial Rights Legal Centre have made a joint submission to the Department of Social Services Discussion Paper on the proposed Financial Counselling Industry Funding M...
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...
Initial feedback: 2023-28 Water Price Review
Access to water is a basic human right recognised by the United Nations and the Australian Government as fundamental to health, wellbeing, and an adequate standard of living. Critical to upholding thi...
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...
Retirement Villages Amendment Bill 2022 Exposure Draft
Retirement living is an important option for many older Victorians. The proposed Retirement Villages Amendment Act includes some positive measures that will improve consumer protection standards. O...
Quality of Advice Review
People who seek financial advice, including in relation to insurance, deserve to have confidence that it will be high-quality and free from conflict of interest. Despite this, conflicts of interest co...
Protecting consumers of distributed energy resources
With Victorians wanting to play their part in carbon reduction, consumer protections for new energy products and services need to be enhanced. This submission to the Department of Environment Land...
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...
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...
Water Customer Service Codes Review
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on the Essential Services Commission’s (the ESC) proposed amendments to the water customer service codes. O...
Taxi Non-Cash Payment Surcharge Review 2022
Consumer Action has made a submission to the Essential Services Commission in relation to its Taxi Non-Cash Payment Surcharge Review 2022. The submission opposes the proposed methodology outlined i...
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...
Retailer authorisation and exemption review: Issues Paper
Consumer Action Law Centre welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Australian Energy Regulator’s (the AER) Issues Paper as part of its review of the retailer authorisation and exemption frameworks...
Joint consumer submission on the Independent TIO Review
This is a joint submission from Consumer Action Law Centre, the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), Financial Counselling Australia and WEstjustice. Our submission draws on...
Review of the Victorian Default Offer Order in Council
Consumer Action Law Centre welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Victorian Government’s review of the Order in Council (the Order) that was used to give effect to the Victorian Default Offer (the...
Victorian Default Offer electricity tariffs 2022-23
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Essential Services Commission’s (the ESC) Draft Decision for Victorian Default Offer (the VDO) tariffs to apply...
Victorian Property Market Review
Consumer Action has provided a submission to the Victorian Property Market Review. The review is an important opportunity to improve property market laws to support Victorians to have fairer and easie...
The Australian Communication and Media Authority’s compliance priorities 2022-23
The impact of COVID-19 and lockdowns during 2021 underscored the essential nature of telecommunications, as well as the effect of poor telecommunications practices on people experiencing vulnerability...
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....
Options Paper: Possible reforms to the bankruptcy system
This joint submission to the Attorney General's Department is made by Consumer Action and Financial Rights Legal Centre. It is staggering that the Government is proposing to roll back its own highl...
ALRC Report 137: Submission to Interim Report A
The Australian Law Reform Commission’s (ALRC) first Interim Report as part of a three-year review of complexity in Commonwealth legislation regulating corporations and financial services, has been tab...
Consultation Paper 350: Consumer Remediation
The following organisations have contributed to and endorsed this submission:• Consumer Action Law Centre, Financial Rights Legal Centre, and Super Consumers Australia. We support a continuing focu...
Improving the effectiveness of the consumer guarantee and supplier indemnification provisions under the Australian Consumer Law
Consumers expect to purchase products that work, and when they don’t work people should be easily able to enforce their consumer guarantee rights. We welcome the opportunity to provide comments to...
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...
Quality of financial advice review–Draft Terms of Reference
Conflicted remuneration is the root cause of many of the problems uncovered by the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry (Royal Commission)....
ASIC Consultation Paper 354: Relief for simple arrangements following a hardship notice
The Australian Investments and Securities Commission's (ASIC) Class Order 14/41 is due to expire in March 2022. Consumer organisations recommend that ASIC allows this to happen. This instrument no...
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...
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...
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...
Privacy Act Review – Discussion Paper our submission
This submission is Consumer Action’s response to the Privacy Act Review Discussion Paper, published by the Attorney General’s Department in October 2021. We are responding solely to the proposals a...
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...