Submission - Consumer Action Law Centre

Our comments on the Telecommunications Reform Bill

Telecommunications services are essential services – but are not regulated as such despite their critical role across the country. We appreciate the opportunity to comment on this plan to reform an in...

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Payment difficulty framework implementation review: feedback on key review questions

Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) has provided feedback on the Essential Services Commission’s key review questions as part of their review of the implementation of the energy payment diff...

Victorian pre-Budget submission 2022-23

Victoria desperately needs a specialist dispute service to assist people sold defective motor vehicles. Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action), Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS), WEst...

Review of the Banking Code Compliance Committee: Our response to the Interim Report

This joint submission from Consumer Action Law Centre, Financial Rights Legal Centre, Financial Counselling Australia, Care ACT, Consumer Credit Legal Service (WA) Inc and Council on The Ageing (COTA)...

Comment on the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman new Terms of Reference

Draft Guidance: Compensation for non-financial loss and systemic issues This submission is made jointly by Consumer Action Law Centre and WEstJustice. We welcome the opportunity to comment on t...

Victorian Default Offer 2022

Consumer Action Law Centre welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Essential Services Commission’s Draft Decision: Victorian Default Offer from 1 January 2022 (the draft decision). The draft dec...

Review of the ABA Banking Code of Practice –response to Interim Report

This joint submission is made on behalf of members of the Consumers’ Federation of Australia (CFA) and other consumer representatives and advocates. It builds upon our previous submission made to revi...

The Life Insurance Code final round of consultation

Financial Rights Legal Centre, Consumer Action Law Centre and Redfern Legal Centre have made a joint submission to the final round of consultation on the review of the Life Insurance Code of Practice...

Regional Telecommunications Review: Access and affordability in regional, rural and remote Indigenous communities

We regularly assist Victorians in disputes against telecommunications providers. Often these disputes relate to mis-selling, for example, misleading or deceptive sales practices or selling customers i...

Consultation on Owners Corporations Amendment Regulations 2021

Consumer Action has made a submission to the Victorian Department of Justice and Community Safety relating to proposed Owners Corporation Amendment Regulations.The submission argues that the regulatio...

Supporting South Australian Council of Social Service’s submission to the Remote Area Energy Supply Scheme Issues Paper

Samantha Rudolph is a Wurundjeri woman, and the Aboriginal Policy Officer with Consumer Action Law Centre. She works as part of an integrated practice project addressing the systemic causes of consume...

Strengthening protections against unfair contract terms: Comments on Treasury exposure draft legislation

This joint submission contains feedback on Treasury’s proposed reforms to unfair contract term (UCT) protections for consumers and small businesses from Consumer Action Law Centre, Financial Rights Le...

Consumer vulnerability: Expectations for the telco industry

This joint submission is made on behalf of Consumer Action Law Centre, WEstjustice, Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service and Hume Riverina Community Legal Service. Broadly, we are pleased to see the...

Review of the 2021 Australian Banking Association Code of Practice

This is a joint submission made on behalf of members of the Consumers’ Federation of Australia (CFA), the peak body for consumer organisations in Australia. CFA represents a diverse range of consum...

ASIC Consultation Paper 346 – The Hawking Prohibition: Update to RG 38

This submission has been prepared by Consumer Action Law Centre with contributions and endorsement from the Financial Rights Legal Centre, Financial Counselling Australia and Super Consumers Australia...

Finance executives who break the law must be held to account

The Banking Royal Commission revealed that many decisions made by senior leaders of financial services firms have had a devastating impact on people across Australia. Their conduct has driven many mem...

Federal Government’s commitment to compensation scheme of last resort welcomed

A coalition of consumer groups has welcomed the Federal Government’s commitment to establish a compensation scheme of last resort. Uncompensated losses arising from financial misconduct can cause a...

Consumer leases must not be excluded from Government’s design and distribution obligations regime

Consumer Action has today written to the Treasury noting that the Government intends to make amendments to the design and distribution obligations (DDO) regime. The letter strongly urges the Govern...

Victoria’s Embedded Networks Review: Our response to the Draft Recommendations

Consumer Action welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Embedded Networks Review Draft Recommendations Report. We agree with the Panel’s vision that, “...consumers should have equal protections,...

Our response to the Right to Repair Inquiry Draft Report

We strongly support recommendations to address the main barriers to accessing repairs and other remedies through consumer guarantees. These barriers would be reduced through the introduction of altern...

Victorian Gas Substitution Roadmap Consultation

For Victorians we speak to at Consumer Action their concerns are often about immediate affordability of energy bills, including gas. These bills are unaffordable for many reasons and can include, but...

Telstra Energy – application for electricity and gas retail licence raises questions

This submission is made jointly to the Essential Services Commission from the Consumer Action Law Centre, Financial Counselling Australia, Financial Counselling Victoria and the Victorian Aboriginal L...

Regulating with consumer vulnerability in mind: Essential Services Commission’s draft strategy

Consumer Action welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Essential Services Commission’s (ESC) draft consumer access and equity strategy, Getting to fair: Breaking down barriers to essential service...

2022 Victorian Default Offer

Consumer Action welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Essential Services Commission’s (the Commission) consultation paper, Next steps for the Victorian Default Offer (the Consultation Paper). The...

Access, pricing and incentive arrangements for distributed energy resources

Consumer Action Law Centre welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Australian Energy Market Commission’s (AEMC) Access, pricing and incentive arrangements for distributed energy resources (DER) dra...

Next steps for the Victorian Default Offer

Consumer Action Law Centre welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Essential Services Commission’s (the Commisson) consultation paper Next steps for the Victorian Default Offer. These comments...

Consultation on Draft Regulator Performance Guide

We support the Government’s planned introduction of a new framework to replace the existing 2014 Regulator Performance Framework (Old Framework), which is considerably flawed and outdated. The Draft G...

Framework for reform –Modernising Victoria’s building system

This submission responds primarily to the proposed improvements relating to consumer protection, in particular, the proposals to: Improve existing advocacy and support services for individual con...

Gambling should not be funded by credit

While gambling is a legitimate form of entertainment for many Australians, we believe it should not be funded by credit and support a prohibition on the use of credit cards, including via e-wallets, f...

The 2021 Water Price Review –Melbourne Water Draft Decision

Access to water is a basic human right. All Victorians are entitled to a supply of water necessary for an adequate standard of living. Fundamental to this is that water services remain affordable for...

Retirement Villages Act Review –our Options Paper submission

Consumer Action, with COTA Victoria, Residents of Retirement Villages Victoria (RRVV) and Housing for the Aged Action Group (HAAG), is a coalition of residents and consumer rights groups that have ass...

Implementing the Royal Commission recommendations: The deferred sales model for add-on insurance

Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) and Financial Rights Legal Centre (Financial Rights) broadly support the content of the draft regulatory guide for the industry-wide direct sales model (DS...

Review of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority

Contributors to this submission have supported and represented thousands of people in disputes with financial services providers and superannuation funds over many years. This includes extensive exper...

Consumer remediation: Update to Regulatory Guide 256

We strongly support a continuing focus on consumer remediation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in its enforcement. Remediation programs have been a very welcome develop...

Our concerns about proposed changes to the governance standards for registered charities

Our submission to the Charities Consultation @Treasury.gov.au expresses our concerns about proposed changes to the governance standards for registered charities. We consider the proposed changes ar...

Australian Communications Media Authority compliance priorities

Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) and WEstjustice welcome the opportunity to contribute to the development of ACMA compliance priorities for 2021 –2022, hence our submission. The past ye...

People should not be living in poverty in Australia

“The Coronavirus Supplement was life changing for people who had long survived on the abhorrent amount Newstart (or JobSeeker) had been set at for years. For so long, they had to be great money manage...

Victoria’s Embedded Networks Review: Our response

Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Embedded Networks Review (the Review) Issues Paper. We support the Victorian Government’s decision to ban emb...

Licensing debt management firms: Exposure draft regulations

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

Submission: Consultation on revision to the new Prudential Standard APS 220 Credit Risk Management

This submission is from Consumer Action Law Centre, Financial Rights Legal Centre, Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, CHOICE, Financial Counselling Australia, Consumer Credit Law Service (W...

Right to Repair submission to Productivity Commission Inquiry

Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback to the Productivity Commission Inquiry into a right to repair. The ability for consumers to access afford...

Deferred sales model for add-on insurance – exemptions by class

This submission is made by Consumer Action Law Centre, Financial Rights Legal Centre and WEstjustice. We oppose any exemptions for classes of add-on insurance products from the deferred sales model...

Submission: National Consumer Credit Protection Amendment (Supporting Economic Recovery) Bill 2020

This submission is made on behalf of Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action), Financial Rights Legal Centre (Financial Rights), Financial Counselling Australia, Consumer Credit Legal Service (WA)...