News

This report by Quantum Market Research on debt management firms is based on its AustraliaNOW weekly survey of attitudes and behaviour during COVID-19.

A total of 2,005 people representative of age, gender and location were interviewed between 19 and 30 November.

Key take outs

1. Due to widespread financial hardship in Australia, and increasing vulnerability
as a result of the pandemic and economic recession, a significant proportion
of Australians are seeking assistance with their debts and credit reports. As
many as 17% of Australians surveyed indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic led to,
or increased the likelihood, of them paying for advice/services to deal with their debts
or credit report.

2. Debt management companies are reaching a large proportion of Australians
with their advertising, largely through TV and online advertising. Over half
(55%) have seen or heard advertising in the past year from companies providing
advice or services to people to help deal with debt problems or repair credit reports.

3. Australians overwhelmingly support the notion of having UK-style consumer
protections in place to protect consumers using debt or credit report services.
Once Australians are aware that there are no consumer protections in place for
companies providing debt management advice, as many as 92% feel that it is
important for protections (similar to those in the UK) to apply here in Australia.

4. Implementing protections for some services and companies goes part of the
way towards improving confidence, but confidence increases significantly in a
scenario where protections are in place for all services and companies. In a
scenario where protections or regulations are introduced for some debt management
services and companies, 57% of Australians indicate they would feel more confident
in the industry. This proportion increases significantly to 72% in a scenario where
protections cover the whole industry

Read the full report (PDF).