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Consumer Action welcomes the opportunity to provide our submission to the Getting to Fair: Advancing Equity draft strategy consultation by the Essential Services Commission (ESC).

We provide our submission with the support and endorsement of our sector colleagues Financial Counselling Victoria (FCVic), Mortgage Stress Victoria, Westjustice, South East Community Links (SECL), and Community Information and Support Victoria (CISVic).

We support the ESC’s proposed approach to break down barriers to essential services outlined in the consultation paper, and share its view that concepts of social, environmental equity and justice are foundational factors to pursue this approach, and progress equity for Victorian consumers.

This strategy serves as an important signal to consumers and businesses about the ESC’s commitment to ensuring Victorians’ fair and equitable access to essential services. We have observed the past Getting to Fair strategy providing a vision and mandate for the ESC to focus on Victorians experiencing marginalisation and vulnerability. As such we often hold the ESC out as a leading regulator for consumers. However, marginalisation and vulnerability are persistent and, in some measures, including our own data, we see a deepening of vulnerability for many Victorians.

We therefore support the continuation and development of Getting to Fair to increase the focus on Victorians experiencing vulnerability including ensuring that essential service retailers provide adequate support to these customers.

Consumer Action holds a longstanding commitment to ensuring Victorians have access to essential services fairly and equitably. This commitment includes providing assistance to Victorians experiencing marginalisation or vulnerability to receive fair and appropriate support from their essential service retailers.

In this submission, we provide findings from data collected from our financial counselling services to Victorians on the National Debt Helpline (NDH). We draw from the experiences shared by our clients, which enables us to identify and highlight the additional barriers faced by people experiencing vulnerability and marginalisation.

A summary of recommendations is available at Appendix A.

Read the full submission (PDF).