News - Consumer Action Law Centre

Review of the National Energy Customer Framework

Consumer Action welcomes the opportunity to provide our submission to the Australian Energy Regulator’s (AER) review of the National Energy Customer Framework (NECF). In this submission, we draw predo...

Consumer advocates welcome revised Banking Code of Practice with incremental improvements noted

Consumer advocates are welcoming the revised Banking Code of Practice (the Banking Code) announced today which includes some incremental improvements to consumer protections. Consumer Action Law Ce...

REPORT: Energy debt higher than ever as low-income households priced out of essential service

Consumer Action Law Centre CEO Stephanie Tonkin says the Centre’s new report Energy Assistance Report 4th Edition: Keeping the Lights On published today, highlights that thousands of Victorians are st...

REPORT Energy Assistance Report 4th Edition: Keeping the Lights On

The fourth edition of Consumer Action’s Energy Assistance Report outlines the growing trends of people facing energy hardship; barriers to accessing hardship assistance; and priority areas for targete...

Independent Review: Initial Consultation Paper, April 2024

Financial Rights Legal Centre has drafted this submission on behalf of the Consumers Federation of Australia. The following organisations have contributed and are signatories to this submission: •...

Consumer groups welcome new laws regulating Buy Now, Pay Later as credit but some concerns remain

New laws regulating Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) have been announced today. Consumer groups respond as follows: Quotes attributable to Stephanie Tonkin, CEO of Consumer Action Law Centre “We welcom...

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...

Fed Court decision final ‘nail in the coffin’ for predatory lenders Cigno Australia Pty Ltd and BSF Solutions Pty Ltd

Consumer Action Law Centre is delighted the Federal Court has issued a strong decision that calls out Cigno Australia Pty Ltd, BSF Solutions Pty Ltd and two of the entities’ directors for exploiting l...

Victorian Default Offer price drop will help thousands of families but more needs to be done

Consumer Action Law Centre CEO Stephanie Tonkin says the Essential Services Commission’s (ESC) decision to lower the Victorian Default Offer (VDO) price is welcome but doesn’t go far enough to help th...

Mandatory codes for scams will work if the Govt can push banks, telcos and big tech companies to lift their game say consumer advocates

Consumer advocates have welcomed the Albanese Government’s plan to set up the legislative framework and push to make the banks, telcos, and digital platforms lift their game to stop scams. The m...

Lenders’ handling of customers’ hardship inadequate, as requests for help soar

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has released a new report today, that outlines findings from a review of 10 large home lenders and concludes they should be doing much more t...

We’re Hiring! A Human Resources Manager

Human Resources Manager Job description The HR Manager is a key operational role at Consumer Action Law Centre working across and within all program areas to provide human resources advice a...

Consumer advocates call for improved domestic family violence protections

Telecommunications consumers experiencing domestic and family violence (DFV) must see mandatory protections through direct regulation, say consumer advocates, in the wake of an important speech by the...

ACCC scam report reveals Australians bearing the losses of a ‘scamdemic’ in a cost-of-living crisis

The huge cost of scams on Australian families in a cost-of-living crisis, is placing an unacceptable burden on a community already doing it tough. That’s the bleak reality of the figures in the Austra...

Applied Insurance Law – Climate Disasters, a free online course

All you need to know about insurance law and climate disasters: and its totally free. Consumer Action’s newest self-paced eLearning module is Applied Insurance Law – Climate Disasters. You will...

Lower Victorian Default Offer for electricity welcomed but consumers in energy hardship need much more relief

More callers in paid employment contacting the National Debt Helpline are struggling with energy debt and reporting an increase in energy retailers providing inadequate hardship assistance. That’s...

Victorian Default Offer Draft Decision 2024-25

Consumer Action welcomes the opportunity to provide our submission to the Essential Services Commission (ESC) Draft Decision of the Victorian Default Offer 2024-25. We welcome the ESC’s draft deci...

Buy now pay later exposure draft materials

Our organisations have long advocated for Buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) to be regulated as a credit product under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (NCCPA), and so we welcome the major step...

Consultation: Designated complaints determination

With our undersigned sector colleagues, we affirm our previous support for the designated complaints function, and our previous comments about the design and structure of the legislation in our joint...

We’re Hiring! A Chief Operating Officer

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ACMA Compliance Priorities 2024 – 2025

Thank you for the opportunity to provide input on the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) compliance priorities for the 2024-25 financial year. Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer...

We’re Hiring a Policy Officer (Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Identified)

The First Nations Policy Officer role will provide a dedicated First Nations lens on the policy and campaigns work of Consumer Action Law Centre. Working within a close team of policy and campaigns ex...

Telemarketing and doorknocking ban under the Victorian Energy Upgrades program

Consumer Action reaffirms our strong support of the implementation of this ban on both telemarketing and door to door sales as an important step in addressing the consumer harm that unsolicited sales...

Fighting SMS Scams – What type of SMS sender ID registry should be introduced in Australia?

The Australian Communications Consumer Network's (ACCAN) submission has been informed by feedback from consumer and community organisations who regularly assist consumers affected by scams and other d...

Energy prices hitting families hard and bigger price reductions urgently needed say consumer advocates

Consumer Action Law Centre CEO Stephanie Tonkin has welcomed draft decision by the Essential Services Commission (ESC) that will see a modest decrease in energy bills this year, but as more families a...

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...

REPORT: At the front line of the cost-of-living crisis

Interest rates have gone up thirteen times since May 2022. Inflation calculators, which look at purchasing power over time, show that since 2022 there has been a ten percent decrease in the purchasing...

Senate Inquiry: Cost-of-Living crisis highlights the need for supermarket prices to be fair and transparent say consumer advocates

Consumer Action Law Centre CEO Stephanie Tonkin and Acting Director of Financial Counselling Practice Claire Tacon will be giving evidence today at the Senate Select Committee hearing into supermarket...

Regulation of Buy Now, Pay Later a step closer, but concerns remain over details

Consumer groups have responded to draft Buy Now, Pay Later legislation (BNPL) released today : Quotes attributable to Stephanie Tonkin, CEO of Consumer Action Law Centre “We welcome regulating Buy...

Inquiry into the Competition and Consumer Amendment (Fair Go for Consumers and Small Business) Bill 2024

We are strongly supportive of a designated complaints function as an important addition to the regulatory landscape in Australia, reflecting the value of intelligence and quality of decision making in...

‘Honeypot’ Australia lagging far behind as nations take action on scams

Inaction on scams is creating a ‘perfect storm’ for people living in Australia already under siege in a cost-of-living crisis, exposing the country’s vulnerable banking and communications infrastructu...

Relief for telco customers in financial hardship welcomed – but much more needs to be done

Consumer Action’s CEO Stephanie Tonkin says new telco supports flagged by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) are a significant step in the right direction, but further work must...

General Insurance Code Governance Committee 2024-25 monitoring priorities

This is a joint submission from Consumer Action Law Centre and WEst Justice. Consumer Action and WEstJustice recommend that the Committee consider the following areas for monitoring or compliance w...

Senate Select Committee on supermarket prices

Our submission to the Senate Select Committee on supermarket prices aims to provide insight into the broader context and impacts of rising costs of living for Australians. Rising costs and poor ind...

Scam victims head to Canberra to tell politicians why banks should be incentivised to stop scams

Tim Watkins, Sarah Gerendasi, James Green, and Nina Merrilees were robbed of thousands of dollars by scammers. They are travelling to Canberra today to share their stories at the launch of the new Par...

Response to the Review of Financial Wellbeing and Capability programs

This is our response to the Department of Social Services’ (DSS) review of the Financial Wellbeing and Capability (FWC) programs. This submission responds to select questions throughout the discussion...

Advocates set out crystal-clear path to reimbursement to prevent the billions being lost by Australians to scams

A coalition of advocacy groups, including Consumer Action Law Centre, CHOICE and the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network, have come out forcefully stating that customer reimbursement, pa...

Scams – Mandatory Industry Codes Consultation Paper

Consumer Action Law Centre, CHOICE and the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network have been conducting regular roundtables with scams victims and consumer organisations, to develop our resp...

Consumer fail: New Telco Code proposal delivers little for vulnerable consumers

The Communications Alliance, the peak industry body for the Australian communications sector, has released a proposed framework and review package for the Telecommunications Consumer Protections (TCP)...

ASIC Consultation Paper 373 – Banking Code of Practice

Our submission provides feedback on the Australian Banking Association’s (ABA) updated Banking Code of Practice (Code). This is a joint submission made on behalf of: Consumer Action Law Centre...

Joint Submission: Getting the Victorian Default Offer right

This submission represents the shared view of leading Victorian community sector organisations and energy consumer advocates. Our submission identifies where there remains work to be done, and Victori...

Regulating Digital Asset Platforms: Crypto

Through our frontline services, we see widespread harm in the crypto market, and the urgent need for intervention. In this submission, we are responding to Treasury’s proposal paper Regulating Digi...

Inquiry into insurers’ responses to 2022 major floods claims

Consumer Action Law Centre has responded to the Federal Parliament's Standing Committee on Economics inquiry into insurers' responses to the major flood claims arising from 2022’s ‘disaster year’ with...

Image of wind turbines denoting a submission about energy

2024-25 Victorian Default Offer: Request for comment paper

Consumer Action reaffirms the importance of the policy intent underpinning the Victorian Default Offer (VDO) to provide a simple, trusted and reasonably priced electricity option that safeguards consu...

Scams: Mandatory regulation outline promising but more clarity needed on standards and consumers’ rights to reimbursement

The mandatory Code for Scams consultation paper announced by the Federal Treasury today sets out some proposals to tackle the scams crisis, however the final regulation must land on clearer stipulated...

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