In our joint response to exposure draft legislation implementing certain aspects of the ASIC Enforcement Review Taskforce (ERT) Final Report, Consumer Action and Financial Rights Legal Centre (Financi...
In our joint submission with Financial Rights Legal Centre to the Report Two of the Customer Owned Banking Association’s (COBA) independent review of the Customer Owned Banking Code of Practice (COBA...
Access to fee-free ‘basic bank accounts’ are an important support for vulnerable banking customers. In light of the harm banking fees can cause for low-income and vulnerable consumers, Commissioner Ha...
Recognising that we need to take a coordinated approach to addressing the civil needs of Victorian Aboriginal communities, Consumer Action Law Centre and the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service teamed...
When insurance is added onto the sale of another product or service, consumer groups reveal that it’s likely to be a rip-off. This comes in the wake of the Australian Government’s consultation on how...
Seven leading consumer groups commented on The Treasury’s Reforms to the sale of add on insurance: Proposal Paper: Consumer Action Law Centre Financial Rights Legal Centre CHOICE Consume...
The mortgage broking industry is long overdue for reform. Landmark inquiries from the Banking Royal Commission and the Productivity Commission, as well as a number of ASIC investigations, have all...
The Banking Royal Commission exposed the considerable harm caused by unsolicited selling of insurance products. Today one of Australia’s big four banks has been charged with 87 criminal counts of “haw...
Consumer Action supports the Treasury Laws Amendment (Prohibiting Energy Market Misconduct) Bill 2019 (the Bill). We feel that it will ensure the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) has appropriate powe...
Much of the Federal Government’s effort to address cost of living pressures involves making it easy to switch and exercise choice, for example, through the new Consumer Data Right. However, the Cashle...
Consumer Action says the Australian Securities and Investment Commission’s (ASIC) proposal to use its product intervention powers (PIP) for add-on insurance and warranties sold by caryards lacks teeth...
It is our firm stance that fairness should be at the forefront of all markets. In our comment on the Energy Security Board (ESB) Post 2025 Market Design Issues Paper (Issues Paper), Consumer Action...
New complaints data released by the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) emphasises the clear need for regulation and strengthened regulator enforcement powers to protect Australians from poor...
On 9 September 2019, Consumer Action attended a pre-decision conference on AA1000439 New Energy Tech Consumer Code (The Code) Application. We have provided a further submission following the discussio...
A Victorian woman who has suffered at the hands of payday lenders has an important message for the Government about the dangers of payday loans as she joins the Stop the Debt Trap Alliance, a coaliti...
Most people would take the reliability of electricity services for granted. When the power goes out, it is frustrating, but not life threatening. But for many Australians, a loss of electricity is...
A Victorian woman living with a disability has brought proceedings in the Federal Circuit Court regarding five consumer lease contracts from Darranda Pty Ltd, trading as Rent4Keeps, and Mobberley Ente...
Cigno has been weighed, measured and found wanting as the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) takes decisive action to ban a predatory lending business model using its newfound p...
The Energy & Water Ombudsman Victoria (EWOV) plays an important role in ensuring Victorian households have ongoing access to fair outcomes in relation to the provision of essential energy and wate...
Demand response service providers could play an important role in the event of energy shortages, coordinating high energy users to consumer less to help keep energy prices down across the market. Curr...
Consumers rely on energy distribution businesses to ensure a consistent supply of their essential electricity services. It is important that these businesses are regulated effectively so that consist...
Leading consumer advocacy bodies are concerned that customers who experience financial difficulty repaying loans will be unfairly penalised by credit reporting reforms proposed by the National Consume...
Our existing consumer protection framework has failed to prevent unfairness from becoming embedded in business practices. From unclear marketing, subscriptions that make cancellation difficult, to...
The need for urgent law reform to protect consumers from unfair and predatory payday loans has been reinforced at a meeting of Australian and New Zealand ministers in Queenstown, New Zealand. Minis...
There is a big fairness problem in insurance. People often make insurance claims when they are at a low ebb, but they can face shocking outcomes when insurers rely on unfair terms in insurance contrac...
Unsolicited selling is an outdated and abusive practice with a significant risk of mis-selling people products they don’t want, need or understand. Financial Rights Legal Centre and Consumer Action...
The purpose of this evaluation was to assess whether the service is doing these things consistently and achieving its intended outcomes, and to make recommendations for service improvement. A seconda...
It is critical that the process to make and resolve complaints with a bank, insurer, or super fund is timely, fair, and accessible, including for people experiencing vulnerability and disadvantage. O...
As the counter ticks over to 1,000 days since the Coalition Government accepted the recommendations from the Small Amount Credit Contract (SACC) review, consumer advocacy organisations across the coun...
In our joint submission with Financial Rights Legal Centre, Consumer Credit Legal Service (WA), Financial Counselling Australia and the Financial & Consumer Rights Council, we support Cameron Ralp...
Consumer Action regularly assists vulnerable and disadvantaged consumers in Victoria with legal and financial issues that arise due to new energy technology such as solar. . The New Energy Tech Consu...
In our feedback to the Banking Code Compliance Committee (BCCC) inquiry into banks’ compliance when accepting and enforcing guarantees, Consumer Action discusses our concerns with guarantee provision...
The following is the opening statement from Consumer Action CEO, Gerard Brody at the public hearing on ASIC’s responsible lending guidance held in Melbourne on Monday, 19 August 2019. I’m G...
One of Australia’s largest debt collectors – Lion Finance (a subsidiary of ASX-listed Collection House Ltd) – turns to bankruptcy procedures to collect consumer debts far more often than its rivals, a...
The Financial Rights Legal Centre (Financial Rights) and Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) have called for the Government to amend responsible lending laws to ensure that lenders make reaso...
The Victorian Default Offer (VDO) was designed to re-regulate electricity pricing to ensure that more Victorian households receive a fair price on their electricity service. Since the VDO’s establishm...
The purpose of this evaluation was to assess the effectiveness of the service in helping clients achieve these immediate and longer-term outcomes, and to make recommendations for service improvement....
We welcome the introduction of the product intervention power (PIP) and look forward to ASIC using the power to target businesses that cause consumer detriment by engaging in predatory conduct or fail...
The purpose of this evaluation was to assess the effectiveness of the service in helping clients achieve these immediate and longer-term outcomes and to make recommendations for service improvement....
The below statement was delivered on 31 July 2019 by Consumer Action Law Centre CEO, Gerard Brody to the New Zealand Select Committee on Credit Contracts Legislation Amendment Bill. High co...
Businesses such as Cigno Pty Ltd, which facilitate access to predatory and unregulated payday loans by exploiting loopholes in the law, are on notice as the Australian Securities and Investment Commis...
An Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) consultation paper, released today, proposes a ban on unsolicited telephone sales of direct life insurance and consumer credit insurance (CCI...
A new report shines a light on the Victorian Government’s ‘Payment Difficult Framework’ finding that disconnections have significantly decreased, but some energy companies are still giving vulnerable...
Consumer Action's new landmark report shows that the Victorian Government's new policies are reducing energy disconnections, but energy companies are still falling short addressing consumer vulnerabil...
Consumer Action Law Centre and Financial Rights Legal Centre made a joint submission to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee’s inquiry into provisions of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Putting Mem...
Consumer Action’s financial counsellors and lawyers speak regularly to individuals experiencing mental health issues. These individuals are commonly trying to deal with a range of consumer problems in...
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) report released today confirms that consumer credit insurance, commonly tacked on when taking out a loan or credit card, is junk. This news...
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) has made a formal complaint to the Commonwealth Ombudsman about the Department of Human Services (DHS). This complaint comes after the department failed o...
Businesses such as Cigno Pty Ltd, which facilitate access to predatory and unregulated payday loans by exploiting loopholes in the law, are on notice as the Australian Securities and Investment Commis...
The revised Telecommunications Consumer Protection (TCP) Code fails to adequately protect telco consumers, according to consumer groups. Despite consultation with the telco industry and regulator,...