News - Consumer Action Law Centre

Assessing the energy retail market’s competitiveness and efficiency

Consumer Action has provided a submission to the Essential Services Commission’s (ESC) consultation "Assessing the competitiveness and efficiency of the Victorian energy retail market" The submissi...

Treasury consultation: Enhancements to Unfair Contract Term Protections

Consumer Action has provided a joint submission to Treasury's consultation on Enhancements to Unfair Contract Term (UCT) Protections. Nearly a decade of the current UCT legislative regime has not e...

Telco companies are failing people in financial hardship

A report released this week by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) shows that telco providers are not adequately identifying and supporting customers experiencing financial hardsh...

Community and consumer organisation joint proposal: COVID-19 National Energy Hardship Relief Package

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre joins a coalition of leading consumer and community organisations to call for immediate Commonwealth Government funding and stronger commitments by energy businesse...

Consumer Action Law Centre’s work during COVID-19 health crisis

The team at Consumer Action Law Centre are continuing to support people experiencing vulnerability and disadvantage through COVID-19. Our free Consumer Legal Advice Service continues to operate,...

Keep communities connected, urge more than 40 community organisations across Australia

As more people face the prospect of losing work due to the COVID-19 health crisis, community organisations are calling on banks, telcos, energy retailers, and rental providers to help people stay con...

Keeping communities connected

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A little relief will go a long way for thousands struggling due to COVID-19

Widespread disruption caused by COVID-19 is being felt across Australia. It won’t be long before we have thousands of people trying to survive on a reduced income, worried about whether they can pay t...

Banking Royal Commission reforms: “Pivotal moment in implementing Hayne’s vision”

Consumer Credit Legal Service (WA), CHOICE, Consumer Action Law Centre, Financial Counselling Australia, Financial Rights Legal Centre and Super Consumers Australia have today published policy submi...

Joint submission: Re: Financial Regulator Assessment Authority Bill 2020

This is a joint consumer submission from Financial Rights Legal Centre, CHOICE and the Consumer Action Law Centre to Treasury providing comment on the Financial Regulator Assessment Authority Bill 202...

Joint submission to the Treasury re: Duty to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation to an insurer

This is a joint consumer submission from the Financial Rights Legal Centre, Consumer Action Law Centre, CHOICE, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, Financial Counselling Australia, and the Consumer C...

Joint submission: Exposure draft – Deferred sales model for add-on insurance – FSRC Rec 4.3

This submission has been prepared by Consumer Action Law Centre with contributions and endorsement from Financial Rights Legal Centre, Financial Counselling Australia, CHOICE, Consumer Credit Law Cent...

Joint submission: Exposure draft – No hawking of financial products – FSRC Rec 3.4 and 4.1

This submission has been prepared by Consumer Action Law Centre with contributions and endorsements from Financial Rights Legal Centre, CHOICE, Consumer Credit Legal Service (WA), and Financial Counse...

Joint submission: Strengthening breach reporting

This is a joint consumer submission from Consumer Credit Legal Service (WA), CHOICE, Consumer Action Law Centre and Financial Rights Legal Centre. We strongly support proposed reforms to the breach re...

Joint submission: Enforceability of financial services industry codes

This is a joint submission by Financial Rights Legal Centre, the Consumer Action Law Centre, CHOICE, Financial Counselling Australia, Consumer Credit Legal Service (WA) and the Consumers’ Federation o...

Joint submission re: Exposure Draft Implementation of ASIC Enforcement Review Taskforce – Directions Power

This submission has been drafted by Consumer Action Law Centre with contributions and endorsement from Financial Rights Legal Centre, CHOICE, Consumer Credit Legal Service (WA), and Financial Counsell...

Joint submission re: Exposure Draft: Cap on vehicle dealer commissions

This submission has been drafted by Consumer Action Law Centre with contributions and endorsement from Financial Rights Legal Centre, CHOICE, Financial Counselling Australia, and Consumer Credit Legal...

Joint submission: Financial Services Royal Commission Recommendations 4.6 – Limiting avoidance of life insurance contracts

Joint submission: Financial Services Royal Commission Additional commitment in response to Recommendation 4.2 – Restricting the use of the term ‘insurance’ and ‘insurer’

This is a joint submission from the Financial Rights Legal Centre, Consumer Action Law Centre, CHOICE, Financial Counselling Australia and Consumer Credit Legal Service (WA) and provides comment on th...

Joint submission: Re: Ongoing fee arrangements and disclosure of lack of independence

This is a joint consumer submission from Financial Rights Legal Centre, CHOICE and the Consumer Action Law Centre. Read the full submission [here] ...

Legal Assistance To Victims Of Financial Services Wrongdoing Needs Boost

Collectively, our services assist thousands of Australians subjected to poor bank and insurer behaviour every year. However we are only ever able to serve a fraction of the demand. Free and independen...

Report: Regulator Watch

Consumer Action Law Centre has released its second edition of Regulator Watch: The enforcement performance of Australia’s consumer protection regulators. In 2013, Consumer Action published the first e...

Households in embedded networks need fair electricity prices

Households in embedded networks are often in effective monopoly situations with little regulatory oversight. For this reason, they need the same or better protections than their peers with conventiona...

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This isn’t news, but thousands of people getting caught in debt is

Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) has made a submission on reforms to make payday loans and rent-to-buy schemes safer, fairer and more affordable. This is the fourth time the Centre has mad...

Time’s up: Government must step up and pass payday lending and rent-to-buy reforms

Consumer Action's submission to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee calls on Parliament to pass the National Consumer Credit Protection Amendment (Small Amount Credit Contract and Consumer Leas...

Establishing a Compensation Scheme of Last Resort

Consumer groups have made a joint submission to the Treasury’s Discussion Paper, Implementing Royal Commission Recommendation 7.1 – Establishing a Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (December 2019). T...

Maintain households’ rights when accessing essential energy services

As new energy products and services create more options for consumers to access energy offers with non-conventional pricing or features, the complexity of making decisions increases and poses more ris...

New report reveals how irresponsible lenders are causing harm in Victorian Aboriginal communities

Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) and the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS) are launching a new report on how irresponsible lenders are causing harm in Victorian Aboriginal communit...

Consumer Issues in Victorian Aboriginal Communities: Integrated Practice Project Report 2020

‘Consumer issues in Victorian Aboriginal communities’ reports findings from Consumer Action Law Centre’s (Consumer Action) and the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service’s (VALS) Integrated Practice proje...

Implement strong protections to ensure households benefit from new energy technology

Consumer Action’s legal and financial counselling services have regularly assisted consumers experiencing harm as solar technology grows in popularity in Victoria. Our Power Transformed, Knock It Off!...

Delivering on the promise to ban vendor terms and rent-to-buy agreements from Victoria’s housing market

Over the years, our team has assisted a number of people who have been adversely affected by failed vendor finance and rent-to-buy deals, which are promoted as an opportunity to achieve home ownership...

Consumer advocates welcome Act implementing three key Banking Royal Commission recommendations

Today the Government passed the first omnibus bill in the wake of the Banking Royal Commission, which consumer advocates say will help address long-standing problems with unfair insurance contracts, f...

Critical moment to fix and prevent systemic mis-selling of junk insurance and warranties through caryards

Since 2016, Consumer Action’s free tool, DemandaRefund.com has helped people to generate over 9,000 demands totalling an estimated $17 million in refunds for junk consumer credit insurance (CCI), guar...

RBA Review of Retail Payments Regulation

The payments landscape has changed rapidly since the RBA’s last review of retail payment systems five years ago. The emergence of new payment schemes, such as buy now, pay later (BNPL) has skewed the...

One year on and greater focus needed to complete Hayne’s vision

Tomorrow marks one year since Commissioner Kenneth Hayne submitted the Banking Royal Commission Final Report. The Government has taken big steps towards cleaning up the finance sector, but consumer ad...

Energy contracts can only be fair if all Victorian energy users have the same protections

Despite the introduction of the Victorian Default Offer for electricity, the state’s most vulnerable energy consumers still face challenges in the market. Energy prices changing unexpectedly, excessiv...

Remove barriers to energy efficiency for rental properties

Consumer Action’s National Debt Helpline service provided financial counselling to over 11,000 people in the 2018/19 financial year. Often issues with low quality rental properties or disputes with re...

Strengthening consumers’ voice in policy and regulation affecting superannuation

Choosing a superannuation fund is one of the most important financial decisions a person will make. However, the superannuation system is failing countless Australians. People across Australia cont...

Government must regulate exploitative insurance claims managers in wake of bushfires

As significant numbers of insurance claims loom in the wake of Australia’s bushfire crisis, consumer groups today called on the Federal Government to urgently regulate insurance claims management serv...

Making the insurance claims process fair

From a consumer perspective, claims handling is the most critical part of the insurance process, and one of the most problematic. Too often, the claims process is arduous, lengthy and unfair. In ou...

What type of financial relief is available for people directly affected by the Victorian bushfires?

Here is a list of relief packages available to help relieve the financial stress associated with paying: Credit card bills Loan repayments Energy bills Water bills Landline and mobile...

What type of financial support is available for people who have lost homes or income due to the Victorian bushfires?

Here is a list of financial payments available to support people who have lost their homes or their income as a direct result of the 2019-2020 bushfires in Victoria. This is not an exhaustive list...

Bushfire 2019-20 Support

As has been widely reported, we have never seen a bushfire crisis of this magnitude in Australia. Here is a list of ways you can give and receive support during this time. Victorian Legal A...

FinTech and RegTech should support positive outcomes for consumers

While we support the development of innovative services and business models that genuinely meet the needs of consumers much of the existing legal and regulatory frameworks are no longer fit for purpos...

Lack of minimum efficiency standards put renters at greater risk of energy debts

The financial counsellors working on Consumer Action's National Debt Helpline service provided financial counselling to over 11,000 people in the 2018/19 financial year. Often issues with low quality...

Fairness must drive consumer policy in 2020

by Gerard Brody, CEO of Consumer Action Law Centre Fairness will be the big issue in consumer policy during 2020. It is being talked about like never before. This follows on from Kenneth...

A dynamic year for consumer advocacy

There’s no denying that 2019 was a dynamic one for Consumer Action, bringing a wave of change for consumer rights in Australia. You can find out more about what we’ve been up to this past year in our...

Holiday Hours 2019-20

Consumer Action Law Centre and our branch of the National Debt Helpline will be working on limited operating hours during the December-January holiday period. Date Consumer Action Legal Help...

Strong compliance and enforcement is needed in telecommunications industry

Consumer Action receives 2-3 new calls per week through our legal assistance and worker advice lines or the National Debt Helpline about clients who are negatively affected by unaffordable phone debt....

Submission: Inquiry into credit and financial services targeted at Australians at risk of financial hardship

Interim ban on unsolicited sale of direct life insurance and consumer credit insurance

Consumer Action commented on a draft legislative instrument and revisions to ASIC Regulatory Guide 38: The Hawking Provisions (DraftRG38) relating to ASIC’s proposed interim ban on outbound telephone...

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