News - Consumer Action Law Centre

Australian Payments Plan Consultation: Submission

The Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Australian Payments Council (APC) consultation paper on the Australian Payments Plan. Read the submission i...

New protections for VET students welcomed

New vocational education & training guidelines will protect students enrolled in courses involving VET FEE-HELP student loans. From 1 January 2016, students will benefit from new protections safeg...

Fake discounts must end: Consumer Action

Energy companies regularly offer discounts to Australians, but these “discounts” often hide the true costs faced by customers. According to the Australian Market Energy Commission’s latest Retail Comp...

Students will be better off with new VET complaints body

The Victorian Government’s decision to establish a new body with the power to resolve vocational education disputes is a win for students, according to the Consumer Action Law Centre. The dispute r...

June 2015

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xClwSkgvBxI] Consumer advocates back expanded powers for ASIC to probe banks https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=http://www.theage.c...

Life insurance overdue for change

Consumer Action Law Centre says that proposed changes from the life insurance industry (welcomed by Assistant Treasurer Josh Frydenberg) to overhaul excessive commission structures and questionable ad...

Don’t make the poor pay more – time to end the free ride for rent to buy businesses: Consumer Groups

Consumer groups say draft legislation to ban rent-to-buy goods providers from Centrepay (Centrelink’s service that allows third parties to receive direct payment from welfare payments) is an essential...

Insurance companies: Prove your loyalty to us. Be upfront on price rises.

Australians want their insurance companies to be upfront with yearly price rises according to a survey commissioned by Consumer Action. If you own general insurance (for example, insurance for your...

Report: A quick fix? Credit repair in Australia Summary of findings

Consumer Action is pleased to be able to publish a summary of a Melbourne Law School report into credit repair, which involved a review of Consumer Action’s casework and interviews with Consumer Actio...

Dodgy car park operators will now have to clean up their act in a win for Victorians

Consumer Action Law Centre welcomes the Victorian Government’s move to stop disclosure of drivers’ personal details to private car park companies through the courts. Private car park companies have lo...

Stop builders turning dream homes into nightmares

Gerard Brody, CEO of Consumer Action says that building a home is turning into a nightmare for too many Victorians. "Building your own home is a dream for many Victorians, but too often it can turn i...

Junk Insurance and Rubbish Warranties: Help stop others going through the same.

Earlier this year we shared about the risks of junk insurance and rubbish warranties. Now we need your help. We would like to hear from you if you’ve recently been sold: a motor vehicle warran...

Submission: Sharing the future

The Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to comment on Sharing the future: Getting the policy right in the Age of the App. We are generally supportive of new business...

Retirement villages

In our experience, Retirement Village contracts can be extremely complex and contract terms around fees and exit entitlements can lack transparency. Different types of retirement accommodation can als...

Competition Policy Review Final Report

Consumer Action has made a submission to the Federal Treasury’s consultation on the Competition Policy Review Final Report. In summary, the submission argues: • Competition policy should promote the...

Clean Energy Council application for revocation and substitution A91495 – A91496

Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to provide you with comment on the Clean Energy Council's application of revocation and substitution of the voluntary PV Code of C...

AEMC Draft Determination on Expanding Competition in Metering and Related Services

The Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to provide input into the AEMC's draft rule determination to expand competition in metering and related services. Read the fu...

Submission to the Notice of draft instrument: Amendments to the AER Retail Pricing Information Guidelines

Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to provide input into the Australian Energy Regulator's (AER) Notice of draft instrument: Amendments to the AER Retail Pricing Inf...

Consumer leases will continue to make the poor pay more: Consumer Groups

Consumer Action Law Centre and Financial Rights Legal Centre say changes to Centrepay (Centrelink’s service that allows third parties deduct from payments) announced today by the Federal Government ar...

Debt collection industry can still do more

Consumer Action Law Centre welcomes the release of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s Debt Collection Industry Research Report released today, but says the industry can still do much...

Submission: AEMO’s Metering Data Provision Procedures

We welcome the opportunity to comment on AEMO’s Metering Data Provision Procedures (MDPP). Read the full joint submission with CUAC and the ATA here. [PDF]...

May 2015

Rogue energy door knocker tries to sign 12-year-old-girl to contract Herald Sun, May 1 2015 The creeping danger of Australian household's love affair with credit Sydney Morning Herald, May 2 2015...

Facebook makes it easier to buy and sell, but what are your rights?

You may have noticed this option pop up in your Facebook groups. It looks like Facebook is on a mission to make it easier to sell and buy items through their network, but what are your rights? I...

Submission to the draft ACDBA Code of Practice.

The Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the draft ACDBA Code of Practice (the Code). Read the submission in full here (PDF)....

Submission to Review of Governance Arrangements for Australian Energy Markets Issues Paper

Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to provide input the Review of Governance Arrangements for Australian Energy Markets Issues Paper (the Issues Paper). Click her...

Submission to the Inquiry into the financial hardship arrangements of energy retailers

Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to provide input into the Essential Services Commission's (the Commission) Inquiry into the financial hardship arrangements of ene...

Australians should be compensated for poor financial advice: Consumer groups

Australia’s leading consumer groups have made a joint submission to the Senate Economics Committee’s Scrutiny of Financial Advice Inquiry calling for a last resort compensation scheme for consumers wi...

Submission to the Inquiry into the financial hardship arrangements of energy retailers

Energy consumers to get “even more information” under national rule change

Today marks the start of new national rules for energy retailers, which are intended to provide more clarity on fixed-term contracts, but instead, do little to protect Australians from unexpected pric...

Junk Insurance and Rubbish Warranties

You might have bought something useless and don’t even know it. If you’ve purchased a used car or taken out a credit card or loan, you may have paid for some junk insurance or a rubbish warranty that...

Submission: VET Funding Review

The Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to comment on how to improve the quality, stability and sustainability of the Victorian training market. Read our full submis...

Submission: Review of Card Payments Regulation Issues Paper

The Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) and Financial Rights Legal Centre (Financial Rights) welcome the opportunity to comment on the Review of Card Payments Regulation Issues Paper (the Iss...

Too many Australians have suffered at the hands of financial advisers

Consumer Action Law Centre welcomes reports that independent Senator Nick Xenophon MP and Labor Senator Sam Dastyari have called for a last resort compensation scheme for financial services...

Submission: Privacy and trust in the new energy market

Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to provide input the Energy Market Reform Working Group's (EMRWG) paper, New products and services in the electricity market—consu...

Media Release: WANTED – Households who have been disconnected from electricity

Have you been disconnected from your electricity supply because you couldn’t afford to pay your bills? If so, we want to hear from you. We’re attempting to understand what households face when they c...

April 2015

ANZ bank wins court appeal against late payment fees PM with Mark Colvin, 8 April, 2015 The vexed issue of payday loans News.com.au, 8 April, 2015 Upfront fees will make it cheaper for consume...

On the Wire: April 2015

Consumer action has published the April edition of On the Wire, a quarterly publication featuring updates on national energy market reforms and regulatory processes. Edition 42 can be found here....

Media Release: Credit Wash “cleans up” vulnerable consumer

A former customer of Malouf Group Enterprises (Malouf), which holds itself out as being "Leaders in Credit Repair Solutions" has issued proceedings in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (...

Submission: Proposed Principles of Reciprocity and Data Exchange

The Consumer Action Law Centre, Financial Rights Legal Centre and Financial Counselling Australia have made a joint submission to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on the likel...

Submission: Proposed re-make of Retirement Villages legislation

The Consumer Action Law Centre, COTA Victoria and Residents of Retirement Villages Victoria have made a joint submission to the Consumer Affairs Victoria review on the effectiveness of the Retirement...

Media Release: Consumer voices must be at heart of competition policy reform: Consumer Action

Consumer Action Law Centre welcomes the release of the Harper Review into Competition Policy and particular the finding that purpose of competition is to make the market economy better serve the long-...

Submission: Financial System Inquiry Final Report

The Financial System Inquiry (FSI) Final Report was released in December 2014. Consumer Action has made a submission to the Treasury as part of consultation on the final report. A full copy of our su...

Media Release: Australians want changes to Payday Lending industry

Australia’s leading consumer advocates and largest microfinance organisation have today called on the Australian Government to take a fresh look at regulation governing payday lending. New research r...

Media Release: Trowbridge final report a step in the right direction, but fixation with commissions remains

Consumer Action Law Centre, Financial Rights Legal Centre, CHOICE and Maurice Blackburn Lawyers have welcomed John Trowbridge's final report into retail life insurance but believe that the industry ha...

Media Release: Payday lending report questions compliance with the law

Consumer Action Law Centre welcomed a new report from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) which questions whether payday lenders are complying with the law. The 2013 law ref...

Media release: Proposed ban on enrolment inducements a welcome step

Consumer Action has welcomed an announcement from Assistant Minister for Education and Training Simon Birmingham this morning about reforms designed to crack down on dubious marketing practices by tra...

Consumer Action is encouraged by interim report into vocational education training providers

Consumer Action is encouraged by the Education and Employment References Committee’s interim report into the operation, regulation and funding of private vocational education training (VET) providers...

Media release: Consumer advocates welcome Allianz’s $400,016 refund but warn mis-selling of insurance is an ongoing problem

Consumer Action Law Centre has welcomed news that Allianz Australia Insurance will refund $400,016 to Australians who were sold its Consumer Credit Insurance (CCI) alongside payday loans. Consumer Ac...

Submission: Australian Law Reform Commission’s “Freedoms Inquiry”

Consumer Action has made a submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission’s Issues Paper 46 Traditional Rights and Freedoms—Encroachments by Commonwealth Laws. This submission recommends that when...

March 2015

Fee shock pushes pensioners to take on retirement industry The Age, 4 March 2015, Simon Johanson Think For Yourself: Short Term Loans Independent Australia, 3 March 2015, John Turnbull ‘They’re no d...

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