News - Consumer Action Law Centre

People should not be living in poverty in Australia

“The Coronavirus Supplement was life changing for people who had long survived on the abhorrent amount Newstart (or JobSeeker) had been set at for years. For so long, they had to be great money manage...

Saving Responsible Lending: Senate Committee opening statement

On 19 February 2021, Gerard Brody, CEO of Consumer Action Law Centre and Fiona Guthrie, CEO, Financial Counselling Australia spoke at the Senate Economics Legislation Committee hearing on the Nation...

Victoria’s Embedded Networks Review: Our response

Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Embedded Networks Review (the Review) Issues Paper. We support the Victorian Government’s decision to ban emb...

Buy now pay later sector must be regulated by Government not itself

Consumer groups have united to call for Federal Government regulation of buy now pay later (BNPL) services to protect consumers and put all credit providers on a level playing field. Today the Aus...

Over 590,000 Australians have relied on safe lending laws for justice

As the Senate Economics Committee hosts hearings in Canberra today, over 22,000 Australians have joined the call for Federal Senators to strengthen instead of repeal safe lending laws, with many sha...

Scam alert: Be aware

We’ve had reports of scammers falsely using Consumer Action’s name to obtain money and banking details from their victims. Consumer Action is not responsible for these calls. We will never ask for mon...

Royal Commission add-on junk insurance reforms must be implemented industry-wide

Community legal centres are urging the Government to deliver on Commissioner Hayne’s recommendation that the deferred sales model for add-on insurance apply ‘industry-wide’. The Final Report of the...

Consumer groups support licensing of ‘debt vultures’ but reforms must go further to stop the harm

While some businesses stepped up to help Australians to recover from the COVID-19 crisis, others sought to profit from people’s desperate financial circumstances. Unregulated debt management firms ...

Licensing debt management firms: Exposure draft regulations

While some businesses stepped up to help Australians to recover from the COVID-19 crisis, others have simply sought to profit from people’s desperate financial circumstances. Debt management firms(...

Submission: Consultation on revision to the new Prudential Standard APS 220 Credit Risk Management

This submission is from Consumer Action Law Centre, Financial Rights Legal Centre, Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, CHOICE, Financial Counselling Australia, Consumer Credit Law Service (W...

Right to Repair submission to Productivity Commission Inquiry

Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback to the Productivity Commission Inquiry into a right to repair. The ability for consumers to access afford...

Deferred sales model for add-on insurance – exemptions by class

This submission is made by Consumer Action Law Centre, Financial Rights Legal Centre and WEstjustice. We oppose any exemptions for classes of add-on insurance products from the deferred sales model...

REPORT: Telcos miss the mark on hardship support during COVID, time to treat them as an essential service

A new report by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) Customer financial hardship in the telco industry reveals stark variations in hardship support offered during the COVID-19 cris...

Opinion: Responsible lending law repeal will undo good

First published in the Herald Sun, 8 February 2021. In the two years since the Hayne Royal Commission Final Report while the Federal Government has made some changes to strengthen consumer protecti...

‘A disastrous winding back of consumer protections’: Consumer groups call on lawmakers to reject proposed changes

Proposed changes to consumer credit laws before the Senate must be rejected as they risk harm to individuals and families and hindering the economic recovery they are intended to promote. That is t...

Submission: National Consumer Credit Protection Amendment (Supporting Economic Recovery) Bill 2020

This submission is made on behalf of Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action), Financial Rights Legal Centre (Financial Rights), Financial Counselling Australia, Consumer Credit Legal Service (WA)...

Consumer advocates call for Parliament to vote against watered-down protections against predatory lenders

Consumer advocates have rejected the Federal Government’s proposed changes to laws governing high-cost payday loans and consumer leases, calling for Parliament to vote against the Bill in a submission...

Submission from the Stop the Debt Trap Alliance: National Consumer Credit Protection Amendment (Supporting Economic Recovery) Bill 2020

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Up to 1.9 million Australians paid debt vultures in the last 12 months: REPORT

According to a new report released today by Consumer Action Law Centre, approximately 1.4 to 1.9 million Australians have paid for debt management or credit repair services in the last 12 months. Thes...

Debt Management: Quantum Market Research

This report by Quantum Market Research on debt management firms is based on its AustraliaNOW weekly survey of attitudes and behaviour during COVID-19. A total of 2,005 people representative of age,...

Image of Australia's Parliament House in Canberra

Consumer groups comment on Banking Royal Commission reforms

Consumer groups welcome today’s passage of Royal Commission recommendations into law, but condemn the government for introducing the law to axe safe lending laws into the House. “This week the govern...

Victoria’s energy reforms positive but enforcement needed: Report

Victoria has taken the lead among Australian states in recent years with significant reforms designed to protect Victorians from being ripped off by energy retailers and ensure people receive appropri...

‘Bills here, bills there’: Report on the lived experience of Victorian energy reform

This report is a deep dive into how energy reforms of recent years are impacting Victorians. Taking a qualitative approach, we draw on interviews and case studies to examine how recent reforms are hel...

Calling out the banks: Why responsible lending laws need to stay intact

First published in The Age/Sydney Morning Herald, 2 December 2020 It's a great pity that the banks are weighing in so publicly to support the rollback of our responsible lending laws. Just when...

Federal Court finds multiple breaches of Australian Consumer Law in relation to credit repair, but not debt management

Federal Court finds multiple breaches of Australian Consumer Law in relation to credit repair, but not debt management The Federal Court has found that J Daniels & Associates (JDA), a debt mana...

Private member’s Bill addresses Government’s ‘half-baked’ proposals on payday loans and high-cost leases

A private member’s Bill introduced in Parliament today by Andrew Wilkie MP would, if passed, greatly reduce the harm that high-cost payday loans and consumer leases cause to thousands of Australians....

Lower bills a welcome relief for people on the Victorian Default Offer but room for further reductions

The Essential Services Commission’s (ESC) announcement today that electricity bills will decrease for households on the Victorian Default Offer (VDO) is good news, but it is disappointing that the cos...

Product intervention power for continuing credit contracts – some further considerations

Consumer Action, Financial Rights Legal Centre and WEstjustice have made a second submission to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission’s (ASIC) Consultation Paper 330 (CP 330), in which A...

Report reveals telco failures during COVID-19 crisis

Consumer Action has today published a report with case studies and data documenting the ways the telecommunications industry in Australia continues to fail the community, even during the COVID-19...

Report: The Trouble with Telcos Stories from 2020

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Scrapping lending laws would take away legal rights and hinder economic recovery

Consumer advocates have published a submission on exposure draft legislation that would repeal lending consumer protections in the National Consumer Credit Protection Act, in direct contradiction of t...

Treasury consultation: Consumer Credit Reforms our submission

A coalition of consumer advocates have published a submission on exposure draft legislation that would repeal responsible lending laws in the National Consumer Credit Protection Act. The submission p...

Energy efficiency and targeted rebate plan to help with big energy bills the right approach

Consumer Action Law Centre has welcomed the Victorian Government’s announcement today to help thousands of concession holders manage their energy bills. For many people in our community, home ener...

Buy now pay later report reveals one-in-five users going without essentials like meals

A report released today on the buy now pay later (BNPL) industry reveals statistics that suggest many Australians are being pushed into financial harm. The report by the Australian Securities &...

Parliament must kick ‘rent-to-buy’ products off Centrepay for good

Consumer Action has thrown its support behind a private member’s Bill introduced to the Senate yesterday to stop ‘rent-to-buy’ operators from accessing the Government’s bill paying service. The Bi...

One step forward, two steps back: Banking Royal Commission reforms welcomed but deep concerns remain

Consumer groups* have strongly welcomed the introduction of a Bill today in Parliament to prevent hard-sell tactics for insurance and other financial products. The Bill introduces some of the 76 lo...

Stop The Debt Trap Alliance supports South Australian Bill for enhanced consumer protections

The Stop The Debt Trap Alliance has provided feedback on the draft Fair Trading (Small Amount Credit Contracts and Consumer Leases) Amendment Bill 2020 (SA). The Alliance) is a coalition of consume...

We support enhanced protections for South Australians from payday loans and high-cost leases

Consumer Action has provided a submission on the draft Fair Trading (Small Amount Credit Contracts and Consumer Leases) Amendment Bill 2020 (SA) (the SA Bill). Consumer Action strongly supports the...

Impact Report 2019-2020

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The Rooftop Solar Sector Review: Our Submission

Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to provide input into the Clean Energy Regulator’s (CER) review into the rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) sector. There has been...

Telco industry fails individuals and businesses during the pandemic

Data released today on the telco industry shows the sector has failed to meet community expectations throughout the pandemic, leaving families and business customers high and dry in their time of need...

Modernising the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Terms of Reference

Westjustice, Consumer Action Legal Centre (‘Consumer Action’), Financial Rights Legal Service(‘FRLS’), and Financial Counselling Australia (‘FCA’) provide legal casework and financial counselling serv...

Victorian Default Offer 2021 – Draft Decision

Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Essential Service Commission’s (the Commission) Victorian Default Offer 2021 Draft Decision (the Draft Decision)...

Not serving the community: Why we oppose the Cashless Debit Card scheme

Consumer Action seeks to enhance the rights of consumers and promote a marketplace where business plays fair. The Cashless Debit Card (CDC) undermines the role of the market in serving consumer and...

“Stop the harm”: Renewed calls for consumer lease providers to be kicked off Centrepay

The Commonwealth Ombudsman recently handed down its final decision on Consumer Action Law Centre's complaints about Services Australia failing to enforce the Centrepay Policy against predatory consume...

Predatory lending risks undermining Government’s economic recovery effort

With jobs, household spending and economic recovery the focus of last night’s Budget, the Stop the Debt Trap Alliance is warning that lax protections from predatory lenders risk undermining the Gover...

Corporate regulator takes legal action to stop harmful rogue lending

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) this week commenced legal proceedings against Cigno Pty Ltd (Cigno) and BHF Solutions Pty Ltd (BHFS), alleging the companies provided credit...

Government waters down payday lending reforms

The Government has announced that it will weaken proposed consumer protections it promised to implement nearly four years ago in relation to small amount credit contracts (payday loans) and consumer l...

Consumer groups call for an end to telco rip offs

Consumer groups* have shared harrowing stories of telco companies mistreating people around Australia and are calling on the Federal Government to fix the system so people are treated fairly. The c...

Consumer groups slam move to remove responsible lending law

Removing credit protections will cause harm to people and the economy CHOICE, Consumer Action Law Centre, Financial Counselling Australia and Financial Rights Legal Centre have responded to the Gov...

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