2022 Victorian Default Offer
Consumer Action welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Essential Services Commission’s (the Commission) consultation paper, Next steps for the Victorian Default Offer (the Consultation Paper). The...
Consumer issues in Victorian Aboriginal communities during 2020
This report has collated data, community intelligence, and case studies to answer the following questions: 1. What consumer, credit and debt issues are impacting Victorian Aboriginal communities?...
Consumer issues in Victorian Aboriginal communities during 2020
A report Consumer Issues in Victorian Aboriginal Communities during 2020 published today by Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) and the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS) uses quantit...
Access, pricing and incentive arrangements for distributed energy resources
Consumer Action Law Centre welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Australian Energy Market Commission’s (AEMC) Access, pricing and incentive arrangements for distributed energy resources (DER) dra...
Next steps for the Victorian Default Offer
Consumer Action Law Centre welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Essential Services Commission’s (the Commisson) consultation paper Next steps for the Victorian Default Offer. These comments...
Tougher rules banning aggressive energy & solar sales a big win for all Victorians
Consumer Action has welcomed the Victorian Government’s announcement today that it is banning high-pressure sales tactics like unsolicited door-to-door sales and cold-calling to protect people from be...
Consultation on Draft Regulator Performance Guide
We support the Government’s planned introduction of a new framework to replace the existing 2014 Regulator Performance Framework (Old Framework), which is considerably flawed and outdated. The Draft G...
Framework for reform –Modernising Victoria’s building system
This submission responds primarily to the proposed improvements relating to consumer protection, in particular, the proposals to: Improve existing advocacy and support services for individual con...
More ‘trouble with telcos’ as bad service, hidden costs, and shoddy sales practices revealed
A report* published today by the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) reveals that telco sales culture, practices, and cost structures before and during COVID are continuing to fail Australia’s...
Gambling should not be funded by credit
While gambling is a legitimate form of entertainment for many Australians, we believe it should not be funded by credit and support a prohibition on the use of credit cards, including via e-wallets, f...
Telstra cops record $50 million fine, consumer groups say industry must improve its practices
The Federal Court today upheld the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) $50 million fine against Telstra for its treatment of Indigenous people in rural and remote parts o...
Consumer group calls for unsolicited sale ban after solar company fined $3 million
This week the Federal Court of Australia ordered Vic Solar to pay a $3 million fine for violating provisions of the Australian Consumer Law relating to unsolicited sales, among other breaches of cons...
The 2021 Water Price Review –Melbourne Water Draft Decision
Access to water is a basic human right. All Victorians are entitled to a supply of water necessary for an adequate standard of living. Fundamental to this is that water services remain affordable for...
ASIC must reject licence applications from predatory debt vultures
Consumer Action has welcomed the news that Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg MP has made new regulations requiring debt management firms – also known as ‘debt vultures’ – to be licenced to provide ser...
Retirement Villages Act Review –our Options Paper submission
Consumer Action, with COTA Victoria, Residents of Retirement Villages Victoria (RRVV) and Housing for the Aged Action Group (HAAG), is a coalition of residents and consumer rights groups that have ass...
Implementing the Royal Commission recommendations: The deferred sales model for add-on insurance
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) and Financial Rights Legal Centre (Financial Rights) broadly support the content of the draft regulatory guide for the industry-wide direct sales model (DS...
Surge in disconnections a blow to thousands during COVID
The latest data from the Essential Services Commission (ESC) reveals a big surge in the number of people being disconnected from their energy supply and increasing numbers of people struggling to keep...
Telco conduct harming customers reveals why self-regulation is a failure
A new report by Financial Counselling Australia has criticised the selling practices, customer service and financial hardship programs offered by the telco industry in the wake of COVID-19, revealing ...
Review of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority
Contributors to this submission have supported and represented thousands of people in disputes with financial services providers and superannuation funds over many years. This includes extensive exper...
Consumer remediation: Update to Regulatory Guide 256
We strongly support a continuing focus on consumer remediation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in its enforcement. Remediation programs have been a very welcome develop...
Vic Government called on to act as big gaps in consumer protection put solar customers at risk
Consumer Action has today published a report calling on the Victorian Government to fix the gaps in consumer protections that are leaving thousands of solar customers prey to high-pressure sales tacti...
Report: Our response to the New Energy Tech Consumer Code
The New Energy Tech Consumer Code (NET Code) is a voluntary industry code of conduct, which sets practice standards for the sale of New Energy Technology (NET) products, systems, and services by retai...
Our concerns about proposed changes to the governance standards for registered charities
Our submission to the Charities Consultation @Treasury.gov.au expresses our concerns about proposed changes to the governance standards for registered charities. We consider the proposed changes ar...
Consumer advocates ‘gobsmacked’ by majority Senate report on predatory lending laws
A newly released report by the Senate Economics Legislation Committee has recommended Parliament pass proposed laws that fall woefully short of what advocates say is needed to protect people from pred...
“Recipe for economic disaster”: Consumer groups slam Senate report on lending laws
Consumer groups condemn the majority’s recommendations of today’s Senate Inquiry Report, as the vote looms next week on the Government's disastrous proposal to axe safe lending laws. The repeal of...
Australian Communications Media Authority compliance priorities
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) and WEstjustice welcome the opportunity to contribute to the development of ACMA compliance priorities for 2021 –2022, hence our submission. The past ye...
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...
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,...
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...