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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 ...
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...
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...
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...
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 ...
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...
‘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...
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...
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...
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...
