Insurance Claims Handling: Taking Action on Recommendation 4.8 of the Banking, Superannuation & Financial Services Royal Commission
Claims handling is the most critical part of the insurance process for many consumers. Unfortunately, ‘legal loopholes’ have caused undue stress and delayed resolutions for too many consumers in thei...
Re-regulation of energy prices will see Victorians paying a fair price
The Victorian Default Offer (VDO) for the state’s energy market must be available to all Victorians or its objective to ‘provide a simple, trusted and reasonably priced electricity option that safegua...
The banking and finance sector needs to play by the rules and put their customers first
In the wake of the widespread misconduct illustrated at the Banking Royal Commission, all players within the banking and finance sector need to play by the rules and put their customers first regardle...
Regulatory framework for new embedded networks
CALC is supportive of the AEMC’s proposed regulatory framework for new embedded networks, as equity in consumer protections should not be dependent on the business model of the supplier of energy. I...
Enhanced regulatory framework would make industry codes enforceable if compliance required
Industry codes – often referred to as codes of conduct – can be useful when they genuinely improve standards in the relevant sector, provide meaningful rights for consumers and are complied with by in...
Submission on the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) Rules Changes
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the proposed changes to expand AFCA’s jurisdiction to deal with eligible complaints about conduct dating back to 1 J...
Energy pricing under the Victorian Default Officer must ensure fairness for consumers
As part of its response to pressure to curb energy prices and address inequality within Victoria’s energy market, the Victorian Government recently introduced the Victorian Default Offer (VDO). The V...
Clarification of consumer guarantees is essential, but making information accessible must be a focus
Clarification of consumer guarantees is essential according to Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action), but making information accessible must be a focus in newly proposed guidance about ‘unsafe’...
The justice system could better respond to the needs of people affected by misconduct in the finance sector
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) has recommended that financial service providers be required to improve their approach to dispute resolution in its comments to the Senate Legal and Consti...
Prohibition will strengthen the consumer law and allow regulators to deal with practices that cause consumer detriment
Consumer Action has made a submission to the ACCC Digital Platforms Inquiry Preliminary Report. The submission focuses primarily on the proposal to develop a general prohibition against unfair practic...
Consumer issues must fall within mental health inquiry’s scope
Consumer Action has provided a submission to the Royal Commission into Mental Health Terms of Reference Consultation. We strongly support the Victorian Government’s announcement of this Royal Commi...
Helping customers engage confidently in the retail energy market draft decision
We support changes to regulation that will facilitate simple ways of resolving issues with estimated billing. While we support making consistent factsheets for energy offers that are easier to compreh...
2019-20 Pre-Budget Submission
Consumer Action has made a submission to The Australian Government Treasury’s 2019-20 Pre-Budget Submission process. We have focused this submission on two areas where budget action could make an imme...
Victorian households must have protected and simple access to a fair price for energy
We strongly support the ESC’s work to implement the VDO as a priority. Victorian households must have protected and simple access to a fair price for an essential service. In the period without price...
Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Finance Sector – Submission on Module 6 on insurance
Consumer Action made a submission to the Financial Services Royal Commission in October 2018 on the policy questions arising from Module 6 on insurance. Consumer Action has assisted people who have...
‘Loyalty tax’ for insurance is fundamentally unfair
Consumer Action made a submission to the NSW Emergency Services Levy Insurance Monitor’s Discussion Paper, Pricing Differences: New vs Existing Customers. Insurance is a product that claims to reward...
Appropriate responses to misconduct or consumer harm identified as part of ongoing electricity price monitoring
Consumer Action has provided a submission to the Senate Economics Committee inquiry on the Treasury Laws Amendment (Prohibited Energy Market Misconduct Bill) 2018. We support the Bill, which will allo...
Submission: Consultation Draft Behind the Meter Distributed Energy Resources Provider Code
Consumer Action has provided feedback on the Consultation Draft Behind the Meter Distributed Energy Resources Provider Code. We consider: the name of the code should be readily understood by the...
ACCC monitoring of the electricity supply in the National Energy Market discussion paper
We welcome the ACCC’s ongoing inquiry into the prices, profits and margins in the supply of electricity in the NEM. A plethora of reports have established that the electricity market is not operating...
NSW Fair Trading Complaints Register Guidelines
The Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) has provided a submission on the draft NSW Fair Trading Complaints Register Guidelines (the Guidelines). The NSW Fair Trading Complaints Register provi...
Energy Security Board Strategic Energy Plan consultation on proposed metrics
We support the ESB developing a set of outcomes and objectives and associated tangible metrics that will measure whether these outcomes and objectives are achieved. We also support the metrics that ha...
Submission: PIP DADO Regulations
Consumer groups have commented on the exposure draft Corporations Amendment (Design and Distribution Obligations and Product Intervention Powers) Regulations 2018 (Cth) (the Regulations) and explanato...
Submission: Inquiry into credit and financial services targeted at Australians at risk of financial hardship
This Senate Inquiry is a crucial opportunity to close the regulatory loopholes exploited by fringe lenders and ‘debt help’ companies. These companies can entrench disadvantage for some of the most vul...
Debt Agreement Reform – Proposed Legislative Instruments
The Consumer Action Law Centre, Financial Rights Legal Centre and Financial Counselling Australia provided a submission to the Attorney-General's Department on its Legislative Instruments Consultation...
