OPINION:  Why unsolicited selling should be banned  

An edited version was first published in the Herald Sun on Sunday, 14 April 2025 Christine clicked on a Facebook site promising a solar deal with government rebates she could not refuse. Then a sal...

April 14, 2025

VIDEO: First ever ‘designated complaint’ targets the scourge of ‘door-knock’ unsolicited selling

Consumer Action Law Centre is calling for a nationwide ban on unsolicited selling in the first ever designated ‘super’ complaint presented to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)....

April 8, 2025

Reported scams down but two-billion dollars in losses still ‘deeply concerning’

Consumer Action Law Centre says a report released today from the National Anti-Scam Centre, Targeting scams, reveals a welcome fall in the value of reported scams losses for 2024 (down by 25.9% to $2....

March 11, 2025

The Banking Code Compliance Committee’s priorities for 2025-26

Consumer Action Law Centre strongly supports the Banking Code Compliance Committee (BCCC) examining Code compliance through Bank@Post closely. We frequently hear anecdotal issues with accessing bankin...

February 5, 2025

Consumer Action and CHOICE chosen as designated complainants

The Albanese Government has announced today that Consumer Action Law Centre has been chosen as a designated complainant. This means that Consumer Action, with fellow consumer advocate CHOICE, and the...

July 2, 2024

ACCC scam report reveals Australians bearing the losses of a ‘scamdemic’ in a cost-of-living crisis

The huge cost of scams on Australian families in a cost-of-living crisis, is placing an unacceptable burden on a community already doing it tough. That’s the bleak reality of the figures in the Austra...

April 29, 2024

Buy now pay later exposure draft materials

Our organisations have long advocated for Buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) to be regulated as a credit product under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (NCCPA), and so we welcome the major step...

April 16, 2024

Consultation: Designated complaints determination

With our undersigned sector colleagues, we affirm our previous support for the designated complaints function, and our previous comments about the design and structure of the legislation in our joint...

April 11, 2024

Inquiry into the Competition and Consumer Amendment (Fair Go for Consumers and Small Business) Bill 2024

We are strongly supportive of a designated complaints function as an important addition to the regulatory landscape in Australia, reflecting the value of intelligence and quality of decision making in...

March 7, 2024

New Anti-Scam centre funding welcomed but will it help Bill who lost $20,000?

Consumer Action CEO Stephanie Tonkin has welcomed the extra funding announced in the Federal Budget for the Anti-Scam Centre, saying it’s a first step in the right direction, but deep concerns remain...

May 15, 2023

Australia’s banks failing customers by placing all the burden of the scams crisis on them says damning ASIC report 

Australia’s four major banks are failing their customers by taking a ‘variable and…less mature’ approach to scams than expected, with ‘inconsistent and narrow approaches to determining liability’ as w...

April 20, 2023

Only a Federal Government mandate forcing banks to reimburse customers will solve growing scams crisis says Consumer Action

Scammers are targeting Australians online with highly sophisticated scams, stealing $billions from ordinary families and businesses every year -and it’s getting worse! That’s the message from the Aust...

April 17, 2023

Debt collection ban for social welfare recipients a step forward but ‘in-house’ approach must comply with Australian Consumer Law 

Consumer Action Law Centre and Financial Counselling Australia have welcomed the Government’s announcement today banning the use of external debt collectors for social welfare recipients by Centrelink...

April 13, 2023

Consumer Action calling on banks to block payments to scammers and reimburse victims 

Australia’s banks should  quickly introduce measures to stop scams, make their systems safer and reimburse victims or be made by Government to do so, says Consumer Action CEO Stephanie Tonkin. Ms Tonk...

February 15, 2023

Robodebt Royal Commission: refer debt collection misconduct to the ACCC

Consumer Action has partnered with Financial Counselling Australia and Economic Justice Australia to make a submission to the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme. The submission asks the Roya...

December 9, 2022

OPINION: Optus data breach underscores urgent need for reforms to protect Australians from scams

Opinion piece by Gerard Brody, CEO Consumer Action The massive data breach affecting up to 9.8 million Optus customers has shone a spotlight on what can be done to protect Australians from harm and...

September 29, 2022

With scams at crisis levels, banks and payment system providers must do more 

Online and telephone scams targeting Australians are now at crisis levels and victims will continue to bear the burden of financial losses, which will only get worse without urgent action from governm...

September 8, 2022

Banks can do more to stop scams say consumer advocates 

Australia’s banks can do much more to stop the plague of scams that is destroying families and costing the economy more than $2 billion annually. That’s the message from consumer advocates in response...

July 4, 2022