Privacy Reform
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) congratulates the Attorney General's Department on the proposed reform to modernise Australia’s legislation to be better equipped to protect, in an increas...
Consumer Action: Tackling 20 years of ‘dodgy,’ fighting for fairness and supporting hundreds of thousands of consumers
Consumer Action Law Centre is today celebrating an important milestone; 20 years of legal and financial counselling services and expertise used to fight for stronger consumer rights and fairness in th...
Courage, ambition and clarity are musts or new anti-scam laws will fail say consumer advocates
Consumer advocates are warning that the Government’s much lauded Scam Prevention Framework (SPF) will fail to protect Australians from scam crime unless the tough talk and promises deliver tangible in...
Manufactured Consent: New report shines spotlight on dodgy practice of lead generation
Consumer Action Law Centre has published a new report Manufactured Consent: stopping the harm from manipulative lead generation detailing the complicated practice and its devastating consumer harms....
REPORT Manufactured Consent: Stopping the harm from manipulative lead generation
Lead generation – the process of identifying people as potential sales targets and harvesting their contact details for future sales pitches – has become a significant source of consumer harm. Lead ge...
Federal Court scathing on HSBC, bringing legal clarity: Australia’s banks MUST protect their customers from scams
Consumer Action Law Centre CEO Stephanie Tonkin says the $35 million penalty plus costs imposed on HSBC Bank in the Federal Court yesterday sends a clear and resounding signal to Australia’s banks: th...
People are losing their homes over a $10,000 debt: this must stop
This opinion piece by Claude Von Arx, Senior Financial Counsellor, Consumer Action Law Centre, and Chair, Financial Counselling Victoria was first published in The Age on 19 December 2025. Imagine...
Consumer Action wins landmark Federal Court case against pawnbroker Taylors Business
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) has secured a comprehensive victory in the Federal Court of Australia against Taylors Business Pty Ltd (Taylors), in a judgment handed down yesterday that...
Our impact in 2024-25: Fighting injustice and working for a fairer marketplace
We are delighted to present our Impact Report 2024-25 which highlights Consumer Action Law centre’s work over the past year working with consumers, community workers, national advocates and cross-sect...
Landmark reforms to stop unfair trading and strengthen consumer guarantees
Consumer groups have welcomed the decision by Consumer Affairs Ministers to progress major reforms that will make unfair business practices illegal and introduce enforceable consumer guarantees, the m...
Centrepay will no longer be a vehicle for financial abuse
Consumer advocates welcome reforms to Government payment service The Financial Rights Legal Centre, Mob Strong Debt Help, Consumer Action Law Centre, CHOICE, Anglicare NT and Economic Justice Austral...
Rogue lender Cigno and its Directors lose appeal to the Full Federal Court
Cigno Australia Pty Ltd and its directors’ appeal to the Full Federal Court has been dismissed today and costs awarded to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC). Consumer Action...
Minimum disconnection amount draft decision
In this submission, we discuss the significance of energy affordability in determining a disconnection amount, the risks with setting a threshold to disconnect a person or household from an essential...
ACCC’s decision on first super complaint ‘shows the system works’ says Consumer Action
Consumer Action Law Centre CEO, Stephanie Tonkin says she is thrilled by the decision of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to launch a detailed review into the national impact and har...
Stop the harms! Regulate wage advance products now say consumer advocates
Consumer advocates from across Australia are calling on the Albanese Government to urgently regulate the proliferation of ‘wage advance’ products that are making the cost-of-living crisis worse for th...
Insurance code enforceability welcomed but delays and watering down protections a concern
Consumer groups including the Financial Rights Legal Centre, Financial Counselling Australia and the Consumer Action Law Centre, have welcomed the Insurance Council’s announcement that they will inclu...
‘Advance long-awaited reforms’ Consumer Action congratulates new Assistant Treasurer
Consumer Action Law Centre CEO Stephanie Tonkin has congratulated Dr Daniel Mulino on his appointment to the positions of Assistant Treasurer and Financial Services Minister in the new Albanese Govern...
A historic opportunity to enact a stronger consumer-focused agenda say advocates
Consumer advocates have congratulated the Albanese Government on its emphatic re-election victory and called for it to seize the moment to govern with an even stronger consumer-focused agenda in its s...
Joint Submission: Centrepay Reform – Consultation
This is a joint submission led by Financial Rights Legal Centre, supported by Consumer Action Law Centre and: • Australian Communications Consumer Action Network • AnglicareNT • Brotherhood of St...
Draft Determination – Application by the Australian Banking Association
We provide the following comment on Draft Determination AA1000683 in response to the Australian Banking Association’s (ABA) application to continue offering Basic Bank Accounts (BBAs) and certain cond...
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)....
First ‘designated complaint’ targets the nationwide 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)....
Victorian Energy Upgrades Strategic Review: Discussion Paper
We welcome the opportunity to provide our submission responding to the Discussion Paper released as part of the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) Strategic Review. Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer A...
Hard fought protections in new Banking Code better for consumers
The new Banking Code of Practice came into force on Friday the culmination of years of work to strengthen consumer protections said Stephanie Tonkin, CEO Consumer Action Law Centre. The Hayne Roy...
Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) – Draft Regulations
The consumer sector has been calling for appropriate regulation of BNPL for several years and we are pleased that legislation will shortly come into force, providing some protection to customers, part...
Scams laws passing a relief, but victims to face an uphill battle for redress
Consumer advocates say the passing of the Scams Prevention Framework (SPF) fills a gaping hole in the law and in time should protect many Australians from falling victim to the scourge of scams. But t...
Consumer Energy Resources (CER) Consumer Protections Review
Consumer Action Law Centre welcomes the opportunity to provide our submission to the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) in response to the Consumer Energy Resources (CER) Con...
Straightforward compensation would put victims at the heart of the new Scams Bill
Consumer organisations fighting to ensure Australians are protected under the Scams Prevention Framework Bill will provide evidence today at a crucial Senate Economics Legislation Committee hearing....
ASIC sues HSBC Bank for failure to protect customers from scams
The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has taken strong enforcement action, announcing today that it is suing HSBC Bank for its ‘widespread failures to act honestly, efficiently an...
Much-needed Centrepay reforms the result of a decades-long campaign: Tonkin
Consumer Action Law Centre CEO Stephanie Tonkin said she was absolutely delighted that Minister Bill Shorten has announced consumer protections and reforms to Centrepay that restore it to its original...
Consumer advocates welcome proposed reforms to Government payment service
The Financial Rights Legal Centre, Mob Strong Debt Help, and Consumer Action Law Centre welcome the proposed reforms to Centrepay announced by Minister Bill Shorten this morning. These reforms include...
Consumer groups welcome passing of buy now, pay later regulations
Key loophole in credit laws will be closed Consumer groups have welcomed the passing of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Responsible Buy Now Pay Later and Other Measures) Bill 2024 (BNPL Bill) through...
Energy Consumer Reforms Consultation
Consumer Action supports the objectives of the Essential Services Commission (ESC’s) proposed reforms to ensure people experiencing payment difficulty are receiving the best price for energy from thei...
Concerning the ABA’s application to remove conditions from basic bank account conduct
Our response to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on this issue is supported by the Financial Rights Legal Centre and CHOICE. We are interested parties in the application by the Au...
Our impact 2023-24: Fighting for a fairer marketplace in a cost-of-living crisis
We are delighted to publish our Impact Report 2023-24 which highlights what we’ve been doing over the past year working alongside consumers, national advocates and cross-sector stakeholders. The co...
AUSTRAC: Guidance on assisting customers who don’t have identification
This is a joint submission made on behalf of: •Consumer Action Law Centre •Financial Counselling Australia •Financial Rights Legal Centre •Indigenous Consumer Assistance Network •Mob Strong Deb...
Stronger consumer protections needed to make our marketplace fairer
The two major consumer protections announced today -the ban on unfair trading and consultation on penalties for breaches by traders and service providers of the consumer guarantees under the Australia...
Government’s Scams Prevention Framework only goes halfway – we need a presumption of reimbursement say consumer advocates
A broad coalition of consumer advocates is calling for the Albanese Government to make one fundamental change to the proposed Scams Prevention Framework (SPF) and put reimbursement at its core, warnin...
Submission: Scams Prevention Framework – exposure draft legislation
This is a joint submission made on behalf of: • Consumer Action Law Centre • CHOICE • The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network • Financial Rights Legal Centre • Super Consumers Austr...
The Energy Retail Code of Practice review
We welcome the opportunity to provide our submission to the Essential Services Commission’s (ESC) review of the Energy Retail Code of Practice (the Code). In this submission, where relevant, we hav...
Consumer groups welcome reforms addressing harms caused by a bankruptcy system not fit for purpose
Consumer advocates have been calling for urgent reform for some time and last year outlined key pressure points during a round-table discussion organised by the Federal Attorney General, Mark Dreyfus...
Review of the National Energy Customer Framework
Consumer Action welcomes the opportunity to provide our submission to the Australian Energy Regulator’s (AER) review of the National Energy Customer Framework (NECF). In this submission, we draw predo...
Consumer advocates welcome revised Banking Code of Practice with incremental improvements noted
Consumer advocates are welcoming the revised Banking Code of Practice (the Banking Code) announced today which includes some incremental improvements to consumer protections. Consumer Action Law Ce...
Consumer groups welcome new laws regulating Buy Now, Pay Later as credit but some concerns remain
New laws regulating Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) have been announced today. Consumer groups respond as follows: Quotes attributable to Stephanie Tonkin, CEO of Consumer Action Law Centre “We welcom...
Fed Court decision final ‘nail in the coffin’ for predatory lenders Cigno Australia Pty Ltd and BSF Solutions Pty Ltd
Consumer Action Law Centre is delighted the Federal Court has issued a strong decision that calls out Cigno Australia Pty Ltd, BSF Solutions Pty Ltd and two of the entities’ directors for exploiting l...
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...
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...
Regulating Digital Asset Platforms: Crypto
Through our frontline services, we see widespread harm in the crypto market, and the urgent need for intervention. In this submission, we are responding to Treasury’s proposal paper Regulating Digi...
Inquiry into insurers’ responses to 2022 major floods claims
Consumer Action Law Centre has responded to the Federal Parliament's Standing Committee on Economics inquiry into insurers' responses to the major flood claims arising from 2022’s ‘disaster year’ with...