Banking is an essential service that is critical to the wellbeing of consumers, small businesses and community organisations in regional Australia. However, accelerating branch closures are creating v...
Uncompensated losses arising from financial misconduct can cause a range of lasting impacts on people, including the loss of a family home, bankruptcy, the collapse of the family business, mental and...
Our submission is supported by Financial Counselling Australia, the peak body for financial counsellors (commonly known as financial mentors in New Zealand), who work with not-for-profit community org...
Access to water is an indispensable human right. All Victorians have the right to enjoy access to safe, reliable water supplies, so that they are able live healthy and dignified lives. Fundamental...
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s announcement today that the Government intends to reform Australia’s payment systems is a real opportunity to improve consumer protection, according to Consumer Action Law...
The final report of the triennial independent review of the Australian Banking Association’s (ABA) Banking Code of Practice released today makes over 100 recommendations aimed at improving people’s ex...
Telecommunications services are essential services – but are not regulated as such despite their critical role across the country. We appreciate the opportunity to comment on this plan to reform an in...
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) has provided feedback on the Essential Services Commission’s key review questions as part of their review of the implementation of the energy payment diff...
Financial Counselling Australia (FCA), Financial Rights Legal Centre and the Consumer Action Law Centre welcome the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services’ recommendation...
Consumer Action's Aboriginal Policy Officer Samantha Rudolph, and Director of Policy and Campaigns Katherine Temple spoke today at a Parliamentary Inquiry looking into ways of improving corporate enga...
Consumer advocates are calling on the Victorian Government to commit to a free and effective dispute resolution service for Victorians who are sold ‘lemon’ cars by car dealers in next year’s Budget....
Victoria desperately needs a specialist dispute service to assist people sold defective motor vehicles. Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action), Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS), WEst...
Today we are delighted to publish our Impact Report 2020-21 which highlights Consumer Action’s achievements over the past year. Despite the challenges of another year of working much of it from hom...
This joint submission from Consumer Action Law Centre, Financial Rights Legal Centre, Financial Counselling Australia, Care ACT, Consumer Credit Legal Service (WA) Inc and Council on The Ageing (COTA)...
Opinion piece by Gerard Brody, CEO Consumer Action. If there is one thing that changed about our lives from COVID-19, it’s the dramatic shift to online communication and shopping. According to the...
This joint submission is made on behalf of members of the Consumers’ Federation of Australia (CFA) and other consumer representatives and advocates. It builds upon our previous submission made to revi...
A raft of major reforms in the financial services sector have come into effect this week, the culmination of years of consistent campaigning and casework from consumer advocacy groups representing hun...
A diverse coalition of organisations is calling for a broad financial compensation scheme, as legislation is expected to be introduced into Federal Parliament in the coming weeks. The coalition, wh...
Financial Rights Legal Centre, Consumer Action Law Centre and Redfern Legal Centre have made a joint submission to the final round of consultation on the review of the Life Insurance Code of Practice...
Consumer Action has made a submission to the Victorian Department of Justice and Community Safety relating to proposed Owners Corporation Amendment Regulations.The submission argues that the regulatio...
Samantha Rudolph is a Wurundjeri woman, and the Aboriginal Policy Officer with Consumer Action Law Centre. She works as part of an integrated practice project addressing the systemic causes of consume...
Opinion piece by Gerard Brody, CEO Consumer Action As more and more people contact Consumer Action Law Centre regarding scam losses, and increasingly large losses, I've been thinking about the adequa...
This joint submission contains feedback on Treasury’s proposed reforms to unfair contract term (UCT) protections for consumers and small businesses from Consumer Action Law Centre, Financial Rights Le...
This joint submission is made on behalf of Consumer Action Law Centre, WEstjustice, Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service and Hume Riverina Community Legal Service. Broadly, we are pleased to see the...
A coalition of the country’s leading consumer organisations is calling on Australia’s major banks to make significant updates to their industry code to improve outcomes for customers. The Consumers’ F...
This is a joint submission made on behalf of members of the Consumers’ Federation of Australia (CFA), the peak body for consumer organisations in Australia. CFA represents a diverse range of consum...
Consumer advocates are calling on the Federal Treasurer and ASIC to implement the ban on unsolicited selling of insurance and superannuation consistently with the letter and spirit of Commissioner Hay...
This submission has been prepared by Consumer Action Law Centre with contributions and endorsement from the Financial Rights Legal Centre, Financial Counselling Australia and Super Consumers Australia...
The Banking Royal Commission revealed that many decisions made by senior leaders of financial services firms have had a devastating impact on people across Australia. Their conduct has driven many mem...
A coalition of consumer groups has welcomed the Federal Government’s commitment to establish a compensation scheme of last resort. Uncompensated losses arising from financial misconduct can cause a...
Consumer Action has today written to the Treasury noting that the Government intends to make amendments to the design and distribution obligations (DDO) regime. The letter strongly urges the Govern...
Consumer Action welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Embedded Networks Review Draft Recommendations Report. We agree with the Panel’s vision that, “...consumers should have equal protections,...
We strongly support recommendations to address the main barriers to accessing repairs and other remedies through consumer guarantees. These barriers would be reduced through the introduction of altern...
For Victorians we speak to at Consumer Action their concerns are often about immediate affordability of energy bills, including gas. These bills are unaffordable for many reasons and can include, but...
Our strategic plan 2021-2025 is a snapshot of our priorities and ambitions for the next four years. We use our skills and knowledge in the law, financial counselling, policy, campaigning, and advoc...
This submission is made jointly to the Essential Services Commission from the Consumer Action Law Centre, Financial Counselling Australia, Financial Counselling Victoria and the Victorian Aboriginal L...
Yesterday the Morrison Government announced that it would provide sweeping exemptions to the insurance industry from Financial Services Royal Commission reforms designed to improve insurance sales pra...
Consumer Action welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Essential Services Commission’s (ESC) draft consumer access and equity strategy, Getting to fair: Breaking down barriers to essential service...
Today’s Federal Court decision that the lending model promoted by Cigno Pty Ltd did not breach the National Consumer Credit Protection Act (National Credit Act) is extremely disappointing, and consum...
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?...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...