Licensing and Regulation - Consumer Action Law Centre

Hundreds of thousands of telco customers cut off as 2.4 million Australians struggle to pay telco bills

Telco providers are far less likely than other essential services to provide hardship assistance to Australians when they find themselves in financial crisis and here’s the proof: last year 406,428 cu...

Victorian Default Offer 2023-24 Draft Decision: We need a meaningful reduction to the proposed 31% increase

To date, we believe that the Victorian Default Offer (VDO) has been successful in achieving the policy objective of providing consumers unable or unwilling to engage in the market with a simple, trust...

OPINION: Banks must use their windfall profits to tackle the scam crisis 

By Stephanie Tonkin, CEO, Consumer Action Law Centre  The big four banks are tipped to make record profits this financial year, with some analysts suggesting they will collectively rake in more th...

Token crypto mapping consultation paper and the need for adequate protections and safeguards

The crypto marketplace currently poses significant risk to consumers and there is a pressing need for adequate protections and safeguards. Consumer Action applauds the Government for its commitment...

Scams must be stopped: Westpac alerts for mis-matched payments and money transfer measures welcomed

Consumer Action CEO Stephanie Tonkin says Westpac’s announcement of a new verification system for payments and money transfer measures to new accounts are “…steps in the right direction to help stop t...

Australian Securities and Investments Commission – inquiry into investigation and enforcement conduct

Effective enforcement action is a critical task of consumer protection regulators and essential to a well-functioning consumer market. In recent years, ASIC has completed a significant amount of meani...

OPINION: Banks, get tougher on scams

An edited version of this opinion piece appeared in the Herald Sun 18 February, 2023 You’d be hard-pressed these days to find someone who hasn’t been the target of a scam. Whether it’s a fraudulent...

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...

Australia’s banks should follow CBA’s lead and introduce stronger measures to stop scams

The Commonwealth Bank (CBA) has announced it is introducing measures to strengthen its payment system that will make it harder for crooks to scam their customers. The measures called NameCheck and Cal...

Victorian Default Offer 2023-24: Consultation Paper

Consumer Action Law Centre welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Essential Services Commission’s (ESC) Consultation Paper on the review of the Victorian Default Offer (VDO) for 2023-24. On bal...

Regulate Buy Now, Pay Later like other credit products to boost customer safeguards, consumer groups say

Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) late fees and charges would be capped, and providers would be licensed and banned from making unsolicited offers of credit, under recommendations for proper regulation of the...

Treasury Options Paper, Regulating Buy Now Pay Later in Australia

Consumer Action has joined with 22 other organisations as part of the "Close Lending Loopholes Alliance" to make a submission to Treasury on its Options Paper, Regulating Buy Now Pay Later in Australi...

Review of the Australian Finance Industry Association (AFIA) Buy Now Pay Later Code of Practice

Consumer Credit Legal Services (WA) Inc. (CCLSWA) has drafted these submissions on behalf of the Consumers’ Federation of Australia (CFA) and its members. CFA is the peak body for consumer organisatio...

Protecting consumers of distributed energy resources

With Victorians wanting to play their part in carbon reduction, consumer protections for new energy products and services need to be enhanced. This submission to the Department of Environment Land...

Our Impact 2021-22: It’s the change we are making, helping people fight the powerful, advocating for a fairer Australia

Today we are delighted to publish our Impact Report 2021-22 which highlights our organisation’s achievements over the past year working for and with the people we help. Read about the many successe...

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...

People should get their money back quicker and more easily following new ASIC guidance, say consumer advocates

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has today published updated and revised remediation guidance for financial firms with the goal of treating wronged customers fairer and ensur...

Quality of Advice Review: Proposals Paper

Australians who seek financial advice have the right to expect that the advice they receive will be independent, high quality and in their best interests. Poor financial advice has lasting impacts on...

Taxi Non-Cash Payment Surcharge Review 2022

Consumer Action has made a submission to the Essential Services Commission in relation to its Taxi Non-Cash Payment Surcharge Review 2022. The submission opposes the proposed methodology outlined i...

Embedded networks ban promotes consumer choice and is a win for Victorians

The announcement today from the Victorian Minister for Energy Lily D’Ambrosio banning embedded networks in new residential apartment buildings, and improving protections for existing networks,...

‘Telcos still behaving badly’: Report highlighting key drivers of customer complaints welcomed

Consumer Action has welcomed a report released today from the Telecommunciations Industry Ombudsman (TIO) that reveals a high level of customer complaints about poor mobile services and the continued...

Consumer and social service groups welcome community consultation on removing buy-now-pay-later and other credit loopholes

Key consumer and social service groups are welcoming the Federal Government’s announcement that the process of introducing better safeguards for buy now pay later (BNPL) and other credit products has...

Commit to a lemon car ombudsman in November election say consumer advocates

Consumer Action Law Centre and WEstJustice Western Community Legal Centre are calling on the Victorian Government to make a solid commitment, ahead of the upcoming Victorian election in November, to i...

Government’s commitment to regulate buy now pay later products welcomed

Key consumer and community groups are welcoming comments by the new Minister for Financial Services, Stephen Jones, that the Government will move to regulate buy now pay later (BNPL). Minister Jone...

Crypto: As risky as gambling and a haven for scams that demands action

Consumer Action is calling for meaningful protections from scams to apply to businesses operating in the crypto sector. The call comes in a submission to the Treasury’s consultation paper Crypto as...

Crypto asset secondary service providers consultation paper

Consumer Action broadly supports the intention of the Government to introduce regulation to oversee the rapidly growing crypto asset environment. The crypto marketplace currently poses significant...

Retailer authorisation and exemption review: Issues Paper

Consumer Action Law Centre welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Australian Energy Regulator’s (the AER) Issues Paper as part of its review of the retailer authorisation and exemption frameworks...

Water is an essential service and must remain affordable for everyone

Consumer Action Law Centre has written to the Chairs and Managing Directors of the Victorian water corporations about the impending 2023 Water Price Review, urging them to prioritise affordability so...

US Government urged NOT to follow Australia’s lead with self-regulation of buy now pay later products

Australian consumer groups have warned the USA’s chief consumer regulator, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), about major flaws in the self-regulation of buy now pay later (BNPL) product...

ALRC Report 137: Submission to Interim Report A

The Australian Law Reform Commission’s (ALRC) first Interim Report as part of a three-year review of complexity in Commonwealth legislation regulating corporations and financial services, has been tab...

Consultation Paper 350: Consumer Remediation

The following organisations have contributed to and endorsed this submission:• Consumer Action Law Centre, Financial Rights Legal Centre, and Super Consumers Australia. We support a continuing focu...

Calls for stripping Sumo Power’s energy licence & compensation for those wrongly disconnected

Consumer groups* have written to the Essential Services Commission (ESC) calling for Sumo Power’s (Sumo) licence to operate in Victoria to be investigated and monetary compensation for those wrongfull...

Our submission on Buy Now Pay Later to the UK Woolard Review

Our casework experience in Australia shows that buy now pay later (BNPL) debts are causing or exacerbating financial hardship in substantially the same manner as detailed in the Woolard Review. In...

Banks should take more responsibility for scams

The Treasurer’s proposed transformation of the regulation of payment systems is an opportunity to embed financial safety, and ensure protections are built in from the outset says Consumer Action's CEO...

Image of Australia's Parliament House in Canberra

Tougher consumer protections at core of payments reform welcomed

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...

Our comments on the Telecommunications Reform Bill

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...

Our Impact 2020-21: Improving laws, fighting shonky businesses, helping people

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...

Review of the Banking Code Compliance Committee: Our response to the Interim Report

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)...

COVID, scams and growing risks: Why we need consumer protections with teeth

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...

Comment on the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman new Terms of Reference

Draft Guidance: Compensation for non-financial loss and systemic issues This submission is made jointly by Consumer Action Law Centre and WEstJustice. We welcome the opportunity to comment on t...

Buy now pay later surcharge ‘reveal’ a win for consumers and retailers

The Reserve Bank of Australia has said today that retailers should be allowed to pass on or ‘surcharge’ customers for the cost of buy now pay later, a move welcomed by Consumer Action Law Centre which...

Victorian Default Offer 2022

Consumer Action Law Centre welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Essential Services Commission’s Draft Decision: Victorian Default Offer from 1 January 2022 (the draft decision). The draft dec...

Review of the ABA Banking Code of Practice –response to Interim Report

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...

Consultation on Owners Corporations Amendment Regulations 2021

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...

Scam losses are increasing dramatically- what should be done?

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...

Strengthening protections against unfair contract terms: Comments on Treasury exposure draft legislation

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...

Improvements in consumer protection for solar welcome, but more needed

The Clean Energy Regulator (CER) review into rooftop solar makes some important proposals improve accountability for solar retailers, but for the new rules to really be effective, reform needs to go f...

Energy Assistance Report: Second Edition

This is Consumer Action Law Centre’s (Consumer Action) second Energy Assistance Report, following our previous report published in July 2019. The original report explored whether the introduction o...

Victoria’s Embedded Networks Review: Our response to the Draft Recommendations

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,...

Fairness, respect, reflection, courage: Our strategic plan 2021-25

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...

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