Misleading or Deceptive Conduct - Consumer Action Law Centre

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Mulino’s lead generation clampdown in financial services a ‘bold move’ to protect Aussies’ savings

Consumer Action Law Centre CEO, Stephanie Tonkin says Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino’s announcement today to rein in bad actors profiting off Australians’ life savings, is a bold and welcome move b...

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...

Consumer Action welcomes ASIC review into ‘lead generators’ – a focus of our designated complaint

Consumer Action Law Centre CEO Stephanie Tonkin has warmly welcomed moves by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) to review and investigate financial advice licensees using lead...

Consumer groups welcome consultation on reforms to stop unfair trading and strengthen consumer guarantees

Consumer groups have welcomed the release of Exposure Draft Legislation on Unfair Trading Practices, including two specific prohibitions targeting subscription traps and drip pricing. Consumer Acti...

A surge in scams while our ‘world leading’ Scam Prevention Framework missing in action

New scam data released today from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) reveals that Australians lost nearly $260 million in scams in the first nine months of 2025, a 16% increase...

OPINION: BAN crypto ATMs and end robbery in plain sight

Stephanie Tonkin, CEO Consumer Action Law Centre An edited version published in the Sunday Herald Sun 9 Nov 2025 You may have seen a crypto ATM sitting in your local post office, fuel station or...

OPINION: The evil reach of the ‘recovery’ scam as victims robbed again

First published in the Herald Sun, Sunday27 July 2025 The scams crisis is still raging, and some statistical indicators reveal this problem, which costs Australians billions of dollars every year,...

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...

OPINION: Will our ‘super complaint’ stop the scourge of door-knock selling?

First published in the Herald-Sun, 29 June 2025 By Stephanie Tonkin CEO Consumer Action Law Centre On 17 June, the nation’s economy-wide regulator, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commis...

Proposed AFCA Rules changes to expand jurisdiction over receiving banks in scams

We welcomed this year’s Federal Government announcement and Authorisation to expand AFCA’s jurisdiction to enable AFCA to consider complaints against banks for scam matters where an AFCA complainant d...

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...

Insurers once again shown to be failing customers, not meeting expectations

Consumer groups including Financial Rights Legal Centre, Financial Counselling Australia and Consumer Action Law Centre, have backed calls from the insurance regulator the Australian Securities and In...

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...

Telco regulator cannot register out of touch industry code say consumer advocates

The Fair Call Coalition* of consumer advocates has written to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) urging the Regulator to refuse to register the Telecommunications Consumer Protec...

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...

Scams: Mandatory regulation outline promising but more clarity needed on standards and consumers’ rights to reimbursement

The mandatory Code for Scams consultation paper announced by the Federal Treasury today sets out some proposals to tackle the scams crisis, however the final regulation must land on clearer stipulated...

REPORT: Victoria overrun with dodgy lemon cars as current dispute process totally unfit for consumers

A groundbreaking report from the Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC) has found that over half (54%) of all Victorians who bought used or new car in the past five years experienced major or minor fa...

High Court dismisses last ditch appeal by rogue lender

Consumer advocates have welcomed the dismissal by the High Court of a special leave application by Cigno Pty Ltd (Cigno) and BHF Solutions Pty Ltd (BHFS) against the Full Federal Court’s finding in en...

ASIC lending model ban on rogue lender Cigno applauded

Consumer Action welcomed today’s announcement from the corporate regulator Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) that it will use its product intervention power to ban the excessivel...

“Devastating cultural and financial impact”: First Nations communities in crisis after Youpla collapse

New data reveals the local communities hit hardest by predatory insurer as calls grow for urgent Federal Government action “The collapse of the predatory funeral fund Youpla (ACBF) is having a deva...

Consumer advocates praise court decision against Cigno loans

Consumer advocates have welcomed a Full Federal Court decision striking down a credit law avoidance strategy used by Cigno Pty Ltd and BHF Solutions. For years, fringe lender Cigno has preyed upon...

OPINION: That lemon car sour taste just keeps getting worse

Opinion piece by Gerard Brody, CEO Consumer Action Law Centre A version of this opinion piece appeared in the Herald Sun today The pandemic has helped drive second-hand car prices up 50 percent...

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...

Improving the effectiveness of the consumer guarantee and supplier indemnification provisions under the Australian Consumer Law

Consumers expect to purchase products that work, and when they don’t work people should be easily able to enforce their consumer guarantee rights. We welcome the opportunity to provide comments to...

Inhumane energy disconnections must end: $500K Sumo Power fine

Consumer Action has welcomed the Essential Services Commission (ESC) imposing $500,000 in penalties on energy retailer Sumo Power Pty Ltd for wrongfully disconnecting hundreds of families in the lead...

Banking Code Compliance Priorities 2022-23

The Banking Code Compliance Committee’s (BCCC) administration and enforcement of the Banking Code of Practice (the Code) is a key aspect of regulatory oversight in the banking sector. The BCCC’s mo...

Quality of financial advice review–Draft Terms of Reference

Conflicted remuneration is the root cause of many of the problems uncovered by the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry (Royal Commission)....

Time to finally end the harm done by Cigno loans

Consumer groups and financial counsellors are urging the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to act now to put an end to the use of harmful lending models used to charge excessive...

Consumer groups call for new ombudsman to ‘prune’ lemon cars

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....

Consumer groups: Insurance exemption loopholes undermine spirit of Hayne reforms

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 groups applaud Federal Court ruling to uphold ASIC intervention in short-term credit market

Today’s Full Federal Court decision to dismiss an application by Cigno Pty Ltd (Cigno), seeking to quash the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s (ASIC) product intervention order to rei...

Court decision on Cigno lending model ‘extremely disappointing’

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...

Consumer issues in Victorian Aboriginal communities during 2020

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?...

More ‘trouble with telcos’ as bad service, hidden costs, and shoddy sales practices revealed

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...

Telstra cops record $50 million fine, consumer groups say industry must improve its practices

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...

Consumer group calls for unsolicited sale ban after solar company fined $3 million

This week the Federal Court of Australia ordered Vic Solar to pay a $3 million fine for violating provisions of the Australian Consumer Law relating to unsolicited sales, among other breaches of cons...

Vic Government called on to act as big gaps in consumer protection put solar customers at risk

Consumer Action has today published a report calling on the Victorian Government to fix the gaps in consumer protections that are leaving thousands of solar customers prey to high-pressure sales tacti...

Report: Our response to the New Energy Tech Consumer Code

The New Energy Tech Consumer Code (NET Code) is a voluntary industry code of conduct, which sets practice standards for the sale of New Energy Technology (NET) products, systems, and services by retai...

Consumer advocates ‘gobsmacked’ by majority Senate report on predatory lending laws

A newly released report by the Senate Economics Legislation Committee has recommended Parliament pass proposed laws that fall woefully short of what advocates say is needed to protect people from pred...

“Recipe for economic disaster”: Consumer groups slam Senate report on lending laws

Consumer groups condemn the majority’s recommendations of today’s Senate Inquiry Report, as the vote looms next week on the Government's disastrous proposal to axe safe lending laws. The repeal of...

Australian Communications Media Authority compliance priorities

Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) and WEstjustice welcome the opportunity to contribute to the development of ACMA compliance priorities for 2021 –2022, hence our submission. The past ye...

Saving Responsible Lending: Senate Committee opening statement

On 19 February 2021, Gerard Brody, CEO of Consumer Action Law Centre and Fiona Guthrie, CEO, Financial Counselling Australia spoke at the Senate Economics Legislation Committee hearing on the Nation...

Buy now pay later sector must be regulated by Government not itself

Consumer groups have united to call for Federal Government regulation of buy now pay later (BNPL) services to protect consumers and put all credit providers on a level playing field. Today the Aus...

Over 590,000 Australians have relied on safe lending laws for justice

As the Senate Economics Committee hosts hearings in Canberra today, over 22,000 Australians have joined the call for Federal Senators to strengthen instead of repeal safe lending laws, with many sha...

Consumer groups support licensing of ‘debt vultures’ but reforms must go further to stop the harm

While some businesses stepped up to help Australians to recover from the COVID-19 crisis, others sought to profit from people’s desperate financial circumstances. Unregulated debt management firms ...

Licensing debt management firms: Exposure draft regulations

While some businesses stepped up to help Australians to recover from the COVID-19 crisis, others have simply sought to profit from people’s desperate financial circumstances. Debt management firms(...

Submission: Consultation on revision to the new Prudential Standard APS 220 Credit Risk Management

This submission is from Consumer Action Law Centre, Financial Rights Legal Centre, Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, CHOICE, Financial Counselling Australia, Consumer Credit Law Service (W...

Right to Repair submission to Productivity Commission Inquiry

Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback to the Productivity Commission Inquiry into a right to repair. The ability for consumers to access afford...

Deferred sales model for add-on insurance – exemptions by class

This submission is made by Consumer Action Law Centre, Financial Rights Legal Centre and WEstjustice. We oppose any exemptions for classes of add-on insurance products from the deferred sales model...

Opinion: Responsible lending law repeal will undo good

First published in the Herald Sun, 8 February 2021. In the two years since the Hayne Royal Commission Final Report while the Federal Government has made some changes to strengthen consumer protecti...

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