Scam victims must be at the heart of AFCA’s dispute resolution approach to ensure the system works for consumers

Consumer advocates have broadly welcomed the Australian Financial Complaints Authority’s (AFCA) proposed rules and operational guidelines for the Scam Prevention Framework (SPF) but caution the need f...

October 1, 2026

Consultation on AFCA’s proposed Rule changes for the Scams Prevention Framework

This is a joint submission prepared by the Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) and made on behalf of: • Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) • CHOICE • Consumer Acti...

September 29, 2026

Ensuring the Scam Prevention Framework works for First Nations consumers

This supplementary submission should be read alongside our main joint consumer submission on the Scams Prevention Framework (SPF), submitted on Friday 3 July 2026. This submission considers whether...

September 3, 2026

Joint Consumer Submission: Scam Prevention Framework codes and rules

This is a joint submission, co-drafted by Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action), CHOICE and the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), and made on behalf of: Organisation...

July 6, 2026

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...

June 19, 2026

‘Unacceptable Harms’: Scam laws delay will see Aussies robbed of billions

Consumer advocates have slammed the nine-month delay in the implementation of the Scam Prevention Framework (SPF), announced today by Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino, calling it a ‘betrayal’ of hund...

May 28, 2026

Wrong direction: Australians robbed of $2.2 billion in 2025 by scam-crime

More than $10 billion has been stolen in scams from Australians since 2020 -a deeply troubling statistic as victims continue to carry 95% of the losses, and 30% or more of victims don’t report their l...

March 30, 2026

Consumer groups call on Government to block scammers this Valentine’s Day

New protections needed to cover key businesses enabling romance scammers. A coalition of consumer advocacy groups, financial counselling organisations and community legal centres, including CHOICE,...

February 13, 2026

‘Ongoing and significant harms’: New data shows millions still lost to scams in late 2025

Fresh data from Consumer Action Law Centre’s frontline services in the final quarter of 2025 confirms what Scamwatch reported throughout the year: Australians are still losing millions to scammers, wi...

January 29, 2026

Scam prevention laws must plug the gaps and guarantee fair compensation say consumer advocates

Joint submission warns current design leaves major scam channels uncovered, delays real protections, and will fail victims without a workable dispute resolution pathway Australia’s leading consumer...

January 14, 2026

Joint Consumer Submission – Scams Prevention Framework draft law package and position paper

This is a joint submission made on behalf of: • Consumer Action Law Centre • CHOICE • Financial Rights Legal Centre • Financial Counselling Australia • Westjustice • Consumer Credit Legal Servic...

January 12, 2026

Consumer Action calls for strong -world beating- Scams Prevention Framework as draft codes land

Consumer Action Law Centre has welcomed the latest consultation on the Federal Government’s Scams Prevention Framework (SPF), announced Friday by Assistant Treasurer Dr Daniel Mulino MP, saying Austra...

December 1, 2025

OPINION: Meta gorges on scam victim profits

A version of this opinion piece appeared in the Sunday Herald Sun 23 November, 2025 I’ve talked a lot about banks’ central role in Australia’s scams crisis. However, the main beneficiaries of the e...

November 24, 2025

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...

November 18, 2025

Crypto ATMS are a clear vector for scams: Ban them now says Consumer Action

Crypto ATMs are a clear vector for scam activity focusing on older victims*, charging eye-boggling fees and causing massive harms – “the Albanese Government should do the right thing and ban them now”...

October 16, 2025

Scam Awareness Week kicks-off: taking care is important alongside business disruption efforts

Consumer Action Law Centre CEO Stephanie Tonkin is calling for immediate action from the Federal Government as new scam data reveals a surge in everyday Australians being robbed. Her call comes as...

August 25, 2025

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,...

July 28, 2025