Consumer Action has provided comment to the Parliamentary Joint Committee’s inquiry, Litigation funding and the regulation of the class action industry (Class Action Inquiry). Class actions p...
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Essential Service Commission’s (ESC) Maximum prices for embedded networks and other exempt sellers Draft Decisio...
Affordable electricity remains critical for vulnerable Victorians and a lack of energy affordability denies people sufficient access to an essential service. Further, high energy costs are a major cau...
Today, Consumer Action Law Centre has launched an online form to enable people to share their experiences of financial hardship during the Covid-19 emergency. The goal is to help track the severity an...
Consumer Action Law Centre CEO Gerard Brody says that the Victorian Government’s $3.7 million package for people having difficulty paying their energy bills is a well-timed funding boost as we head in...
As more people face the prospect of losing work due to the COVID-19 health crisis, community organisations are calling on banks, telcos, energy retailers, and rental providers to help people stay con...
Widespread disruption caused by COVID-19 is being felt across Australia. It won’t be long before we have thousands of people trying to survive on a reduced income, worried about whether they can pay t...
Despite the introduction of the Victorian Default Offer for electricity, the state’s most vulnerable energy consumers still face challenges in the market. Energy prices changing unexpectedly, excessiv...
Consumer Action’s National Debt Helpline service provided financial counselling to over 11,000 people in the 2018/19 financial year. Often issues with low quality rental properties or disputes with re...
Here is a list of financial payments available to support people who have lost their homes or their income as a direct result of the 2019-2020 bushfires in Victoria. This is not an exhaustive list...
by Gerard Brody, CEO of Consumer Action Law Centre Fairness will be the big issue in consumer policy during 2020. It is being talked about like never before. This follows on from Kenneth...
Consumer Action receives 2-3 new calls per week through our legal assistance and worker advice lines or the National Debt Helpline about clients who are negatively affected by unaffordable phone debt....
Victorian energy users are set to benefit from more clarity and fairness when it comes to their energy bills. This comes as a result of the Essential Services Commission (ESC) draft decision on Recomm...
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the introduction today of legislation in the Senate by Labor and Centre Alliance, in the wake of Government inaction. The Bill is an important mea...
In the wake of CommInsure’s breaches of anti-hawking laws, Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) says it’s time to take urgent and decisive action by implementing an economy-wide ban on unsolic...
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the Essential Services Commission’s (ESC) announcement of ongoing price protection for household electricity supply in Victoria. The Victorian...
The updated Banking Code received authorisation yesterday from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the ABA are now seeking final approval from the Australian Securities and I...
Financial counsellors assist clients who are experiencing financial hardship. Most of WEstjustice’s and Consumer Action’s clients are grappling with debts and meeting the high cost of living in Melbou...
The general insurance industry’s new code of practice is a long awaited and necessary advancement, according to the Financial Rights Legal Centre (Financial Rights) and Consumer Action Law Centre (Con...
In our joint submission with Financial Rights Legal Centre (Financial Rights) and Financial Counselling Australia (FCA), we offered strong support for the conditions proposed by the ACCC in its Draft...
The financial services industry plays an essential role in the lives of Australians, from providing for day-to-day transactions to providing for a comfortable retirement. Markets were opened becaus...
Consumer advocates have held long standing concerns over the inadequate regulatory framework for funeral expenses products. In our joint submission with Financial Rights Legal Centre (Financial Rig...
Over the years, our team has assisted a number of people who have been adversely affected by failed vendor finance and rent-to-buy deals, which are promoted as an opportunity to achieve home ownership...
Monitoring is only as effective as the information gathered. In our submission to the Essential Services Commission (ESC) Compliance and Performance Reporting Guideline updated to include new entit...
The Design and Distribution Obligations (DADOS) require financial service providers to provide products that meet customer needs rather than focussing on securing the sale. In our joint submission on...
In our joint response to exposure draft legislation implementing certain aspects of the ASIC Enforcement Review Taskforce (ERT) Final Report, Consumer Action and Financial Rights Legal Centre (Financi...
In our joint submission with Financial Rights Legal Centre to the Report Two of the Customer Owned Banking Association’s (COBA) independent review of the Customer Owned Banking Code of Practice (COBA...
Access to fee-free ‘basic bank accounts’ are an important support for vulnerable banking customers. In light of the harm banking fees can cause for low-income and vulnerable consumers, Commissioner Ha...
Consumer Action supports the Treasury Laws Amendment (Prohibiting Energy Market Misconduct) Bill 2019 (the Bill). We feel that it will ensure the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) has appropriate powe...
Much of the Federal Government’s effort to address cost of living pressures involves making it easy to switch and exercise choice, for example, through the new Consumer Data Right. However, the Cashle...
Consumer Action says the Australian Securities and Investment Commission’s (ASIC) proposal to use its product intervention powers (PIP) for add-on insurance and warranties sold by caryards lacks teeth...
It is our firm stance that fairness should be at the forefront of all markets. In our comment on the Energy Security Board (ESB) Post 2025 Market Design Issues Paper (Issues Paper), Consumer Action...
New complaints data released by the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) emphasises the clear need for regulation and strengthened regulator enforcement powers to protect Australians from poor...
On 9 September 2019, Consumer Action attended a pre-decision conference on AA1000439 New Energy Tech Consumer Code (The Code) Application. We have provided a further submission following the discussio...
A Victorian woman who has suffered at the hands of payday lenders has an important message for the Government about the dangers of payday loans as she joins the Stop the Debt Trap Alliance, a coaliti...
Most people would take the reliability of electricity services for granted. When the power goes out, it is frustrating, but not life threatening. But for many Australians, a loss of electricity is...
A Victorian woman living with a disability has brought proceedings in the Federal Circuit Court regarding five consumer lease contracts from Darranda Pty Ltd, trading as Rent4Keeps, and Mobberley Ente...
The Energy & Water Ombudsman Victoria (EWOV) plays an important role in ensuring Victorian households have ongoing access to fair outcomes in relation to the provision of essential energy and wate...
Consumers rely on energy distribution businesses to ensure a consistent supply of their essential electricity services. It is important that these businesses are regulated effectively so that consist...
Leading consumer advocacy bodies are concerned that customers who experience financial difficulty repaying loans will be unfairly penalised by credit reporting reforms proposed by the National Consume...
Our existing consumer protection framework has failed to prevent unfairness from becoming embedded in business practices. From unclear marketing, subscriptions that make cancellation difficult, to...
There is a big fairness problem in insurance. People often make insurance claims when they are at a low ebb, but they can face shocking outcomes when insurers rely on unfair terms in insurance contrac...
It is critical that the process to make and resolve complaints with a bank, insurer, or super fund is timely, fair, and accessible, including for people experiencing vulnerability and disadvantage. O...
In our joint submission with Financial Rights Legal Centre, Consumer Credit Legal Service (WA), Financial Counselling Australia and the Financial & Consumer Rights Council, we support Cameron Ralp...
Consumer Action regularly assists vulnerable and disadvantaged consumers in Victoria with legal and financial issues that arise due to new energy technology such as solar. . The New Energy Tech Consu...
In our feedback to the Banking Code Compliance Committee (BCCC) inquiry into banks’ compliance when accepting and enforcing guarantees, Consumer Action discusses our concerns with guarantee provision...
The following is the opening statement from Consumer Action CEO, Gerard Brody at the public hearing on ASIC’s responsible lending guidance held in Melbourne on Monday, 19 August 2019. I’m G...
The Victorian Default Offer (VDO) was designed to re-regulate electricity pricing to ensure that more Victorian households receive a fair price on their electricity service. Since the VDO’s establishm...
The below statement was delivered on 31 July 2019 by Consumer Action Law Centre CEO, Gerard Brody to the New Zealand Select Committee on Credit Contracts Legislation Amendment Bill. High co...
Consumer Action Law Centre and Financial Rights Legal Centre made a joint submission to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee’s inquiry into provisions of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Putting Mem...