Consumer Action Law Centre - Consumers' Federation of Australia

15 August , 2018

Lobbyists beat the battlers on payday loans and rent-to-buy

The Federal Government is letting the worst and most harmful financial products in the community run wild, according to consumer advocates. It’s now one year, eight months, one week and fifteen days since the Government accepted recommendations to reform laws governing payday loans and consumer leases. Despite committing to bringing the reforms to Parliament by…

12 July , 2018

Consumer advocates welcome ACCC Final Report on electricity market

Consumer advocates have welcomed the findings of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) Retail Electricity Pricing Inquiry Final Report, released yesterday. Energy Consumers Australia Acting CEO Lynne Gallagher said the final report confirms what consumers have been saying: that the electricity market is not working as it should and not delivering good value for…

4 July , 2018

Credit cards should not be a lifelong debt sentence

A proposal to prevent credit cards becoming a lifelong debt sentence has been welcomed by Consumer Action Law Centre. The Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC) has released its proposal together with a new report examining credit card lending in Australia. The report finds that credit card debt is causing problems for at least 1.9…

25 June , 2018

Fair Finance Day of Action

Australia’s leading consumer groups will join forces in Canberra today to call on the Federal Government to strengthen our laws to stop irresponsible, harmful lending practices in our financial services sector. “Irresponsible lending and crippling debt are having a real, devastating impact on Australians, putting people at risk of bankruptcy, homelessness and life-long debt,” says…

20 June , 2018

Consumer advocate groups call for action by energy retailers and regulators

The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has admitted that competition among energy retailers is not delivering ‘expected benefits’ in its annual retail energy competition review. Consumer Action Law Centre and PIAC’s Energy and Water Consumers’ Advocacy Program (EWCAP) are calling for stronger action by energy retailers and regulators to ensure that the market is working…

13 May , 2018

Inaugural CFA Soapbox Prizewinner – Watch Your Nuts!

The following is a guest post from Denise Boyd, winner of CFA’s inaugural prize for the most impressive piece of consumer advocacy or research presented during the Soapbox session at this year’s National Consumer Congress. If we think about memorable advertising slogans, and the campaigns behind them, what is it about them that made them effective? Dumb…

20 April , 2018

Jail time for corporate crooks needed to clean up finance sector

Today the Federal Government announced that there will be tougher penalties for corporate misconduct, and stronger powers for the corporate regulator ASIC. The Federal Government has agreed or agreed-in-principle to every recommendation made in the ASIC Enforcement Taskforce final report that was finalised in December 2017. Company directors will now face up to 10 years’…

3 April , 2018

Consumer Groups call for tougher penalties, ban on broker commissions in submissions to Royal Commission

Consumer Action Law Centre, CHOICE and NSW Legal Aid today published submissions in response to the first round of hearings before the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Finance Sector on consumer lending and add-on insurance. Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) argues in its submission that directors of the big banks may…

21 March , 2018

New report uncovers murky world of online marketing

Online marketing, lead generation and cold-calling have been scrutinised in a new report from Consumer Action Law Centre. The report, entitled Dirty Leads: consumer protection in online lead generation, finds that marketers that use ‘lead generation’ can give rise to consumer manipulation and harm. Lead generation involves businesses who use techniques like online surveys or tricky…

15 February , 2018

Credit card reforms long overdue

On 15th February, a package of reforms to improve credit card lending and marketing practices passed Federal Parliament. Consumer advocacy groups Consumer Action Law Centre and CHOICE are relieved to see the important reforms finally enacted after a long consultation process. The reforms will: require affordability assessments to be based on a person’s ability to…

14 February , 2018

Consumer Action asks insurance companies to show Australians some love

As Consumer Action Law Centre asks insurance companies to “Show Us Some Love”, a new report from the Centre shares the shocking stories of Australians caught out by unfair terms in insurance contracts. The report DENIED: Levelling the playing field to make insurance fair details people’s shocking experiences with insurance claims and shows why an unfair contract…