COVID19 - 3/9 - Consumers' Federation of Australia

24 September , 2021

Telecommunications complaints fall, but serious concerns remain

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) has welcomed an overall fall in complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO), however, raised concerns that small businesses may be suffering as complaint levels from the sector reach a three year high. This is a media release from the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN). It was originally published…

24 September , 2021

Third year of declining phone and internet complaints but problems persist for small businesses

Complaints about phone and internet services decreased 6.1 per cent in the last financial year ending 30 June 2021. During this period, residential consumers and small businesses made 119,400 complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, highlighted in the Annual Report 2020-21 published on the 22nd September 2021. This is a media release from the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman.…

20 September , 2021

Australian Energy Regulator seeks new members on key panel representing consumer views

The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) is inviting organisations and individuals to apply for membership on its Customer Consultative Group (CCG), a key consumer panel providing input into retail energy consumer experiences. This is a news item from the Australian Energy Regulator (AER). It was originally published on 15th September, 2021. The CCG is a critical part of our stakeholder…

6 September , 2021

Banks report a 14% increase in Code breaches

In a report released today, the Banking Code Compliance Committee (BCCC) said 19 subscriber banks self-reported 22,473 breaches of the Banking Code of Practice for the period July to December 2020. This is a Banking Code Compliance Committee media release, originally published on 27th August, 2021. This is an increase of 13.7% over the previous six months.…

6 September , 2021

Customer Owned Banking Code Compliance Committee releases Annual Report for 2020-21

The independent committee that monitors the Customer Owned Banking Code of Practice (the Code) has released its Annual Report for a year marked by the ongoing challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and expectations of the financial services industry to embed extensive regulatory changes stemming from the Financial Services Royal Commission. This is a Customer…

26 August , 2021

Banks can do better: Consumer groups make more than 100 recommendations to improve bank behaviour

A coalition of the country’s leading consumer organisations is calling on Australia’s major banks to make significant updates to their industry code to improve outcomes for customers. The Consumers’ Federation of Australia’s (CFA) submission of behalf of the coalition to the 2021 review of the Australian Banking Association (ABA) Banking Code of Practice (the Code)…

26 August , 2021

Insurance Brokers Code Compliance Committee releases Annual Report for 2020–21

The independent committee that monitors the Insurance Brokers Code of Practice (the Code) has released its Annual Report for 2020–21, a year marked by the continued impact and disruptions of COVID-19, the torrent of legislation following the Financial Services Royal Commission and the unprecedented risk challenges facing the insurance industry. This is an Insurance Brokers Code…

19 July , 2021

Expectations for telcos in supporting vulnerable consumers

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is looking to improve the way the telco sector supports consumers in vulnerable circumstances, with a proposed Statement of Expectations for the industry released for consultation today. This is an Australian Communications and Media Authority media release, originally published on 14th July, 2021. ACMA Chair Nerida O’Loughlin said…

9 July , 2021

7 ways to fix the travel “cancellation chaos”

Consumer group CHOICE has asked Australian governments to fix Australia’s travel “cancellation chaos” with 7 urgent reforms, starting by making it easier for travellers to obtain refunds when plans are cancelled. This is a CHOICE media release, originally published on 8th July, 2021. CHOICE surveyed over 4,400 Australians who had travel plans disrupted by COVID-19…

30 June , 2021

BCCC publishes 2021-24 Strategic Plan and 2021-22 Business Plan

The Banking Code Compliance Committee (BCCC) has published its 2021-24 Strategic Plan and 2021-22 Business Plan. The 2021-24 Strategic Plan outlines the areas we will focus on to achieve our purpose for the period 2021–22 to 2023–24, including taking action to: improve the visibility of the BCCC enhance our intelligence sources and identify important issues expand our engagement with consumer stakeholders…

24 June , 2021

AER’s 2021-2022 compliance and enforcement priorities: Consumer protection

The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) today released five compliance and enforcement priorities for 2021-22, which include a major focus on protecting energy consumers. This is an Australian Energy Regulator (AER) media release, originally published on 23rd June, 2021. AER Chair Clare Savage said the AER will be monitoring retailers to ensure they identify residential consumers in…

2 June , 2021

Code Compliance Committee releases Annual Data Verification Report 2019-20

The Customer Owned Banking Code Compliance Committee (the Committee) has released its ACS Verification Report 2019–20: Insights and Learnings. This Report is an addition to the summary data published in the Committee’s Annual Report in December 2020. It contains analysis of the self-reported data collected in the 2019–20 Annual Compliance Statement (ACS) and of the…