Royal Commission

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“The volume of complaints escalated to AFCA has been increasing at an unsustainable rate,” David Locke, the Chief Ombudsman and Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), said.  

“Scam-related complaints to AFCA have nearly doubled between 2022 and 2023. They continue to be of great concern to us. We are also seeing the impact of increased interest rates and cost of living pressures, with complaints involving financial hardship also significantly higher,” Mr Locke said.

Read More Ombudsman Warns of “Unsustainable” Increase as AFCA sees a Record 100,000 Complaints

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The Federal Parliament has passed the Treasury Laws Amendment (Financial Services Compensation Scheme of Last Resort) Bill 2023 to establish an industry-funded compensation scheme of last resort for victims of financial misconduct. Quotes attributable to Alan Kirkland, Chief Executive Officer of CHOICE: “The introduction of a compensation scheme of last resort is an historic moment…

Read More “Historic moment for consumer financial protection”: CHOICE on the passage of compensation scheme of last resort 

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Australia’s four major banks are failing their customers by taking a ‘variable and…less mature’ approach to scams than expected, with ‘inconsistent and narrow approaches to determining liability’ as well as gaps in how they detect and stop scam payments, according to Report 761 today from the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC).

Read More ASIC Report says Australian Banks are Failing Customers

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CHOICE survey reveals widespread public support for passage of Banking Royal Commission draft laws. “The Australian community has not forgotten the scandals of the Banking Royal Commission. However, it’s been two and a half years since the Federal Government committed to cleaning up the banking industry. Many victims remain without the compensation they deserve while…

Read More “Justice delayed is justice denied”: CHOICE on overdue Banking Royal Commission draft laws

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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…

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

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Data reveals postcodes flooded with complaints about loans as Government plans to remove lending protections An analysis by consumer group CHOICE has revealed over 31,000 complaints have been made about credit products since the end of the Banking Royal Commission’s hearings. The analysis comes as crossbench Senators in Federal Parliament decide on a government proposal…

Read More 31,000 credit complaints since Banking Royal Commission

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Consumer groups welcome yesterday’s passage of Royal Commission recommendations into law, but condemn the government for introducing the law to axe safe lending laws into the House. This is a joint media release by CHOICE, Consumer Action, Financial Counselling Australia and Financial Rights Legal Centre. “This week the government has proposed to slightly strengthen and…

Read More Consumer groups comment on Banking Royal Commission reforms

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The Consumers’ Federation of Australia has joined organisations and prominent individuals nation-wide in an open letter calling for Senators to block the weakening of safe lending laws. The following is a CHOICE media release. Axing safe lending laws will be bad for people, bad for the economy and directly contradict the first recommendation of the…

Read More 122 organisations join together to oppose Government’s plan to axe safe lending laws

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Removing credit protections will cause harm to people and the economy  CHOICE, Consumer Action Law Centre, Financial Counselling Australia and Financial Rights Legal Centre have responded to the Government’s announcement that it will remove credit protections for borrowers saying right now what people need is more income, not more debt. Government’s proposed reforms will remove bank responsibility…

Read More Consumer groups slam move to remove responsible lending laws

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Insurers must focus on creating an ethical, consumer-focused culture that is championed by the Board and underpinned by robust governance and business practices if they are to improve their compliance with the General Insurance Code of Practice, according to a report published today by the General Insurance Code Governance Committee. Living the Code: Embedding Code…

Read More Culture, Leadership and Governance – the crucial elements of ‘Living the Code’ for insurers

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Consumer Action Law Centre has released its second edition of Regulator Watch: The enforcement performance of Australia’s consumer protection regulators. In 2013, Consumer Action published the first edition of ‘Regulator Watch’, which was written in response to the absence of a public mechanism to compare the enforcement work being done by Australia’s various consumer protection regulators. Since…

Read More Consumer Action releases Regulator Watch report