At the 2025 ACCC National Consumer Congress the Consumers’ Federation of Australia, with help from CPRC’s Chandni Gupta, was proud to present our Consumer Advocacy Award for the best consumer advocacy campaign or project of the past year. The nominees this year were:
1. 10 Successes of the National Scams Campaign – scams are a huge issue with devastating impacts on the people affected, and the consumer advocacy sector has responded. The National Scams Campaign was a massive success story in sector-wide collaboration that has seen a victim-centered campaign shift the narrative away from victim blaming, had politicians and industry take notice, seen national support across all media outlets, forced banks to take scams seriously, seen the development of scam-specific laws and enforcement action, grown the understanding of the scams, and empowered victims.
The National Scams Campaign has been led by Consumer Actional Law Centre in collaboration with numerous consumer advocacy groups. The campaign was represented at the Consumer Advocacy Awards by Stephanie Tonkin (CEO for CALC).
2. Fair Call Coalition Campaign – the Fair Call Coalition consists of 22 organisations with one goal, the direct regulation of essential telecommunications consumer protections. So far, the coordinated efforts of the FCC over the last two years has seen to the establishment of a Financial Hardship Industry Standard and a Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Industry Standard – both directed by the Minister to the Australian Communicaitons and Media Authority (ACMA) as a result of the campaign. Currently, there is also a proposed Amendment to the Telecommunicaitons (Enhancing Consumer Safegaurds) Bill 2025 which, if successful, would: increase penalties from $250,000 to $10 million, install a new provider registration scheme, and make code compliance mandatory.
The Fair Call Coalition campaign is a sector-wide collaborative campaign that is currently lead by the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) and was represented at the Consumer Advocacy Awards by Joanna Ifield (Director of Policy at ACCAN).
3. 20 Years of Shonkys – CHOICE has given out 138 awards for shonky goods and services, holding businesses to account and highlighting dodgy or crooked products and services. The Shonky Awards have led to regulatory undertaking, financial penalties, and the discontinuation of some products and services – most notably the Dollarmite school banking program which was banned by the Victorian government. Campaigns for consumer protections, including an aviation ombudsman and mandatory safety standards to reduce or prevent the risk of injury or death to infants, have also been strengthened by the Shonky Awards and the research behind them.
The Shonkys are a CHOICE run award and were represented at the Consumer Advocacy Award by Katelyn Cameron (Head of Media at CHOICE) and Andrew Kelly (Deputy Director of Campaigns at CHOICE)
4. Centrepay Reforms: Important change after many years of fighting – Centrepay is a free, voluntary bill-paying service for Centrelink customers, but concerns had been raised by consumer advocates from at least the early 2010s about: exploitative & predatory practices, the overcharging of customers for household goods, thousands of dollars in credit going unreturned, unaffordable credit arrangements, and customers left without enough money to pay for essentials. For over a decade advocates, led by Financial Rights Legal Centre (FRLC) and Mob Strong Debt Help (Mob Strong), have campaigned for reform on a basis of evidence and stories of harm, and with a strong focus on First Nations Centrepay users. Now, after significant amounts of time spent campaigning by advocates, and the strong support from the Minister and CEO of Services Australia, following changes will begin in July 2025:
- Removing consumer leases and other high-risk services (household goods, social clubs, butchers),
- Mandatory target amounts & end dates for deductions,
- Additional conditions on higher risk categories,
- A stronger compliance framework with:
- A new application and approval process for businesses,
- Stronger & accessible complaints handling,
- Stronger rules for incorrect payments & overpayments,
- Making it easier for customers to:
- Receive refunds,
- Set up and manage deductions, and
- Make complaints.
This campaign was run by FRLC and Mob Strong with collaboration across the sector. The campaign was represented at the award by the two key figures of Bettina Cooper (Mob Strong, Senior Financial Counselling & Strategy Lead) and Julia Davis (FRLC, Senior Policy and Communications Officer).
For the first time in three years, the Consumer Advocacy Award went to a single campaign, Centrepay Reforms. Congratulations to Bettina, Julia and everyone else who worked hard, kept their foot on the pedal, and made these reforms a reality!