A Roulette table A Roulette table

Financial Counselling Australia welcomes the bill to establish the National Online Gambling Self-Exclusion Register. The Bill was introduced this week in Federal Parliament by the Minister for Communications, the Hon. Paul Fletcher.  The register means that people experiencing harm can press one button and self-exclude from all the online wagering companies. With that single trigger, the wagering operators…

Read More FCA Welcomes Gambling Self-Exclusion Register

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The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has released its Combating Scams report which recommends new enforceable obligations on telcos and the immediate commencement of trials for a number of scam reduction initiatives. The trials aims to reduce common phone scams such as malicious ‘spoofing’, where scammers disguise their number to make it look like…

Read More ACMA recommends immediate action to combat scams

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“Stand up to the insurance lobby” – that’s the message of leading consumer groups as they deliver signatures of over 20,000 Australians to Parliament House in Canberra. The groups anticipate the Federal Government to act on “Unfair Contract Terms” laws this fortnight, closing a damaging loophole that has allowed insurance companies to profit by using…

Read More 20,000 Australians demand the end of unfair insurance

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In October 2018, Consumer Credit Legal Service WA (CCLSWA) received funding from the Consumer Protection division of the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) for a 12-month law reform project. The project focused on four areas of law and policy that affect Western Australian consumers: Retirement village schemes Motor vehicle industry Australian Consumer Law with…

Read More CCLSWA releases Consumer Protection Report

A calculator and page with calculations on it A calculator and page with calculations on it

South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS) today launched its report, Working to Make Ends Meet: Low-income Workers and Energy Bill Stress. The report investigates households whose main source of income is wages but who are still living below the “poverty line”. This report, based on national statistical data and South Australian case studies, is…

Read More SACOSS’ Working to Make Ends Meet Report highlights energy affordability struggles for “waged poor” households

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The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has acted on a request from the Hon Angus Taylor MP, Federal Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, to limit conditional discounts on energy deals. The draft rule comes with a recommended penalty of up to $100,000 for retailers who fail to comply. Under our proposal consumers would no longer pay unreasonable…

Read More Limiting conditional discounts on energy offers: have your say

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The Australian Government is seeking community and industry input on a voluntary Code of Practice to improve the security of the Internet of Things for consumers in Australia, including the security of everyday smart devices that connect to the internet; such as smart TVs, watches and home speakers.  With over 64 billion devices expected to…

Read More Lifting the cyber security of the Internet of Things

A calculator and a piece of paper with financial notes on it A calculator and a piece of paper with financial notes on it

First Nations Foundation (FNF) has launched the world’s first digital financial literacy education program to help First Nations people develop their financial knowledge. While the content of My Money Dream has been developed by Indigenous people for Indigenous people, FNF has added the might and scale of Australia’s largest industries by offering this to the…

Read More First Nations Foundation launches word-first financial literacy program