Complaints Archives - Consumers' Federation of Australia

6 January , 2025

Aviation Charter of Rights needs more to take off: CHOICE

CHOICE responds to the Federal Government’s announcement releasing the draft Aviation Customer Rights Charter for public consultation. Quotes attributable to Rosie Thomas, Director of Campaigns at CHOICE: “CHOICE welcomes the release of a proposed Aviation Customer Rights Charter. The announcement is an important step towards giving consumers clear rights when flights don’t go to plan.”…

14 November , 2024

30% of Complaints Return Unresolved After Telco Referral

ACCAN has welcomed the transparency of data released this week by the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman which highlights a small year-on-year jump in complaints as well as the telling figure of 30% of consumers not being able to reach a resolution after it is referred to their telco. ACCAN CEO Carol Bennett said, “consumers rely on…

8 October , 2024

Advocates Warn that Telco Complaint Reduction a Sign of Consumers Giving Up on Process

A report from the Telecommunication Industry Ombudsman (TIO) of a 14.6% reduction in consumer complaints over the past year is unlikely to be an indication of improved satisfaction with communications services. The reduction in complaints is more likely to indicate that telco consumers are increasingly giving up on the complaints process. Over 50% of consumers…

20 September , 2024

Calls Continue for Consumer Regulators to Release Data

The majority of Australia’s consumer regulators are missing the opportunity to act as an early warning system for dodgy businesses, according to new research from the Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC). The Am I The Only One? report, released today, finds that most Australian consumer regulators do not publish regular complaints data in an accessible…

8 August , 2024

Consultation on TIO’s Proposed Changes to the Terms of Reference

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) is proposing amendments to their Terms of Reference in response to the 2022 Independent Review, correcting drafting issues, and recent legislative change. From the TIO (original here): The proposed changes are limited to responding to recent legislative change, implementing recommendations from the 2022 Independent Review and correcting drafting issues. We…

6 August , 2024

Advocates Continue Call for Reimbursement Policy as Scam Complaints to AFCA go ‘off the charts’

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) received a record number of complaints in 2023-24 after disputes to the ombudsman service increased 9 per cent to more than 105,000 for the year. Complaints about scams, online and personal transaction accounts, credit cards, and personal loans all saw significant increases. Consumer Action Law Centre CEO Stephanie Tonkin…

20 May , 2024

ASIC Report Highlights Industry Hardship Failures

Some home loan lenders have made accessing financial assistance so difficult that more than one in three (35%) Australians dropped out of the application process at least once, according to a new ASIC report. The report, Hardship, hard to get help: Lenders fall short in financial hardship support (REP 783) outlines findings from ASIC’s review of 10…

7 May , 2024

Insurers Continue to Struggle Meeting Claims Timeframes

The general insurance industry continues to struggle meeting claims handling timeframes according to the latest report from the General Insurance Code Governance Committee (CGC). The Annual Data and Compliance Report, published today, highlights more than 45,000 claims handling breaches of the industry Code of Practice in the 2022-23 reporting period, an increase of 16%. Chair…

6 May , 2024

Non-Economic Loss Now Part of Travel Complaints Scheme

The Australian Travel Accreditation Scheme (ATAS) is an industry scheme that sets standards for signatory travel agencies and tour operators. ATAS is administered by the Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA). Under ATAS, businesses maintain a complaint handling process that is easy and free to access. Where complaints are unresolved, they can be escalated to the…

17 April , 2024

Consumer Advocates urge for more than 3 Designated Complainants

The designated complaints regime provides the potential for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to address systemic and emerging harms including those that may not fit neatly into a case study or set of existing regulations for the ACCC to investigate and take action.

15 April , 2024

The 2024 Ruby Hutchison Memorial Lecture – 50 Years of Consumer Advocacy

This year’s Ruby Hutchison Memorial lecture shone a light on just how much the consumer protection movement together with regulators has achieved in the last 50 years, and the complex consumer issues we’re still seeking answers to today. Bringing in a musical theme and recognising the rockstar influence of the speakers, the ACCC Deputy Chair…

9 April , 2024

Life Insurance Annual Data and Compliance Report 2022-2023: The Fall and Rise of Breaches

Total breaches of Code obligations have increased for a third consecutive year according to the latest report released by the Life Insurance Code Compliance Committee (Life CCC). Despite the total breaches rising by 9%, the Annual Industry Data and Compliance Report found that the number of customers impacted by breaches declined between 1 July 2022 and 30…