financial hardship Archives - Page 9 of 10 - Consumers' Federation of Australia

13 September , 2023

Gambling-Related Suicides on Rise

Federal and State Governments must introduce significant gambling harm reforms in the wake of new research that indicates a significant percentage of suicides across Australia are related to gambling.

30 August , 2023

ASIC Open Letter to Lenders: “Ensuring that lenders support consumers experiencing financial hardship is a priority for ASIC”

https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/2023-releases/23-235mr-as-cost-of-living-pressures-persist-asic-calls-on-lenders-to-support-customers-in-financial-hardship/

29 August , 2023

FCA Welcomes BetStop, Calls for Register to Extend Further

Financial Counselling Australia (FCA) has welcomed the start of Australia’s first online gambling exclusion register, while at the same time calling on governments to expand the facility to casinos, pokies and lotteries.
“We started advocating for this in 2015 and didn’t give up, because we always knew that an online gambling self-exclusion register would help a lot of people,” Ms Levin said.

“Now we call on the state premiers to make BetStop a national register for all forms of gambling, including casinos, pokies, and lotteries. It’s not rocket science to simply give people the protection that they are asking for.”

15 August , 2023

Inquiry into Price Gouging and Unfair Pricing Practices Launched by the ACTU

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has recently announced an inquiry into price gouging and unfair pricing practices to be chaired by Professor Allan Fells AO.

The announcement comes just after the OECD released a research report which found that “historically high corporate profits”, rather than wages, was the leading cause for inflation in Australia. With the OECD suggesting corporate profits may account for an average of 51% of inflation in recent years.

4 August , 2023

Presentation Date, Terms of Reference Announced for Flood Insurance Inquiry

Last week the Australian Government announced its intention to form a Senate Inquiry into insurer response to the 2022 floods. This week, according to a media release from Minister for Financial Services and Assistant Treasurer the Hon. Stephen Jones MP, will be presenting the motion for its consumer-focused Inquiry to the house this Monday, August 7th.

28 July , 2023

Record Number of Financial Complaints for Second Year in a Row

“We are deeply concerned by the volume of complaints consumers are having to escalate to AFCA,” chief ombudsman David Locke says. “It’s not fair on consumers and not good for business. We need to see a significant improvement from firms.”

25 July , 2023

9 Out of 10 People Have Encountered a Scam in the Last 12 Months

New research from CHOICE has revealed 9 in 10 people suspect they have encountered at least one scam in the past 12 months, with over half of respondents encountering a suspected scam every week.

“Scams are increasing rapidly throughout Australia, often creating significant distress and financial hardship for victims. New technological advances mean scams are also becoming more difficult to identify. Our research found 88% of people say scams have become more sophisticated or harder to spot recently,” says CHOICE CEO Alan Kirkland.

21 July , 2023

CGC Thematic Inquiry into Better Claims Decisions

The General Insurance Code Governance Committee (CGC) has just released a report, Thematic Inquiry into Making Better Claims Decisions, analysing instances from six insurance providers (who subscribe to the General Insurance Code of Practice) where initially denied claims were later accepted after an Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR) process.

20 July , 2023

Buy Now Pay Later – Debt Traps and Essentials

Financial Counselling Australia’s latest report, ‘Small Loans, Big Problems’, has highlighted once more the need for urgent reform to the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), especially with the continued cost of living crisis and with many still feeling the impact of the 2022 floods.

20 July , 2023

Inquiry into Insurer Responses to 2022 Floods Announced

In 2022 almost all Australian Territories and States experienced substantial flood events with New South Wales and South-East Queensland some of the worst affected areas. Now, after months of coverage over poor and variable insurer responses to flood damage and coverage, the Albanese Government is launching an inquiry into insurer responses.

17 July , 2023

More Support Needed to Help Victorian Households Manage Power Bills

“Four years on from the launch of the payment difficulty framework in Victoria, we’re still seeing some really worrying gaps in the assistance energy retailers are providing to people who are struggling with their energy bills,” said Luke Lovell, Acting Director of Policy and Campaigns, Consumer Action.

17 July , 2023

Banking Code Compliance Committee Prioritises Bank@Post’s Compliance with the Code

The Banking Code Compliance Committee (BCCC) is working with the Australian Banking Association (ABA) to coordinate with 12 of its members to ensure banking services offered through Bank@Post comply with the Banking Code of Practice.

Bank@Post arrangements provide a valuable face-to-face service, particularly as banks close branches, especially in regional and remote areas.

The BCCC wants to ensure, as a priority, that important consumer protections have been implemented for the services banks offer through Bank@Post.