Vulnerable Consumers Archives - Page 15 of 21 - Consumers' Federation of Australia

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.”

24 August , 2023

ASIC: Insurers Can and Should Improve Claims Handling

Deputy Chair Karen Chester said, ‘An insurance claim doesn’t have to be handled perfectly, but it must be handled well. Our claims handling review found good practices and poor practices across all six insurers. We identified five areas where insurers can and should make immediate claims handling improvements – consumer communications, project management, identifying vulnerable consumers and complaints, resourcing of claims and complaints handling’.

18 August , 2023

ASIC sues ‘Debt Vulture’ Solve My Debt Now, and Director

Proceedings have commenced against operator of Solve My Debt Now, Bakken Holdings Pty Ltd (Bakken). The case is brought to the Federal Court by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) over concerns of substantial consumer harm in a move that has been welcomed by consumer advocates.

11 August , 2023

Older People Must be Consulted on New Aged Care Act and New Principles for Aged Care Funding

Older Australians will be asked to share their knowledge, insights and perspectives on our aged care system over the coming weeks as part of a consultation process looking at strengthening and improving the laws governing aged care.
The consultations follow the release of the Australian Government’s Consultation Paper on the new Aged Care Act – a key recommendation of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety – as well as the release of principles guiding aged care funding.

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.

11 July , 2023

Socialisation Vs. Risk of Infection: New Aged Care Visitor Code Strikes Right Balance

The revised Sector Code for Visiting in Aged Care Homes released today strikes the right balance between protecting against the risk of infection and ensuring older Australians are not left socially isolated.

6 July , 2023

ASIC Acts to Ensure Better Banking Outcomes for Indigenous Consumers

The Better Banking for Indigenous Consumers Project reviewed target market determinations (TMDs) for both high-fee and low-fee ‘basic’ accounts offered by some of Australia’s major and regional banks. ASIC issued notices to those banks requiring data on fees charged to consumers in locations with higher-than-average proportions of Indigenous people and for customers in receipt of AbStudy payments.

The review found that many Indigenous consumers identified in the data were in high fee accounts paying high fees, despite being eligible for a low-fee ‘basic’ account.

4 July , 2023

National Anti-Scam Centre’s First Fusion Cell to Disrupt Investment Scams

Original media release from the ACCC, 03/07/2023. The National Anti-Scam Centre will coordinate an investment scam fusion cell to combat the growing problem of investment scams, which are costing Australians more than $1 billion a year. The fusion cell will be led by the ACCC and ASIC and include representatives from the banks, telecommunications industry…

30 June , 2023

ACMA Names Consumer Protections a Priority for 2023-24

Minimising gambling harm, combating SMS scams, tackling online supply of dodgy devices and enforcing spam unsubscribe rules have been identified as some of the key compliance priorities for the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) in 2023–24.

30 June , 2023

ACCAN Awards Seven New Communications Consumer Grants

Australia’s peak communications consumer advocacy group, the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), has today announced 7 projects that it will fund through the 2023 Round of its Independent Grants Program.

29 June , 2023

Financial Counsellors Welcome Proposal to Ban Gambling Ads and Inducements

Financial Counselling Australia (FCA) welcomes the recommendations made by a Government inquiry into online gambling harm, saying the committee has heard the concerns of financial counsellors and the community, and responded.