“Good start, more work to do”: Consumer groups issue report card to general insurers
Consumer groups including the Financial Rights Legal Centre, Consumer Action Law Centre and Financial Counselling Australia have welcomed the Insurance Council of Australia’s (ICAs) initial industry response to the General Insurance Code of Practice Independent Review and the 2022 Flood Inquiry Recommendations, released today and called upon the sector to respond to, and accept all […]
Advocates welcome findings of government inquiry into financial abuse
Today (5 December) the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services will release its long-awaited report from the inquiry into the Financial Services Regulatory Framework in Relation to Financial Abuse, which commenced in April 2024. Members of the Economic Abuse Reference Group, a national network of over 50 community organisations that work with government […]
ASIC Report casts light on general insurer’s dirty little secret
Consumer groups have called on the general insurance sector to stop with the excuses and invest some of their huge profits into proper claims and complaints handling following the release of an ASIC report into abysmal internal dispute resolution practices. Quotes attributable to: Alexandra Kelly, Director of Casework, Financial Rights Legal Centre “Australians are fed […]
Consumer groups welcome passing of buy now, pay later regulations
Consumer groups have welcomed the passing of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Responsible Buy Now Pay Later and Other Measures) Bill 2024 (BNPL Bill) through the Senate last night and all of Parliament this morning. The BNPL Bill will bring buy now, pay later services within the national credit laws, so that most consumer protections that apply to other […]
Consumer advocates welcome proposed reforms to Government payment service
The Financial Rights Legal Centre, Mob Strong Debt Help, and Consumer Action Law Centre welcome the proposed reforms to Centrepay announced by Minister Bill Shorten this morning. These reforms include important consumer protections that consumer advocates across the country have been calling for. Centrepay is an invaluable service for social security recipients, but consumer advocates […]
Strata debt recovery reforms fall short
Anyone expecting genuine improvement to notorious strata debt collection practices will be disappointed in the amendments to the Strata Schemes Management Act introduced to NSW parliament today, says the Financial Rights Legal Centre. “Once again, the needs of people struggling to pay their strata levies have come second to aggressive debt collection – a problem […]
Government’s Scams Prevention Framework only goes halfway – we need a presumption of reimbursement say consumer advocates
No ratings yet. A broad coalition of consumer advocates is calling for the Albanese Government to make one fundamental change to the proposed Scams Prevention Framework (SPF) and put reimbursement at its core, warning that without this improvement the SPF is not going to work for the tens of thousands of Australia’s robbed by scammers. […]
Consumer Groups Demand Government-Directed Inquiry into Strata Management Industry
A coalition of leading consumer advocacy associations has today called on Federal Treasurer, Hon Dr Jim Chalmers MP to initiate a government-directed public inquiry, led by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission or the Productivity Commission, into the strata management industry. The coalition cites systemic harmful practices within the industry that compromise consumer rights and […]
Consumer groups welcome reforms addressing harms caused by a bankruptcy system not fit for purpose
Consumer advocates have been calling for urgent reform for some time and last year outlined key pressure points during a round-table discussion organised by the Federal Attorney General, Mark Dreyfus KC. “It is vital for bankruptcy laws to be fair and safe, especially for people experiencing vulnerability because for years, it has been far too […]
Consumer advocates welcome revised Banking Code of Practice with incremental improvements noted
No ratings yet. Consumer advocates are welcoming the revised Banking Code of Practice (the Banking Code) announced today which includes some incremental improvements to consumer protections. Consumer Action Law Centre CEO Stephanie Tonkin said the Hayne Royal Commission exposed the massive harms that unregulated banking activity and other poor banking practices can lead to for […]
