Publications

CCLC released its ‘Report in relation to Debt Collection’ in April 2004. The report, produced with support from the Law and Justice Foundation of NSW, reviewed the law in relation to debt collection, and consulted with industry and consumer stakeholders. In partnership with the Australian Consumers’ Association, we surveyed consumers regarding their experience of debt collection practices.

The level of consumer debt in Australia has been growing at unprecedented rates. At the same time there have been changes in debt collection practices, including increased outsourcing of debt collection to specialised debt collection agencies, and considerable consolidation of the debt collection industry resulting in a number of large, listed companies operating across state borders.

The report identifies a number of issues of concern, including harassment, collecting old debts, credit reporting, issues in relation to proof of debt, and other unethical debt collection practices.

CCLC was commissioned by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to conduct a research project on finance and mortgage brokers operating in Australia. We set out to look at some key aspects of the broker industry in Australia (such as fee/commission structures, access to lenders, etc) as well as the consumer issues that arise out of the use of broker services. The Report was released in March 2003, and contains an extensive analysis of the Australian broker industry, the regulation of brokers, the effectiveness of consumer redress, international regulation of brokers, and suggestions for reform.