Consumer Action Law Centre

03/06/2026

FAULTY LEMON CARS: If your second-hand car breaks down, and the dealer you bought from gives your the run around, what can you do to get help? And why does it take 52 weeks (1 year) to get a hearing at VCAT? Consumer Action Law Centre solicitor, Vivian Naiga explains why 'lemon cars' are such a terrible ongoing problem for thousands of Victorians.
Consumer Affairs Victoria Financial Counselling Australia National Debt Helpline CHOICE

01/06/2026

Australian scam victims could get rapid $3,000 refunds. Yet in the UK, it’s more like $160,000.
The median loss for an investment scam last year in Australia was $7,000. That’s far higher than the proposed automatic scam repayment scheme...$3,000 is oddly low as a proposed threshold The Converation says.

The median scam in Australia last year cost $400 – so a rapid refund of up to $3,000 sounds generous. But take a closer look and it starts to look oddly low.

01/06/2026

SUBMISSION: The scourge of lead generation is now in sharp focus, with 11,000 people experiencing the devastating loss of over $1 billion in superannuation savings through the collapses of the Shield and First Guardian Master Funds.
However, the systemic problems with lead generation have played out across multiple sectors over decades. These manipulative business models have circumvented hawking laws and caused significant harm to many people across Australia, particularly people who are already experiencing disadvantage or vulnerability.
The only effective solution to this entrenched problem is to ban lead generation in superannuation, by banning unlicensed commercial communication and advertising in relation to superannuation, and extending the hawking ban to all financial products and services.

Read more:
Financial Counselling Australia National Debt Helpline CPRC Mob Strong, Debt Help Federation of Community Legal Centres Victoria

This is a joint submission from Consumer Action Law Centre, Super Consumers Australia, Financial Rights Legal Centre, Mob Strong Debt Help, Financial Counselling Australia, Consumer Credit Legal Service WA and Consumer Policy Research Centre. The scourge of lead generation is now in sharp focus, wit...

01/06/2026

COMMUNITY: Consumer Action was invited to participate in Bendigo Family and Financial Services Bring Your Bills Day on Wednesday 20th May.

Bendigo Family & Financial Services Inc. is a holistic service which aims to provide emergency relief, financial counselling, help improving financial literacy and offers safe, affordable loans for those most at risk of financial exclusion and disadvantage. They have offices in Bendigo, Shepparton and Cobram.

Bring Your Bills Day is designed to support people who are experiencing financial stress or having difficulty with household bills, accounts, fines, or essential services. It’s a safe, welcoming, drop‑in event where clients can speak directly with service providers, ask questions, explore options, and get practical support on the spot.

Over 100 participants attended, Jacqui Watkins, our wonderful First Nations Engagement Lead and Financial Counsellor Nicola Forrest, provided essential services and support not only for the participants but also the services attending. There was even a celebrity in the mix, Scott Pape, Barefoot Investor!

"It's so good these days happen, and that your services exist, I get bombarded with calls and texts from people trying to get me to pay them money..." said one participant.

31/05/2026

The BEST HELP! The National Debt Helpline provides free, confidential and independent financial counselling to help Australians get back on track. Live chat available (Mon–Fri, 9am–8pm) http://ndh.org.au Call 1800 007 007 (Mon–Fri, 9:30am–4:30pm).
Financial Counselling Australia Financial Counselling Victoria - FCVic National Debt Helpline

29/05/2026

Speaking on ABCTV News 24, Consumer Action Law Centre CEO Stephanie Tonkin said, "...we hear from people being robbed, tricked, manipulated... transferring money unknowlingly to a scammer... and what we find is the personal toll as well as the financial toll lasts very long after.

"We've set up a really ambitious ecosystems approach to scams prevention, but what that means is when a scam makes it through a businesses protections, a consumer might have a claim to compensation, so they've got to bring a dispute against their bank, the receiving bank, telco company or multiple digital platforms, so that dispute resolution will be quite complicated.

"The $3000 (reimbursement) proposal is a good start, its a small part of the dispute resolution proposals... aimed at weeding out low-value claims so that the dispute resolution system has the capacity to deal with more complex, high-value claims."

"We hear from people being robbed, tricked, manipulated... transferring money unknowlingly to a scammer... and what we find is the personal toll as well as t...

28/05/2026

Consumer Action Law Centre CEO Stephanie Tonkin has welcomed the Victorian Government’s announcement of changes to the law to ensure that consumers in embedded networks will be able to access more affordable energy in the future.
Ms Tonkin said that in a cost-of-living crisis, the Victorian Government also needs to revisit the Utility Relief Grant Scheme – a targeted relief measure that has remained static for years.
“Energy debt is one of the top presenting issues from people who call the National Debt Helpline and last October the average level of energy debt from Victorian callers was $4264, that amount is $1000 more than the previous October- and the highest ever recorded.
“I am calling on the Victorian Government to broaden the eligibility criteria for the Utility Relief Grant Scheme and to make it more flexible, allowing consumers to apply the grant to any utility, up to an increased value of $4000,” she said.
“This change alone would make a real and positive difference to Victorians doing it tough,” she said.

Consumer Action Law Centre CEO Stephanie Tonkin has welcomed the Victorian Government’s announcement of changes to the law to ensure that consumers in embedded networks will be able to access more affordable energy in the future. “This is a positive step and should prevent some financial hardshi...

28/05/2026

Consumer advocates have slammed the nine-month delay in the implementation of the Scam Prevention Framework (SPF), announced today by Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino, calling it a ‘betrayal’ of hundreds of thousands of Australians who, unprotected, will fall victim to financial crime in the coming months.
“This delay will cause unacceptable harm, with the latest data showing sophisticated scams are on the increase and more Australians are being robbed of billions of dollars with no clear access to justice or redress,” said Consumer Action Law Centre CEO, Stephanie Tonkin.

Consumer advocates have slammed the nine-month delay in the implementation of the Scam Prevention Framework (SPF), announced today by Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino, calling it a ‘betrayal’ of hundreds of thousands of Australians who, unprotected, will fall victim to financial crime in the co...

28/05/2026

SCAM LAWS DELAY: Stephanie Tonkin said the proposal from the Government for mandatory reimbursement for people scammed of $3000 or less was well intentioned but needs to be higher to avoid the dispute resolution system from grinding to a halt.
“We call for a mandatory reimbursement amount of $10,000 -the bill will be split across multiple businesses, it will save businesses the higher cost of dispute resolution, and the measure is really about saving capacity in the system for complex, high value and multi-party scam disputes” she said.
Financial Counselling Australia National Debt Helpline CHOICE ACCAN Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service - VALS ABC News

26/05/2026

Today marks the first day of Reconciliation Week. It also marks the last day and the final leg of Uncle Travis Lovett's Walk For Truth to the Parliament House Canberra!!

You can tune in to the live stream on 2 different channels at 11AM this morning. Show your support and sign the open letter to the Prime Minister to support the Walk for Truth's message/goal in calling for Truth-Telling.

Watch Live TODAY (Wednesday 27 May) from 11am, as The National Walk for Truth arrives at Parliament House, Canberra.

Kerrupmara Gunditjmara man Travis Lovett has walked over 840km from Narrm/Melbourne to Canberra and thousands have walked alongside him, shining a light on the urgent call for a national truth-telling process with First Peoples.

As Travis arrives at Parliament House, it’s time to show the depth of support for truth-telling across this country.

📲 Tune in to our Youtube Live from Parliament House from 11AM (or on Instagram with Clothing The Gaps)

✍🏾 Sign the open letter to the Prime Minister calling for Truth-Telling: www.walkfortruth.com/pledge