News

Financial Counselling Australia (FCA) has welcomed legislation that will ban the use of credit cards for online gambling. Legislation introduced today by the Federal Government will mean online gambling companies can no longer accept bets funded by credit cards, including cards linked to e-wallets. The ban will also cover the…

Findings spark urgent call for government action 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. Suicide Prevention Australia, the Alliance for Gambling Reform and Financial Counselling Australia have come…

CPRC (Consumer Policy Research Centre), CALC (Consumer Action Law Centre), CHOICE, FCA (Financial Counselling Australia) and FRLC (Financial Rights Legal Centre) have welcomed the Federal Government’s consultation to introduce an unfair trading law for Australia. The consultation brings Australia a step closer to introducing legislation that will stop business practices…

Financial Counselling Australia (FCA) has welcomed commitments by several industries to provide funding that will see more financial counsellors on the ground through a new industry funding model. The industries and companies that will be involved are: banking, insurance, energy retail, online wagering, Tabcorp, Telstra and Credit Corp. We are…

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. FCA’s director of Policy and Campaigns Lauren Levin said it was a relief to finally see the arrival…

Urgent government action needed to make home and contents insurance accessible and affordable New research from a coalition of advocacy groups has found the home and contents insurance market is failing to protect people against extreme weather events, with customers struggling to access and afford the insurance they need. The…

Insurers must stop misusing “wear and tear” or lack of maintenance as a reason for denying property claims, Financial Counselling Australia (FCA) says. FCA, the peak body for financial counsellors, was responding to a report by the General Insurance Code Governance Committee (CGC) which found “too many insurers” were using…

Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) use has ballooned over the past year, with soaring numbers of people resorting to the unregulated credit for basics, such as food, fuel and energy, as Australians struggle with cost-of-living pressures. In a survey of more than 500 financial counsellors (around half the sector), 95…

The implementation of gambling self-exclusion register, BetStop, is a game-changer for people ready and willing to stop gambling online, according to Financial Counselling Australia (FCA). FCA’s director of Policy and Campaigns Lauren Levin said the move confirmed the nation was “on the cusp of a new era where Australians will…