Media Release 16 September, 2020 Consumer groups welcome South Australian crackdown on predatory lenders Consumer groups have applauded the South Australian government’s plans to crackdown on payday lenders and consumer lease providers. The government’s proposed laws would introduce important consumer protections to help combat these high cost predatory lenders. “Taking this step during the COVID crisis is the…
Media Release 1 September, 2020 Beyond Blue and Financial Counselling Australia (FCA) are encouraging people to access free support services to cope with the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. The organisations have launched the Money on Your Mind campaign to support people experiencing financial stress and mental health issues.…
Media Release 29th July 2020 Financial Counselling Australia (FCA) has today apologised for some inaccurate information in its’ latest Rank the Banks (and other creditors) report. In some of the tables we incorrectly included the total number of financial counsellors who responded to the question, but these included people who…
Media Release 29 July, 2020 Consumer groups have welcomed a crackdown on debt vultures by National Australia Bank (NAB). In a statement today, NAB says it will no longer deal with unlicensed debt management providers. Consumer organisations commonly describe these businesses as “debt vultures” because of the harm they cause. Debt…
Consumer groups are extremely disappointed in ASIC’s decision not to appeal the Full Federal Court’s decision in the Westpac case to the High Court of Australia.[1] The Financial Rights Legal Centre (Financial Rights), Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action), CHOICE and Financial Counselling Australia (FCA) had supported the view,…
All of the State and Territory financial counselling associations,[1] together with Financial Counselling Australia, have joined the National Day of Action to Raise the Rate of the JobSeeker payment for good. The campaign has been coordinated by the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS). Financial counsellors across the country…
Today’s announcement by the banking industry of further assistance to help customers experiencing financial hardship will provide some important relief to those who continue to be impacted by COVID-19. CHOICE, Financial Rights Legal Centre, Consumer Action Law Centre and Financial Counselling Australia are at the forefront of helping people impacted…
Financial Counselling Australia (FCA) has welcomed a $6.8 million funding boost for financial counselling services in Western Australia as part of the state government’s WA Recovery Plan. The money will be used to increase the number of financial counsellors in Western Australia through supporting existing services and establishing a new…
Financial Counselling Australia (FCA) welcomes reported moves to permanently increase the JobSeeker Payment, once the current scheme ends in September. There are news reports today that the Federal Government is considering an increase to the payment of $75 a week, representing an additional $10 a day. “Financial counsellors urge the…
Financial Counselling Australia notes that Australia’s independent financial dispute resolution body, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, has today banned MCR Partners from accessing its services for a period of time. FCA strongly welcomes this move from AFCA. MCR Partners says it helps individuals and small business in financial hardship. This…