Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) giant Afterpay is luring Australians into even more debt with a new product that consumer advocates warn will only add to Australia’s BNPL debt bubble. Afterpay recently launched Afterpay Plus which charges a $10 monthly subscription to allow customers to enter into Afterpay loans using…
Lotteries and instant scratch tickets must be included in the same law that bans the use of credit cards for online gambling, a gambling-consumer protection advocate says. Financial Counselling Australia’s Director of Policy and Campaigns Lauren Levin said the exclusion of lotteries from the credit card ban, which was introduced…
Consumer Action Law Centre and Financial Counselling Australia say they hope the Australian Securities and Investment Commission’s (ASIC) court action announced today against Cigno and BSF Solutions and their directors, will lead to a final ‘nail in the coffin’ for two of the country’s worst ‘credit’ providers. “Cigno and BSF…
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…