Fast-tracked ACCC complaints process set to better protect consumers

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Consumers are set to benefit from a change that will permit advocacy groups, such as Choice, to make complaints directly to the competition watchdog, a move that is expected to fuel more investigations and better protect consumers.

The Albanese government will allow trusted groups representing consumers and small business groups from mid-2024 to lodge complaints to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) through a dedicated express lane, where the groups have “strong evidence of systemic market issues under the consumer law”.

Xavier O’Halloran of Super Consumers Australia, welcomes the fast-tracking of complaints to the ACCC.Credit: Rhett Wyman

Xavier O’Halloran, director of advocacy group Super Consumers Australia, says the change “recognises the important role consumer organisations play in keeping regulators directly accountable to the interests of Australians”.

Under the change, the ACCC will have to respond to the complaints within a certain period of time.

Tom Abourizk, senior policy officer at the Consumer Action Law Centre, says consumer groups often have “detailed insights on what is happening on the ground”.

“It means more collaboration and more accountability by the regulator when it receives complaints that are well documented and well evidenced,” he says.

The complaints must be “systemic” in that the harm, or potential harm, affects many people. While harm can be caused by any type of product or service, such as energy pricing and small business contracts, many of the systemic complaints are expected to relate to financial products and services.

The change was first proposed by Labor in 2019. Earlier this month Andrew Leigh, the assistant minister for competition, charities, and treasury, confirmed the fast-tracking of complaints as part of the Albanese government’s Better Competition commitment that it took to the last federal election.

It is not known how jurisdictional issues between regulators will be managed. The ACCC could “triage” the complaint to the corporate regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission or other regulators, depending on the nature of the complaint.

The government will release details of how it will work in coming months. The consumer and small business advocacy groups empowered to lodge the complaints will be nominated by the responsible minister.

A similar complaints mechanism has been operating in Britain since 2012. Designated consumer groups in the United Kingdom can make a “super-complaints” to regulators, where they believe consumers are being significantly harmed.

Which?, the British equivalent of Australia’s consumer advocacy group Choice, lodged a super complaint with the UK’s Payment Systems regulator saying banks were not doing enough to protect consumers tricked into transferring money to fraudsters.

Which?’s complaint resulted in banks changing their conduct to reduce consumer harm from scams that trick people into authorising payments to a fraudster.

Australian banks last week launched a digital platform that will facilitate the quick reporting of fraudulent payments transferred to another bank.

This will help disrupt fraudsters and scammers by allowing the reporting of scam payments in close to real time, boosting the likelihood that funds can be frozen and returned to customers.

Anna Bligh, the chief executive officer of the Australian Banking Association, says: “It means more and more scammers are going to hit a brick wall and adds to the arsenal of anti-scam initiatives underway.”

• Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.

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