The Consumer Action Law Centre (CALC), also known as Consumer Action, is primarily a campaign-focused consumer advocacy organisation, but also acts as a

community legal centre A community legal centre (CLC) is the Australian term for an independent not-for-profit organisation providing legal aid services, that is, provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court ...

, providing free legal advice and pursuing litigation on behalf of vulnerable and disadvantaged consumers across

Victoria, Australia Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in ...

. Based in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, it was formed in 2006 by the merger of the Consumer Law Centre Victoria and the Consumer Credit Legal Service and is funded jointly by

Victoria Legal Aid Victoria Legal Aid (VLA), formerly the Legal Aid Commission of Victoria, is an organisation that provides information, legal advice and education with a focus on the prevention and early resolution of legal problems. They prioritise intensive l ...

and

Consumer Affairs Victoria Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) is a government agency that protects and promotes the interests of consumers and is based in the Australian state of Victoria. It is responsible for reviewing and advising the Victorian Government on consumer legislat ...

. Its mission is "just outcomes, for and with consumers". The organisation is national in its policy and advocacy work, while its services primarily service people residing in Victoria. CALC pursues a law reform agenda across a range of consumer issues at a governmental level, in the media, and throughout the community directly. It is represented on a number of national and state-based regulators' consumer consultative committees, including the

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is the chief competition regulator of the Government of Australia, located within the Department of the Treasury. It was established in 1995 with the amalgamation of the Australian Trad ...

, the

Australian Securities & Investments Commission The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is an independent commission of the Australian Government tasked as the national corporate regulator. ASIC's role is to regulate company and financial services and enforce laws to pro ...

and the

Australian Energy Regulator The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) is the regulator of the wholesale electricity and gas markets in Australia. It is part of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission and enforces the rules established by the Australian Energy Market C ...

as well as a range of government, industry and community sector working groups, boards, and consultative committees.

Noteworthy casework and campaigns

Vocational education/VET FEE-HELP

The Centre played a leading role in uncovering the VET-FEE HELP scandals that plagued the vocational education sector in Australia from 2010-2016, with CEO Gerard Brody advising the Australian Government on reforms to the scandal plagued sector.

Do Not Knock

"Do Not Knock" was one of the Centre's most influential campaigns, providing Australians with stickers to halt the activities of door-to-door and unsolicited salespeople. The campaign led to a Federal Court of Australia ruling that found a "do not knock" sticker was a legally enforceable notice and meant significant fines for companies that ignored the notices.

Payday loans

The Centre has had long running campaigns against the payday lending industry, including a campaign to introduce a cap on the cost of payday loans and casework that led to a major industry player having to notify the Australian Securities Exchange.

Insurance

In 2016, the Centre launched "DemandARefund.com" a complaint letter generator and campaign to fight the selling of poor value Consumer Credit Insurance, Gap Insurance and Used Car Extended Warranties. The campaign followed similar scandals in the UK over

Payment Protection Insurance Payment protection insurance (PPI), also known as credit insurance, credit protection insurance, or loan repayment insurance, is an insurance product that enables consumers to ensure repayment of credit if the borrower dies, becomes ill or disabl ...

with the Centre's own research showing Australians were being sold over $70m in "junk" Consumer Credit Insurance yearly. By September 2016, Australians had generated letters complaining about over $300,000 worth of policies.

References

Government of Victoria - Consumer Affairs Victoria Media Centre - Victoria's New $3.4M Consumer Law Centre Unveiled - Wednesday October 18, 2006Victoria Department of Justice - New Consumer Law Centre Launched. 19 Oct 2006
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External links

Consumer Action Law Centre
Organisations based in Melbourne Legal organisations based in Australia Legal aid Consumer protection in Australia