FCVic made a submission to the Review of the Essential Services Commission Act 2001, arguing that the Act should be modernised to embed the consumer-focused approach the Essential Services Commission (ESC) has already developed in practice. Drawing on financial counsellors’ frontline experience, the submission calls for fair consumer outcomes, accessibility and the needs of people experiencing vulnerability and financial hardship to be recognised as core, primary considerations under the Act, alongside stronger requirements for accessible and meaningful consumer engagement in regulatory processes.

The submission also recommends expanding the ESC’s remit to cover toll road operators and major road-user charging schemes, given the serious consequences toll debt can have for people experiencing hardship, and to support consistent implementation of hardship frameworks across local government. It further calls for a broader range of enforcement tools to drive genuine accountability and behavioural change, particularly for government-owned entities and monopoly service providers, with any expansion of the ESC’s functions matched by appropriate funding. The submission was supported by the Infringements Working Group, Mortgage Stress Victoria and Westjustice.