In June 2023, the Ministers for Consumer Affairs and Small Business issued Statements of Expectations (SOE) to CAV and the Business Licensing Authority for 2023–24. The SOEs are published in About us.
CAV’s SOE set out governance and performance objectives aimed at improving CAV’s administration and enforcement of regulation to reduce its impact on businesses and the community. The performance objectives identified in the SOE cover five expectations from the Minister, set out below:
Protecting Victorians: Protecting Victorians from the impacts of rising cost of living pressure
The stated expectation was that CAV would focus on protecting Victorians from the impacts of rising cost of living pressures by providing a timely response (including accurate communications and effective investigation and enforcement activities) to the most significant risks of harm caused by
non-compliant trader and rental provider conduct, in particular:
- domestic building industry challenges leading to unfinished or defective homes or loss of monies paid upfront
- rental providers failing to provide safe and secure accommodation that meets minimum standards, and
- motor car traders that sell poor quality cars and fail to provide a remedy for defects.
Implementation
CAV provided new information, education and advice to the public in these priority areas, including a state-wide digital communications campaign to raise awareness of the mandatory rental minimum standards and new domestic building information and advice. We also assessed, escalated and investigated matters for non‑compliance with core investigation tools being improved. A significant number of matters were endorsed for legal proceedings and there were multiple enforcement outcomes.
Supporting all Victorians: Supporting all Victorians through inclusive and accessible services, especially those experiencing vulnerability
The stated expectation was that CAV would focus on supporting all Victorians, especially those experiencing vulnerability, through inclusive and accessible services – in particular through working within the Department of Government Services and partnering with Service Victoria to make it easier and quicker for Victorians to find, access and use important consumer protection information and advice.
Implementation
CAV funds many community organisations to deliver accessible services to the community, such as financial counselling agencies. We bolstered funding this year through grants stemming from the Rental Stress Support Package, as well as announcing a new funding round for additional financial counselling grants.
To help Victorians find and access consumer protection and advice, we made significant upgrades to the CAV website, which is a vital tool for providing consumers with information and insights into their rights. We redeveloped the website to create a more user-centric platform with content that is easier to locate and understand. To further increase the community’s access to information, we worked with DGS to transition the IDSC to the broader contact centre. We made these services more inclusive of the Aboriginal community with the launch of the Yarrka Barring initiative, CAV’s dedicated First Nations helpline and webpage resource in August 2024.
Our compliance and education activities prioritise, among other things, vulnerable cohorts within the Victorian community. For example, in 2023–24 CAV continued to deliver our Rooming House Minimum Standards compliance project, aimed at making rooming houses – often the last resort for some of the most vulnerable Victorians – safer and more comfortable. Throughout the year, we supported the most vulnerable Victorians by providing funding for financial counselling, renting and consumer assistance and advocacy agencies to deliver critical support.
Digital technology: Harnessing digital technologies to improve CAV services and make the most of CAV data and resources for the community
The stated expectation was that CAV would focus on working within the Department of Government Services and partnering with Service Victoria to harness digital technologies to improve CAV services and make the most of CAV data and resources for the community, including delivery of a new online residential tenancies bond system.
Implementation
CAV launched a series of new and upgraded online forms to support consumers and renters in exercising their rights. These included a new ‘Report a rental’ web complaint form and an online ‘Request for rental assessment form’, which replaced a more manual and cumbersome process. We also upgraded our website. We continued to upgrade our licensing and registration systems to make it easier and faster for users to manage their regulatory obligations with us, transitioning from legacy systems to myCAV.
CAV also completed a data strategy and roadmap project in 2023–24, informing improvements that can be made to CAV’s data structures, systems, and processes with the goal of improving CAV’s overall understanding of consumer engagement and better informing decision making.
Enhancements will be made in implementing this roadmap.
Engaging with the community: Engaging with partners to better serve Victorian communities
The stated expectation was that CAV would focus on engaging with partners, stakeholders, and industry to better understand and serve Victorian communities, in particular:
- holding regular forums and engagement opportunities to understand emerging issues and obtain input into how CAV undertakes its functions, and
- collaborating closely with other regulators where relevant to address risks of harm to the community.
Implementation
CAV’s Stakeholder Engagement Framework, which was developed in consultation with key stakeholders, was published in June 2024. Two new standing stakeholder forums were also established. These were the Consumer and Renter Consultative Forum, and the Housing and Property Advisory Forum. Their first meetings were held in 2023–24.
CAV worked closely with intersecting regulators to address risks to the community. Examples of this include coordinating with the Victorian Building Authority to administer the Professional Engineers Registration Scheme, collaborating with Energy Safe Victoria on minimum safety standards for rental properties, and sharing details on specialist disability accommodation providers with the Office of the Public Advocate, the Transport Accident Commission and the Victorian Workcover Authority.
CAV also works with interstate counterparts and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to administer the Australian Consumer Law, which operates on a single-law, multiple regulator model. Other regulatory bodies we collaborate with include the Essential Services Commission, the Energy and Water Ombudsman Victoria and local councils.
Raising awareness: Improving Victorians’ trust in CAV as a regulator
The stated expectation was that CAV would focus on improving Victorians’ trust in CAV as a regulator by raising awareness of CAV’s role and functions and increasing promotion of CAV’s compliance and enforcement activities.
Implementation
The Director of CAV raised CAV’s public profile by undertaking several media engagements in 2023–24, including radio interviews on ABC, 3AW and JoyFM on various topics, as well as appearing on TV news in several instances and undertaking an interview with A Current Affair on our ‘Sam the Man Car Care’ public warning. Ministerial releases were also issued on important topics throughout the year, including a scam alert warning before Mother’s Day.
CAV also leveraged social media to spread awareness of consumer and renting issues, with campaigns on Facebook and other platforms. Dedicated campaigns on rental minimum standards and underquoting were also delivered in 2023–24.