Aussie homeowner takes on insurance giant and wins
By Nicola Field
Stamp duty slashed for off-the-plan in Victoria, tens of millions of NSW residents charged unlawful fees, and Aussie homeowner takes on insurance giant and wins. Here are five things you may have missed this week.
Battler beats insurance giant
In a classic 'David and Goliath' case, insurance giant Suncorp has been forced to back down after a customer took a complaint about a 60% hike in home insurance premiums all the way to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).
The decision follows another record year of complaints, after disputes to AFCA rose 9%, totalling more than 105,000 in 2023-24.
Chief Ombudsman David Locke, says complaints in the general insurance sector were at a record high for the second year running.
"We are disappointed the sector has not yet been able to achieve sustained improvement," he adds.
The Suncorp case, which was decided in June, demonstrates that consumers don't have to take unwarranted premium hikes lying down.
If complaints to your insurance company fall on deaf ears, it costs nothing to raise a complaint with AFCA.
Victoria slashes duty on off-the-plan apartments
Victorian home buyers have a window of opportunity to pocket big savings on stamp duty when they buy off the plan.
Under a new one-year deal designed to boost the state's housing supply, anyone - not just first home buyers and owner occupiers - can claim a stamp duty concession when buying a strata property off the plan.
No price thresholds apply, so the concession is available for apartments, units and townhouses of any value.
The concession allows a 100% deduction of the outstanding construction and refurbishment costs when determining how much stamp duty is owed.
The duty saved depends on how much construction has occurred. In general, the concession is expected to cut the cost of duty by about 75%.
As a guide, a buyer who purchases a $620,000 apartment off the plan before any construction work has begun, could have their stamp duty slashed from about $32,000 to $4000 - a saving of around $28,000.
House and land packages are not eligible for the new, extended concession though first home buyers and owner occupiers can still claim existing duty concessions on these properties.
Tens of millions of NSW resident charged unlawful fees
Merchant fee surcharges were levied on tens of millions of NSW customer card transactions during the term of the former state government, despite such surcharges being deemed unlawful.
Typical surcharges on Service NSW transactions include 30 cents for a one-year licence renewal, 29 cents for a marriage certificate and $1.92 to renew registration for a small car (like a Toyota Corolla).
NSW Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government, Jihad Dib, says, "While the individual amounts typically charged may appear to be small, they have been charged unlawfully."
Merchant fee surcharges have been switched off for more than 90% of online payments, including the most common Service NSW transactions such as renewing a driver's licence or vehicle registration or paying a fine.
Even so, it's estimated that since 2016, 92 million transactions unlawfully incurred about $144 million in merchant fees across Service NSW and Revenue NSW.
If you think you have been charged fees, you can register for updates on the Government's response at Service NSW website or by calling Service NSW on 13 77 88.
Discount card extended to teachers
Blue Light Card Australia - a discount service for frontline workers and emergency volunteers, has just become available to teachers.
The Blue Light Card provides members with exclusive shopping discounts plus offers from leading retailers and brands, including Woolworths, AGL, The Iconic, Altina Drinks, and Pizza Hut.
For a subscription fee of less than $5 a year, the card can see frontline workers save up to around $800 annually.
Tracey Duff, CEO of Blue Light Card Australia, says, "Teachers are the backbone of our society, shaping minds and futures, often under challenging circumstances.
"By extending our Blue Light Card benefits to include teachers, we're recognising their frontline role in the community and offering them the same access to savings enjoyed by our other cardholders."
Head to the Blue Light Card website for details.
Super rules not keeping pace with work patterns
New research from super industry body ASFA, shows Australians no longer view retirement age as a 'stop sign' for work.
One in three (33%) people aged 65 to 69, and 8% of those aged 70-plus are either employed or actively looking for work.
One in seven (14%) over-65s who are still working don't think they will be able to retire at all.
"The days of working to customary retirement age and then putting your feet up are long gone," says ASFA CEO Mary Delahunty, who believes the rules around superannuation need to change to reflect this.
Currently, Australians who've hit preservation age (that's 60 if you were born after July 1, 1964) can't draw down on their super, and top up the same account.
"Being forced to have two or more accounts - one account to take money from and one to put money into - doesn't make sense with our modern, fluid approaches to retirement," says Delahunty.
Get stories like this in our newsletters.