This two-part report offers insights for policy-makers on changing the expectations and experiences of Australian consumers, as well as what market governance might look like when a wellbeing approach is applied.

The focus in this report is on the consumer policy dimensions of COVID-19, including access to essential products and services – encompassing energy, housing, telecommunications and financial services; access to important consumer protections; and the potential for greater harm when living our lives so pervasively online.

Providing a contemporary understanding of consumer vulnerability, this report looks at why regulators are focusing on this in regulatory design, and provides some lessons and opportunities for change.