51
These results, when considered together with Australian Bureau of
Statistics‘ research into Australians‘ general document literacy and
numeracy,15
in particular
their ability to meet the complex demands of a knowledge-based economy,
suggest that about one in two Australians do not have the skills required to
make informed choices in their interactions with the financial services
sector.16 There is also
an identifiable age link, with document proficiency tending to decrease with
age.
14 For
example the 2008 ANZ study of financial literacy found that ‗67% of
respondents said that they understood the principle of compound interest,
but only 28% were
rated with a ‗good level‘ of comprehension when they solved the problem‘,
ANZ Banking Group Limited,
ANZ survey of adult financial literacy in Australia, (The Social
Research Centre) ANZ Banking Group, Melbourne, 2008, p. 19.
15
As part of an
international study, the ABS measured skills in document literacy, prose
literacy, numeracy and problem solving and found that approximately 7
million (46%) of Australians (and 7.9 million (53%) of Australians aged 15
to 74) had proficiency less than the minimum required for individuals to
meet the complex demands of everyday life and work emerging in the
knowledge-based economy‘ for document literacy and numeracy respectively‘,
Australian Bureau of Statistics,
Adult literacy and life
skills survey results, cat. no. 4228.0, ABS, Canberra, 2006, p.
5.
16
These findings
have implications for our regulatory regime, which relies upon disclosure as
a critical element of our consumer protection system.
Yet since Dec 2010 when it made the above statements, ASIC has done nought to
assist the plight of one in two Australians do not have the skills required to
make informed choices in their interactions with the financial services sector
by challenging
Predatory Advertising
(Unconscionable Conduct)
often charging
Usurious Unsecured Interest Rates.