THE Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has welcomed the Governor General’s recent appointment of Catriona Lowe as ACCC deputy chair and applauded the contribution of departing deputy chair Delia Rickard.

Ms Lowe has been appointed for a five-year term from January 27, 2023 when Ms Rickard will finish her term after more than a decade with the ACCC.

She will chair the ACCC’s Compliance and Product Safety Committee and will participate in a range of other ACCC committees and boards.

ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said she was “delighted” with the appointment of Ms Lowe.

“In her varied roles as a regulator, litigator and consumer advocate, Catriona has demonstrated a strong commitment to consumer issues and protection of consumer rights over many years., said Ms Cass-Gottlieb.

“Catriona is well-known to the ACCC in her current role as a board member at the Australian Energy Regulator, as well as in her time as the co-CEO of the Consumer Action Law Centre, her previous senior position with the Consumers’ Federation of Australia, her chairing of the ACCC Consumer Consultative Committee and in her period working at the ACCC.

“She is exceptionally well qualified to be appointed to this position.”

Ms Cass-Gottlieb also paid tribute to departing deputy chair Delia Rickard, who was appointed in 1993 as a senior executive at the ACCC’s predecessor, the Trade Practices Commission, in charge of the then Consumer Protection Branch.

With a strong interest in financial services and how that sector impacts on vulnerable consumers, Ms Rickard was seconded for a year to the Wallis Inquiry, where she contributed significantly to its groundbreaking work.

She joined ASIC in 2000, where she spent the next decade as head of a division focused on consumer issues in banking, financial literacy and capability.

In June 2012 she was appointed to the position of deputy chair of the ACCC.

“Delia has demonstrated a tireless focus on the welfare of consumers, especially vulnerable consumers. Her advocacy on scam prevention and product safety at the ACCC has been particularly important,” Ms Cass-Gottlieb said.

“We will miss Delia’s formidable experience, wisdom and passion. There is probably no other person who has made a long-standing and significant contribution to the consumer protection work of the ACCC.”

Ms Rickard was appointed as a board member of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) in August.

She was awarded the Public Service Medal in 2011 for her contribution to consumer protection and financial services.

She is also involved with the Jan Petland foundation and chairs the Good Shepherd Financial Inclusion Action Plans advisory committee.

By Neil Dowling