Brisbane news live: RACQ accused of ‘misleading’ customers over price hikes

The corporate watchdog has accused insurance giant RACQ of lying to half a million customers about savings by providing false information on insurance premiums, potentially fooling them into overspending.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission revealed yesterday it had launched Federal Court action against the company over an anticompetitive “pricing transparency” practice.

ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court said RACQ claimed it was providing pricing transparency but “did the exact opposite”.Credit: Louie Douvis

The regulator alleged RACQ, one of the largest insurers in Queensland, sent 573,407 renewal notices that listed an existing premium higher than what the customer was actually paying in a five-year period between September 2019 and December 2024.

In one example provided by ASIC, a customer was told they would pay a 1.5 per cent increase on their insurance, but the documentation quoted their existing premium as $1906.37 more than the actual amount the customer paid – making the actual increase closer to 40 per cent.

Read journalist Catherine Strohfeldt’s full story here.

Tickets for the Brisbane Broncos’ double-header sold out in record time on Monday and Tuesday.

The sell-out marks one of the fastest in Broncos history, with chief executive Dave Donaghy saying:
“This is a remarkable show of loyalty and belief from our members and fans.”

But thousands of fans missed out on tickets to Sunday’s matches at Suncorp Stadium, with many disappointed punters on social media saying Brisbane needs a larger rectangular stadium to cater for the city’s population growth.

Suncorp Stadium has a capacity of 52,500.

Greater Brisbane is tipped to have 2,887,000 residents in 2025-26, rising to 3,288,000 by 2034-35, as Queensland continues to take on more interstate migrants than any other jurisdiction.