Michael Atkin
Michael Atkin reports on how companies, regulators and markets fail consumers, with a focus on scams, unfair sales tactics and the damage done to people on low incomes and in vulnerable communities. His work sits at the intersection of finance, essential services and consumer protection, following the money through enforcement actions, court cases and systemic misconduct. His coverage of HSBC’s $35 million penalty for widespread scam failures reflects a consistent interest in how financial institutions enable or prevent fraud.
Scams, fraud and consumer protection
Scam prevention and redress are a core thread in his reporting. He covers draft scam laws and the fight over who carries the burden of proof when victims seek compensation, giving weight to the detail of proposed regulations and the pushback from consumer groups.
He also reports on individual cases that show the human cost, such as the story of a woman who tracked down the scammer who took everything from her, using her experience to question how authorities and platforms respond when fraud is reported.
His HSBC penalty coverage sits within a broader pattern of tracking enforcement against institutions that fail to stop scams. He links large financial penalties and regulatory actions back to the practical protections offered to customers and the gaps that remain. Across these stories, he spends time on how victims navigate complaints processes, compensation schemes and the legal system, rather than treating scams only as headline-grabbing crimes.
Podcast and radio work extends this theme. On ABC News Daily he is introduced as the consumer affairs reporter when unpacking scam stories, reinforcing his role as the person who explains what new rules and enforcement decisions mean for ordinary customers.
That cross-platform presence allows him to revisit scams from different angles, combining detailed reporting with accessible explanations for a general audience.
Financial services, superannuation and credit
Atkin’s finance coverage concentrates on consumer-facing products - superannuation, loans and credit - rather than markets in the abstract. He reports on a high-pressure sales model used to encourage people to switch their superannuation funds, examining how sales scripts, incentives and disclosure shape the choices of everyday workers.
In that work he looks closely at how much information consumers actually receive before agreeing to transfer large retirement balances and what regulators are prepared to do in response.
He has reported on a major super fund accused of failing a First Nations member, using the case to show how complaints about complex products can drag on and how cultural and financial factors intersect. Car loans are another focus: his exclusive on a “car loan debt trap” documents how vulnerable and Indigenous customers end up in unaffordable finance arrangements, drawing on ASIC findings and the work of financial counsellors. In these stories he pays particular attention to the conduct of lenders and brokers, the design of products and the availability of hardship options, rather than treating debt problems as individual missteps.
Credit and telecommunications overlap in his coverage of Telstra’s sales of mobile phone plans to Indigenous customers, where he reports that hundreds of people were signed up to unaffordable contracts. By following counsellors into remote communities and reporting on the scale of the harm, he shows how consumer finance issues play out in specific places and communities, and how regulators seek remediation for those affected.
Essential services and corporate accountability
Beyond pure finance, Atkin spends significant time on essential services - telecommunications, energy and retail - and the accountability of large providers. He co-reports on allegations that Telstra ripped off hundreds of Indigenous customers, framing it as both a consumer affairs story and a question of corporate responsibility toward disadvantaged communities. On ABC News Daily he then examines Telstra’s nationwide network meltdown, asking what accountability the company will face and explaining, in plain terms, the technical fault described by internal sources.
Energy is a growing part of his beat.
In a 7.30 investigation, he reports that solar company Solar Power Nation is under formal investigation in multiple states after authorities received hundreds of complaints from customers since 2024. The focus again is on practical consequences: installation problems, financing arrangements and the difficulty customers face in getting faults fixed or refunds processed.
He tracks the response from regulators and industry bodies, making clear how enforcement mechanisms work and where they stall.
He also covers major retailers through a consumer lens. In an ABC News Daily episode on a court case against Coles, he explores what has been revealed in the trial and how the company defends its strategies behind the “Down Down” campaign.
Taken together, these stories show an interest in how big brands structure prices, marketing and customer service, and how those choices end up in courtrooms and regulatory hearings.
Cross-platform investigations and tenure
Atkin works as the national consumer affairs reporter at the ABC, filing for television news, current affairs programs, radio and digital platforms. His professional profile describes reporting across the 7pm news, 7.30, the 24-hour news channel, social video, radio current affairs and radio news, positioning him as a network-wide specialist on consumer harm, misconduct and financial crime. ABC News Daily and AM frequently feature him as the reporter guiding listeners through complex consumer stories, from scams and superannuation to telco failures and retail cases.
He has long experience in current affairs reporting. Earlier work includes Lateline coverage of funding promises targeting mental illness, and news reports on a family still waiting for a full investigation into the death of a relative after an accident on a supervised outing.
More recently, he shared a Clarion Award for Business Journalism for work with another ABC journalist, reflecting recognition for his business and consumer reporting. Across this body of work, the through-line is clear: he uses investigations and case studies to show how policy, corporate decisions and financial products translate into real-world consequences for consumers.
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