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The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has acted on a request from the Hon Angus Taylor MP, Federal Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, to limit conditional discounts on energy deals. The draft rule comes with a recommended penalty of up to $100,000 for retailers who fail to comply. Under our proposal consumers would no longer pay unreasonable…

Read More Limiting conditional discounts on energy offers: have your say

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The Customer Owned Banking Code Compliance Committee (the COBCCC) seeks a consumer representative to serve for a term of three years beginning in March 2020.  The COBCCC is an independent compliance monitoring body established under Section 4 of the Customer Owned Banking Code Compliance Committee Charter and Part E of the Code, under the authority of the Board of…

Read More Consumer Representative Opportunity: Customer Owned Banking Code Compliance Committee

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The Australian Government is seeking community and industry input on a voluntary Code of Practice to improve the security of the Internet of Things for consumers in Australia, including the security of everyday smart devices that connect to the internet; such as smart TVs, watches and home speakers.  With over 64 billion devices expected to…

Read More Lifting the cyber security of the Internet of Things

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First Nations Foundation (FNF) has launched the world’s first digital financial literacy education program to help First Nations people develop their financial knowledge. While the content of My Money Dream has been developed by Indigenous people for Indigenous people, FNF has added the might and scale of Australia’s largest industries by offering this to the…

Read More First Nations Foundation launches word-first financial literacy program

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The Economic Regulation Authority (ERA) is calling for expressions of interest for representatives from industry and consumer groups to join the Electricity Code Consultative Committee. The Committee provides the ERA with advice on the Code of Conduct for the Supply of Electricity to Small Use Customers. The Code applies to residential and non-residential small use…

Read More Electricity Code Consultative Committee Call for expressions of interest

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A new online tool launched today means Australians can see how their insurer, bank, financial adviser, superannuation fund or other financial firm has responded to consumer complaints brought to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).  In a move designed to increase transparency and consumer education, AFCA has today released its comparative reporting tool, the Datacube.…

Read More AFCA’s new ‘Datacube’ enables Australians to see how Financial Firms are handling Complaints

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Consumers facing financial difficulties are urged to exercise caution when approached by budget and debt management companies that charge fees for their services. Complaints have been received by Consumer Protection from consumers who claim that they are charged fees for services, which were not delivered and some have signed contracts without realising that this would…

Read More Caution urged when engaging budget and debt management services

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Consumer Affairs Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ) has released two new guidance papers on the concepts of ‘durability’ and ‘safe’ under the consumer guarantees provisions of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). The ACL creates a basic set of guarantees for consumers who acquire goods. One of these guarantees is that the goods will be of…

Read More New guidance on meaning of safe and durable products to provide clarity to consumers

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Australians in dispute with their bank, insurance provider, super fund, or other financial firms have lodged 73,000 complaints with the financial sector’s new ombudsman and have been awarded $185 million in compensation, in the first 12 months of its operation. The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) is today celebrating 12 months since it opened its…

Read More $185 million in compensation awarded to consumers in AFCA’s first 12 months

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The Hon Michael Sukkar Media Release: The Coalition Government is committed to progressing the design of a mandatory information sharing scheme for motor vehicle service and repair information. This scheme forms part of our commitment to support appropriate commercial dealing and competition in the new car retail supply chain for the benefit of both small…

Read More Driving Reform on car repairs