Australia’s peak consumer body, the Consumers’ Federation of Australia, today welcomed a finding from the Productivity Commission to plug the funding gaps in consumer research and advocacy. The finding, made in the Commission’s Final Report on Consumer Law Enforcement and Administration, recognised that the current funding gaps were hampering sound policy decision making. “Consumer advocates [...]
The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) welcomes changes to the Telecommunications Reform Package legislation introduced into Parliament today as a big win for all consumers. A number of ACCAN’s concerns will be addressed by the legislation as it contains improved consumer protections. In particular, ACCAN is pleased to see these changes: Statutory Infrastructure Provider provisions will [...]
Euroconsumers, a group of five Consumers International members, have launched a declaration calling for consumers to be given greater control over their personal data and greater access to the benefits the data produces. As data rapidly becomes the world’s greatest commodity, the group of consumer organisations want to see consumers playing a key role in [...]
Winter is here and Consumers’ Federation of Australia representatives have contributed to standards that ensure the safety of products we use in winter. The standards are developed via the Standards Australia Technical Committee process. ACCC Top tips for winter product safety are: Never use boiling water to fill your hot water bottle and replace it [...]
Consumers’ Federation of Australia is delighted to congratulate long-standing CFA member and former Deputy Chair Fiona Guthrie on being awarded Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order for Australia. Fiona was honoured for significant service to the community through social welfare and financial counselling. Fiona is the current CEO of Financial Counselling Australia, [...]
Automated vehicles that do not require human driver input into the driving task for at least part of the journey are expected to arrive on our roads from around 2020. Currently there is no explicit regulation covering these automated driving functions. Manufacturers are aiming to ensure automated driving functionality improves road safety, but this technology [...]
Consumer advocates have responded to the Independent Review into the Future Security of the National Energy Market (Finkel Review), which was handed down last week. Energy Consumers Australia CEO Rosemary Sinclair said the Finkel Panel had developed a framework to address the affordability, system security and emissions reduction challenges we are facing in an orderly, measured and coordinated way. [...]
The laws that regulate the way in which measurement is marked on product packaging are under review. The Commonwealth Department of Industry, Innovation and Science is conducting the review as the authority responsible for trade measurement regulation. The National Trade Measurement Regulations 2009 Part 4 describe how the name and address of the manufacturer, as well as the weight of the [...]
The International Organization for Standardization (IOS) has published a new standard for Sustainable Procurement - ISO 20400 Sustainable procurement. The standard applies to the purchasing decisions made by organisations when they choose suppliers. It ensures that a company’s suppliers behave ethically, that the products and services purchased are sustainable and capable of meeting organisation and [...]
The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) has engaged independent consultants to conduct a review TIO scheme, as required by legislation. The purpose of the review is to ensure that the TIO can continue to work effectively and meet the needs of consumers, its members and the telecommunications industry. The review will be the first of its [...]
BABIES’ dummies and dummy chains will be subject to a single product safety standard following a review by the consumer watchdog, Small Business Minister Michael McCormack says. “Dummies and dummy chains are an essential part of the baby bag for any new parent or those with toddlers. Parents deserve the certainty to know the products [...]
An exploratory survey of Australian grocery shoppers has shown that almost all reported that they use unit pricing to some degree to make value comparisons between products, and most said they use unit pricing frequently and for several types of value comparisons. The on-line survey of 104 members/supporters of Choice (Australian Consumers Association) was conducted [...]
CHOICE says consumers should find a better deal if big banks pass on the levy
