Consumers' Federation of Australia

24 April , 2018

April Update: ACL Review Implementation Tracking Calendar

Following the Review of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) and the Productivity Commission Report into ACL Administration and Enforcement, Consumers’ Federation of Australia (CFA) released a new tool to help consumers monitor the implementation of various recommendations. The tool, to be updated quarterly, will provide information as to progress. The April 2018 update is now available…

23 April , 2018

COTA welcomes Aged Care reforms

The Turnbull Government has announced significant reforms that aim to give senior Australians and their families confidence they will be properly cared for. A new national independent Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission will also be established to increase transparency through a publicly available rating against quality standards. The establishment of the Commission is in…

20 April , 2018

Jail time for corporate crooks needed to clean up finance sector

Today the Federal Government announced that there will be tougher penalties for corporate misconduct, and stronger powers for the corporate regulator ASIC. The Federal Government has agreed or agreed-in-principle to every recommendation made in the ASIC Enforcement Taskforce final report that was finalised in December 2017. Company directors will now face up to 10 years’…

19 April , 2018

CFA welcomes ACCC Deputy Chair and Commissioner reappointments

The Consumers’ Federation of Australia welcomes today’s announcement by the Treasurer Scott Morrison that current ACCC Commissioner Mick Keogh has been appointed Deputy Chair from the end of May for a period of five years. Mr Keogh will oversee the ACCC’s small business work in addition to his current role leading our agriculture work. Cristina…

17 April , 2018

Continuing rise in telco complaints shows need for urgent reforms

ACCAN is alarmed that complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) have increased by 28.7 percent in the six months to December 2017, compared to the same time the previous year. The peak Australian telecommunications consumer body says the TIO’s latest statistics reinforce the need for urgent industry action to put customers first. “Continuing high numbers of complaints shine a…

17 April , 2018

Government announces telecommunications Consumer Safeguards Review

The Turnbull Government has released the terms of reference for a review into consumer safeguards in the telecommunications sector. The review will be undertaken in three parts: 1. Ensuring that consumers have access to an effective complaints handling and redress scheme that provides transparency and holds telcos accountable for their performance. 2. Ensuring consumers…

11 April , 2018

CHOICE Campaign – Be a unit pricing champion

Consumer group CHOICE have launched a campaign urging consumers to be ‘unit pricing champions’ by crowdsourcing examples of bad unit pricing. What is unit pricing? Unit pricing can be a useful tool to save you money. But it isn’t perfect. Supermarkets try to make it difficult for us, they use small text, don’t display information correctly…

11 April , 2018

Fiona Guthrie AM presents 2018 Ruby Hutchison Memorial Lecture

The following is an edited extract of the 2018 Ruby Hutchison Memorial Lecture, presented by Fiona Guthrie AM, Chief Executive Officer of Financial Counselling Australia. The annual lecture is a CHOICE and ACCC co-project. Queensland’s Courier Mail recently ran a front-page story about payday loans. It told the story of Trina Begg, a single mother of…

6 April , 2018

The gift card that keeps on giving

Consumers can now enjoy extended expiry dates on gift cards thanks to NSW Government reforms set to kick in this weekend, Minister for Better Regulation Matt Kean said. Mr Kean said the new gift card laws officially begin today and are a big win for consumers across the state. “These reforms put consumers first by…

5 April , 2018

ACCC finalises report on communications market

The ACCC has today published the final report of its communications sector market study, which includes 28 recommendations and actions on competition and consumer issues. Much has changed since the ACCC published its draft report in October 2017. Since then, the ACCC has secured eight court-enforceable undertakings from various internet service providers on NBN speeds,…

4 April , 2018

Telcos make a good start in providing critical information on NBN offers

A new Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) intelligence sweep of telco websites has found the overwhelming majority of telcos are complying with rules to provide Critical Information Summaries (CIS) to their customers. ‘CIS provide important information to consumers when making a choice between the plans offered by different telcos,’ said ACMA Chair, Nerida O’Loughlin. ‘Consumers can find this…

3 April , 2018

Ombudsman’s report into Australia Post complaints

Commonwealth Ombudsman Michael Manthorpe today released a report into Australia Post complaints regarding carding, Safe Drop and compensation. The report reviews the actions taken by Australia Post since the release of three earlier Ombudsman reports concerning these matters. The report seeks to determine why complaints about delivery issues persist despite Australia Post’s reported service and…