Consumers' Federation of Australia

3 December , 2022

Consumer protections for high-cost and harmful payday loans and consumer leases finally pass Parliament

After a late-night Senate sitting, Consumer Advocacy groups across Australia are celebrating the passing through the Federal Parliament of long overdue reforms that will protect consumers from falling into payday loans and consumer lease debt traps. The Financial Sector Reform Bill 2022 has finally passed after 6 years of advocacy by the Stop the Debt…

1 December , 2022

Health funds continue to return profits to meet COVID-19 commitments

Health insurers have handed back to policyholders about $2.1 billion of the profits they gained from a reduction in claims between the start of the pandemic and 30 June 2022, the ACCC’s latest report into the private health insurance industry has found. Figures submitted by insurers to the Department of Health and Aged Care show…

1 December , 2022

Insurers record an increase in significant breaches of the Code of Practice

A substantial increase in significant breaches of the General Insurance Code of Practice points to a concerning trend among insurers, according to the Annual Report of the General Insurance Code Governance Committee (GICGC) published today. The 2021-22 Annual Report highlights the increase in significant breaches, noting that a large number were related to customers being…

29 November , 2022

Webinar: Is Insurance an Essential Service? Promoting affordability & accessibility for all

With extreme weather continuing to affect large parts of Australia, the importance of insurance is larger than ever. Following on from CFA’s webinar on UK’s System for Flood Insurance, this webinar will examine measures to improve affordability and access of general insurance, including home & contents insurance. December 7th 20221 – 2pm AEDT This event will…

29 November , 2022

New liquidator data reveals ‘targeted exploitation’ of First Nations communities through Centrepay system

Youpla’s liquidators also revealed the company has had over 150,000 policies active at different times between 1992 and 2019, with around 20,000 still active in 2019. This reveals the scale of the harm caused to First Nations communities and provides insight into how their exploitative model relied on ‘churning’ sign-ups and cancellations to maximise profits…

28 November , 2022

Insurance broker company culture producing better outcomes for customers

The Insurance Brokers Code Compliance Committee (IBCCC) has released an Own Motion Inquiry report examining how subscribers to the Insurance Brokers Code of Practice drive good behaviours and encourage a culture of compliance within their organisation. Following the Culture is Key report, published by the IBCCC in November 2021, the Own Motion Inquiry report is…

28 November , 2022

Whistleblowing – have your say

People should be empowered to come forward to expose problems of wrongdoing and fraud to their organisations, the authorities or the media, whistleblowing is one of the most effective ways to detect and prevent corruption and other malpractice. Unfortunately, reporting often comes at a high price: whistle-blowers risk their career, their livelihood and sometimes their…

24 November , 2022

Quad bike safety checks show improved compliance

Ninety-four per cent of new quad bikes assessed by Australia’s consumer law regulators were compliant with the national safety standard that has been in force since October last year, a nationwide surveillance program has found. The ACCC worked with state and territory consumer protection and work health and safety agencies to conduct a second annual…

23 November , 2022

Poor value extended warranties onto customers, says CHOICE

CHOICE reveals 7 in 10 stores surveyed misled consumers on their rights A new investigation from CHOICE ahead of this year’s Black Friday sales has found Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi and The Good Guys stores are misleading customers about their rights to a refund, replacement or repair. CHOICE conducted a mystery shop of 80 Harvey…

22 November , 2022

Buy now pay later changes must go all the way, consumer groups say

Buy now pay later (BNPL) products must be fully regulated as credit to protect consumers and put all credit providers on a level playing field, a coalition of consumer groups has said. The group, including CHOICE, financial counselling associations and consumer legal centres, has made the call as Treasury releases a consultation paper setting out…

22 November , 2022

UK supermarkets asked to implement a 10 point action plan to improve food affordability

The UK consumer organisation Which? has launched a campaign – Affordable Food for All – because Which? says millions of families are skipping meals to survive the cost of living crisis and with the price of essential products soaring, supermarkets have a crucial role to play to help everyone. Which? also conducted a consumer survey…

22 November , 2022

WA consumer laws now synchronised with national changes

National changes to consumer laws will be more easily and more quickly reflected in state laws with a new mechanism now being adopted. WA consumers and businesses will benefit greatly from the amendments to the Fair Trading Act that bring the state’s Australian Consumer Law (ACL) in line with its federal equivalent, offering a consistent…