ACCC - 2/12 - Consumers' Federation of Australia

2 August , 2021

Views sought to help prevent deaths and injuries from toppling furniture and televisions

The ACCC is seeking submissions from stakeholders, including consumers, consumer safety advocates, the furniture and television industries, and medical professionals about the safety hazards posed by toppling furniture, such as bookshelves, drawers and televisions. This is an Australian Competition & Consumer Commission media release, originally published on 2nd August, 2021. There have been at least…

2 August , 2021

Government must go back to the drawing board on new Open Banking rules that undermine Australians’ privacy rights

Financial Rights Legal Centre is calling on the Australian Government to halt the introduction of new rules that will increase privacy and security risks for people when sharing their financial data. This is a Financial Rights Legal Centre media release, originally published on 30th July, 2021. The government should rescind proposals to: allow the transfer…

2 August , 2021

Federal government misses opportunity to help shoppers save at the checkout

The nation’s peak body for consumer organisations, the Consumers Federation of Australia (CFA) says shoppers will miss out on big savings possible when buying groceries, and other packaged products, as a result of federal government not improving the current Unit Pricing Code. The Code requires only large supermarkets and some online grocery retailers to provide…

20 July , 2021

Fraud and corruption control in your organisation

Australia ranks 11/180 in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index 2020 (-8 since 2012) and safeguarding against loss or having any connection to corruption is a key responsibility of all organisations. Managing the fraud and corruption risk to business is a governance issue and the recently published Australian standard is intended to apply to all organisations operating…

19 July , 2021

ACCC seeks feedback on safety of potentially deadly inclined sleeping products for infants

After a review into the safety of inclined infant sleeping products, the ACCC is now seeking views on how best to respond to these potentially deadly products. Infants can suffocate when sleeping in so-called ‘infant inclined products’, such as bouncers, rockers, swings, loungers, bassinet-type products, wedges, recliners and sleep accessories due to the incline, curvature…

23 June , 2021

Draft Report on “Right to Repair” Released for Comment

A draft report by the Productivity Commission on a ‘right to repair’ outlines some measures governments could take to assist consumers to get their products repaired. Written submissions or brief comments must be made by Friday 23 July 2021. The Commission is also holding public hearings using a video and teleconferencing service, with the option…

18 June , 2021

ACCC welcomes new law on motor vehicle service and repair information

The ACCC welcomes legislative changes which will increase competition and choice for consumers about where they have their cars serviced and repaired. These changes adopt recommendations from the ACCC’s new car retailing industry market study. This is an Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) media release, originally published on 18th June, 2021. The Competition and Consumer Amendment…

16 June , 2021

Culturally and linguistically diverse community lose $22 million to scams in 2020, reports from Indigenous Australians up by 25 per cent

Last year scammers stole close to $34 million collectively from people who identified as culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD), people with disability, and Indigenous Australians. This is an Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) media release, originally published on 10th June, 2021. Figures from the ACCC’s latest Targeting Scams report released earlier this week shows losses to the…

31 May , 2021

Draft new federal grocery unit pricing legislation released for comment

The federal government is seeking comments on an exposure draft of a new grocery unit pricing code to replace the current code which sunsets on 1 October 2021. The exposure draft, explanatory information, and the outcomes of the review that started in late 2018, are available here. The closing date for comments is Monday 14…

19 May , 2021

CFA & ACCC Consumer Advocacy Showcase & Award Winners

On Monday 12 April, Consumers’ Federation Australia (CFA) and the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) co-hosted the Consumer Advocacy Showcase & Award, in the final online session for the 2021 ACCC National Consumer Congress. The Showcase celebrates effective and good practice within consumer advocacy. The joint-winners were Fiona Guthrie, with Who’s Making Australians Bankrupt?; and Matthias Oldham, with Junk Insurance…

28 April , 2021

Losses to car ad scams climbing

Australians have already lost over $288,000 to vehicle scams in the first quarter of this year, more than all losses reported to Scamwatch in 2019, and scammers have now begun impersonating defence personnel to con their victims. This is an ACCC media release, originally published on 27th April, 2021. In a vehicle scam, scammers post fake…

21 April , 2021

Competition exemptions in the time of COVID-19

In a six week period from mid-March 2020, the ACCC received 33 applications for authorisation of competitor collaborations to deal with disruption and risks arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to this unprecedented number of urgent applications, the ACCC deployed substantial resources and used streamlined processes to grant interim and final authorisations in extremely…