Consultations and Review Archives - Consumers' Federation of Australia

18 February , 2026

Consultation on Draft Unfair Trading Practices Legislation

On 9 February 2026, the federal government released for comment draft legislation on Unfair Trading Practices. The draft laws would amend the Australian Consumer Law by: · introducing a general prohibition on conduct that unreasonably manipulates consumers or distorts the environment they make decisions in, causing detriment · providing protections against unfair subscription practices, including…

27 January , 2026

Consultation Opens for Supermarket Price and Loyalty Program Transparency

The Federal Government has released a consultation paper on new requirements for supermarkets to improve transparency about prices, promotions and loyalty programs. The proposals directly respond to recommendations from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s Supermarkets Inquiry, which found that current pricing and promotional practices often make it too difficult for consumers to assess value…

10 September , 2025

Consultation Open to Strengthen Unit Pricing Code, Address Shrinkflation

Consumer advocacy groups have welcomed the Federal Government’s decision to open consultation on strengthening the mandatory Unit Pricing Code. Treasury has released a Consultation Paper on ways to strengthen the Retail Grocery Industry (Unit Pricing) Code of Conduct administered by the ACCC. The Code is a mandatory industry code of conduct made under Part IVB…

26 August , 2025

Consumer Sector Submission for Independent Life Insurance Code Review

The Council of Australian Life Insurers (CALI) has recently appointed Peter Kell to conduct and Independent Review of the Life Insurance Code of Practice (the Life Code). As part of the Review, the Consumers’ Federation of Australia has been asked to select an appropriate organisation from our members to conduct a funded sector-wide submission to…

20 March , 2025

ACCC opens consultation on assessment guidelines for merger reform

The ACCC has marked a further milestone in the transition steps towards the new merger regime with the release of the draft merger assessment guidelines for consultation. The merger assessment guidelines outline the analytical framework the ACCC will apply when assessing notified acquisitions under the new regime, reflecting best practice for competition assessments. While the new regime…

6 January , 2025

Aviation Charter of Rights needs more to take off: CHOICE

CHOICE responds to the Federal Government’s announcement releasing the draft Aviation Customer Rights Charter for public consultation. Quotes attributable to Rosie Thomas, Director of Campaigns at CHOICE: “CHOICE welcomes the release of a proposed Aviation Customer Rights Charter. The announcement is an important step towards giving consumers clear rights when flights don’t go to plan.”…

6 December , 2024

Consultation Opens for New Digital Competition Reform in Australia

The ACCC has welcomed today’s start of consultation by the Australian Government on the implementation of a new digital competition regime in Australia. The consultation comes after the Government’s in-principle agreement to competition reforms recommended by the ACCC to address harms caused by digital platforms. “This is an important opportunity for consumers, businesses and other interested parties…

3 December , 2024

Banking Code Compliance Committee 2025-26 Priorities Consultation

The Banking Code Compliance Committee (BCCC) is developing their priorities for 2025-26 and is inviting interested parties to complete a short survey to share “new or emerging risks, issues or practices that you believe are concerns and causing harm to consumers or leading to poor outcomes”. The survey is open from 2/12/2024 to 7/02/2025 and survey…

26 November , 2024

Child-Resistant Packaging – Draft Standard Open for Public Comment

Child-resistant packaging is used to create a physical barrier between a child and a potentially hazardous product. Various types of packaging are recognized as being child-resistant, based on performance testing against standards for specific product categories and packaging types. Since this type of packaging was introduced, the incidence of accidental ingestion of potentially hazardous products…

25 November , 2024

RSPCA Re-Brand Farming Welfare Certification Scheme

The ACCC is currently holding consultations for RSPCA Australia’s newly lodged certified trade marks (CTMs). From the ACCC: The marks are intended to indicate that products marked with the RSPCA certified CTMs have been produced under the RSPCA Certified Scheme. According to RSPCA Australia, the RSPCA Certified Scheme is: “a farm animal welfare certification scheme…

20 November , 2024

Consultations Open on Proposed Unfair Trading Prohibitions

Building on an earlier consultation regarding the extent and nature of unfair trading practices in Australia, the Federal Government is seeking feedback on the proposed design of both general and specific prohibitions on unfair practices. Currently proposed changes to the Australian Consumer Law are based on both general in-principal amendments and some specific prohibitions targeting…

17 October , 2024

Children’s safety in the metaverse – Draft standard open for Public Comment

The metaverse is a collective virtual shared space, where you can socialise, collaborate, learn, and play with others across different digital worlds. The metaverse may offer new opportunities for creativity, education, entertainment, and commerce, but there are also new challenges where metaverse technologies can have a significant impact on young users’ mental health and well-being. Children…