Everyday Consumer - Consumers' Federation of Australia

24 September , 2021

Telcos and credit providers fail consumers during COVID-19, says new scorecard

Telecommunications and credit and personal finance providers were found to be joint wooden spoon winners in a 2020 Sector Scorecard developed by Consumer Policy Research Centre and Roy Morgan. By delivering the joint worst customer experience overall these sectors have let down their customers when they most needed support. This highlights the need for increased…

24 September , 2021

Telecommunications complaints fall, but serious concerns remain

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) has welcomed an overall fall in complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO), however, raised concerns that small businesses may be suffering as complaint levels from the sector reach a three year high. This is a media release from the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN). It was originally published…

24 September , 2021

Third year of declining phone and internet complaints but problems persist for small businesses

Complaints about phone and internet services decreased 6.1 per cent in the last financial year ending 30 June 2021. During this period, residential consumers and small businesses made 119,400 complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, highlighted in the Annual Report 2020-21 published on the 22nd September 2021. This is a media release from the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman.…

10 September , 2021

Just the ticket – tough new laws to stamp out scalping

Ticket scalping will be illegal in Western Australia after legislation introduced by the McGowan Government passed State Parliament, delivering on an election commitment. This is an announcement from the Government of Western Australia, Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety. It was originally published on 8th September, 2021. The tough new measures will be in place…

6 September , 2021

Going down the toilet! – Have your say

Incorrect labelling and marketing of wet wipes and other items as ‘flushable’ has resulted in serious plumbing issues by contributing to ‘fatbergs’. Wet wipes and other items don’t disintegrate like toilet paper when flushed, wet wipes typically contain plastic so, once they reach the sea, they last for a long time, causing havoc with marine…

23 August , 2021

Queensland Government funeral price transparency consultation now open

Arranging a funeral can be an emotional process, sometimes with added time pressures if the death of a loved one was unexpected. Funerals involve significant expenditure. It is an infrequent purchase, often during a stressful and emotional time. The decision-making ability of consumers is often considerably impacted by their vulnerable state, time constraints and cultural…

9 August , 2021

Consumers International releases statement on the future of food

To mark this year’s UN Food Systems Summit being held in late September, Consumers International (CI) has prepared a global consumer advocacy statement on the future of food. The statement contains a set of people-centred solutions for the development of healthy, safe, fair, and sustainable food systems. CI is the membership organisation for over 200…

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…

26 July , 2021

Toward a meaningful right to repair

A ‘right to repair’ is the ability of consumers to have their products repaired at a competitive price using a repairer of their choice. A recent CHOICE consumer pulse survey identified that more than eight in ten (85%) people said that buying products that will last a long time is important to them and more…

7 July , 2021

More efficient lighting for consumers

With inefficient halogen lamps proposed to be phased out in Australia from late 2022, consumers will soon be looking for more certainty around performance claims for LED lamps. Lighting accounts for around 10% of electricity usage in households, and 18–40% of in commercial premises. The recently published Australian/NZ standard provides suppliers with a clear guidance on how to…

2 July , 2021

CFA and member organisations call for changes to proposed new federal Unit Pricing Code

CFA has made a submission to the federal government on its draft new Grocery Unit Pricing Industry Code of Conduct. The submission disagrees strongly with the conclusions of the review of the current Code and with the proposed new Code’s provisions (which are identical to those of the current Code). It also argues that implementation…