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There’s a good chance you’ve heard of platforms like Uber and Airbnb. These platforms and many others are part of the sharing economy. While sharing economy platforms can provide a new and convenient experience for purchasing and hiring goods or services, questions around consumer and trader protection often come with the new territory. If you…
Read More The Sharing Economy: Know Your Rights, Know the Rules
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Consumer group CHOICE, with the support of the Australian Dental Association, has launched a national campaign encouraging consumers to demand Health Ministers across the country to include added sugar labelling on food packs. Health Ministers are due to meet in late November to discuss possible labelling reforms after delaying a decision for six years. “Ministers across Australia…
Read More Call for Action on Added Sugar Labelling
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Recently Standards Australia and the Australian Government – Department of Industry, Innovation and Science presented at the APEC Sub-Committee on Standards and Conformance (SCSC) on the APEC Silver Economy Workshop and Recommendations Report APEC SCSC endorsed all four key recommendations: Recommendation One – APEC should accelerate and mainstream efforts in supporting ageing societies. Recommendation Two…
Read More Standards, Ageing Societies and the Silver Economy
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The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) is disappointed that complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) have increased by a massive 41.1 per cent during 2016-17. This rise in complaints is reflective of the experiences we are hearing from consumers and indicates there are systemic issues with customer service in the industry. Customer…
Read More Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman complaints reveal need for updated safeguards
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Consumers’ Federation of Australia (CFA) is pleased to release a tool for consumer advocates to monitor the implementation of the recommendations from the Review of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) and the Productivity Commission Report into ACL Administration and Enforcement. These reports set a substantial agenda for consumer law reform which has been welcomed by…
Read More New Tool to Monitor Australian Consumer Law Review Implementation
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This Stay Smart Online Week, the ACCC is warning the community to watch out for common online scams they might encounter. The online sphere – email, the internet, social media and mobile apps – has overtaken telephones as scammers’ preferred tool of the trade to contact potential victims. In 2017, the ACCC’s Scamwatch site has…
Read More Stay Smart Online
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Financial Counselling Australia is putting its support, loud and clear, behind the ACOSS-led campaign calling on the Government to stop demonizing people on welfare and reverse planned cuts to social security benefits. FCA is one of the many community organisations that yesterday signed a joint statement calling out the inhumanity behind nine proposed welfare cuts. …
Read More CFA Member Financial Counselling Australia Joins Campaign to Stop Welfare Cuts
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The following is a press release from the Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Craig Laundry MP. A leading academic and an expert lawyer have been appointed to examine compliance and enforcement issues in Australia’s construction sector to help ensure the ongoing safety of the nation’s buildings. The Building Ministers’ Forum (BMF) today announced that Professor…
Read More Experts to Review Building and Construction Safety Issues
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Financial Counselling Australia welcomes amendments to the Interactive Gambling Bill that passed through Parliament today. “The online wagering companies will no longer be able to give people credit to gamble online. This was getting people into so much trouble” said Lauren Levin, Director Campaigns and Policy, FCA. “We’re so relieved to see the end of…
Read More Financial Counselling Australia Welcomes Gambling Bill Amendments
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Consumers’ Federation of Australia welcomes the following statement of priorities from WA Acting Commissioner for Consumer Protection, David Hillyard. The original statement can be found here. We’re in a new financial year and Consumer Protection has considered previous complaint trends and emerging issues to help decide priorities for the 12 months ahead. It’s not always…
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It has been eighteen months since the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) warned the Federal Government that so-called “debt management” firms are engaging in misleading and predatory conduct. The Consumer Action Law Centre wrote to the Federal Government shortly afterwards, calling for better regulation in the sector, but have yet to receive a response.…
Read More Federal Government Silent on Debt Vulture Warnings
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A new survey, commissioned by the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), has revealed that 12 per cent of respondents experienced unexpected third party charges on their mobile phone bills in the last six months. “Applied to the mobile customer base of Telstra, Optus and Vodafone, this 12 per cent equates to almost 1.9m people…
Read More Unexpected Mobile Charges May Be Costing Consumers Millions