Report - Consumers' Federation of Australia

21 October , 2020

A tale of two homes: Australia’s housing market divides the population

Consumers and COVID-19: September results snapshot. New consumer data released today by the Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC) investigating the experience of consumers in the month of September reveals a stark contrast in the experiences of renters and mortgage holders trying to maintain their financial, emotional and physical wellbeing during the pandemic. Higher levels of financial stress…

30 September , 2020

Resilience tested, phone and internet complaints decrease in year of challenges

Complaints about phone and internet services decreased 4 per cent in the last financial year ending 30 June 2020. In this period, residential consumers and small businesses made 127,151 complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, highlighted in the Annual Report 2019-20 published today. Read the TIO Annual Report 2019-20 here. Over the financial year complaints…

18 August , 2020

Young people facing debt tsunami as they borrow from their future to make ends meet

New consumer data released today by the Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC) investigates the experience of consumers during the three months from May to July and raises serious alarms about the debt tsunami facing young people (18-34) as they try to make ends meet during COVID-19. 70% of young Australians are now concerned about their…

7 August , 2020

Consumers and COVID-19: from crisis to recovery

Today the Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC) released its June briefing for the Consumers and COVID-19: from crisis to recovery research initiative. With governments, regulators, business and the broader policy community challenged to provide sufficient support for consumers during the COVID-19 economic crisis and into recovery, CPRC’s research aims to: Better understand the impact that COVID-19 is having on…

30 June , 2020

Report shows life insurers need a stronger commitment to their Code compliance obligations

A number of life insurers appear not to be taking their obligations under the Life Insurance Code of Practice (the Code) seriously, according to a report released on Friday by the Life Code Compliance Committee (the Committee) – the independent Committee which monitors and enforces industry compliance with the customer service standards set out in…

16 February , 2020

Consumer research centre releases latest report – Choosing care: the difficulties of navigating home care

The report from Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC) draws on research undertaken in partnership with University of South Australia (UniSA) which surveyed 502 Home Care Package (HCP) recipients across metropolitan Australia in June and July last year. “Older Australians are being abandoned by the system, often unable to access the necessary support to live happier,…

17 December , 2019

Share your insights of bankruptcy, debt agreements and financial difficulty assistance

CFA member Nicola Howell (PhD researcher, Melbourne Law School and Senior Lecturer at QUT) is researching the impact of financial difficulty assistance/hardship variations, bankruptcy and debt agreements on consumer debtors . In the next phase of the study, Nicola is keen to hear from financial counsellors, consumer advocates, insolvency practitioners and others working in the…

5 December , 2019

Reports lead to concern about banks’ breach reporting as they transition to the 2019 Code

Two key reports released on Friday by the Banking Code Compliance Committee (BCCC) contain important findings for the industry, including: Significant concerns about the reporting of breaches under the 2013 Code of Banking Practice during 2018-19. Banks will need to continue ongoing efforts in order to meet the BCCC’s expectations and the higher standards of…

27 November , 2019

Consumer representatives report back

Consumer representatives nominated or supported by CFA have written a short report on their activities over the past year. All consumer representatives, whether or not nominated by CFA or representing CFA, are accountable to the consumers whose interests they represent. They have a duty to stay informed about consumers’ interests and how the body to…

3 September , 2019

Australians paying millions too much for foreign currency services

Australian consumers are paying too much for foreign currency conversion (FX) services because of confusing pricing and a lack of robust competition, a new ACCC report has found. The final report of the ACCC’s Foreign Currency Conversion Services Inquiry highlights important competition and consumer issues affecting individuals and small businesses who use international money transfers (IMTs), foreign…

5 August , 2019

Investigation finds telemarketers pressuring consumers to sign up to NBN

Threats of being disconnected from phone and internet services, loss of phone numbers, and inaccurate information about NBN plans are issues highlighted in the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman’s latest report: “Misleading telemarketing of NBN services” published Thursday 1 August, 2019. Between January and December 2018, residential consumers and small businesses made 1,729 complaints to the Telecommunications…

31 July , 2019

Researching the impact of financial difficulty assistance: Request for participation

CFA member Nicola Howell (PhD researcher, Melbourne Law School and Senior Lecturer at QUT) is researching the impact of financial difficulty assistance, bankruptcy and debt agreements on consumer debtors. A better understanding of how people experience the different options, and whether they improve the lives of debtors in the short and long term, can help…