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Battery waste is a growing problem in Australia; in 2014 it was estimated that Australia was generating 17,500 tonnes of waste in batteries, or 700 million batteries based on an equivalent battery unit. 97% of all batteries were being inappropriately disposed of in landfill and impacting on the environment. It is proposed that an industry-led…
Read More Proposed battery recycling scheme to combat waste
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The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) has approved amendments to the Credit Reporting Code 2014 that will benefit consumers. The changes follow an application by the Australian Retail Credit Association (ARCA) and consultation with consumer groups, industry and regulators. Australian Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner Angelene Falk said that amendments to the Code…
Read More Credit reporting changes to benefit consumers
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The Australian Media and Communications Authority (ACMA) has today released a list of the top five phone scams most commonly reported to the agency in a bid to raise people’s awareness of scams during the Christmas period. NBN impersonations were revealed as by far the most reported scam for 2019, followed by scammers pretending to…
Read More ACMA reveals top 5 most reported phone scams for 2019
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The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has enhanced rules for telcos in order to better protect people against the ‘bill shock’ that can come from high international mobile roaming charges. Under current rules, telcos must send notifications about international mobile roaming charges to devices that can receive SMS messages – mostly mobile phones. This…
Read More New consumer protections to reduce mobile roaming bill shock
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Telco customers will benefit from clearer communication from their providers; however, further efforts will be needed to protect consumers against unreliable telco services, according to the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN). Released today, the Morrison Government’s Consumer Safeguards Review Part B report provides a high-level framework that aims to address reliability issues of telco…
Read More Telco reliability framework remains a work in progress: ACCAN
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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…
Read More Share your insights of bankruptcy, debt agreements and financial difficulty assistance
The dashboard of a car, both of the front airbags have deployed
The ACCC is warning Australian consumers about a new safety risk in using certain vehicles fitted with a different type of faulty Takata airbag. These airbags, which are fitted with a NADI 5-AT propellant, are not captured under the existing compulsory recall of Takata airbags. There is a serious safety risk that these NADI airbags…
Read More Consumers warned of new airbag safety risk
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This is a guest post by Product Safety Solutions. In a first for product safety, a new documentary exposes the story of how everyday household products can present unacceptable hazards. Episode 3 of the new US Netflix ‘docuseries’, Broken, titled Deadly Dressers, examines furniture tip-overs that have killed and injured young children. It chronicles how changes to…
Read More Netflix documentary shows how cheap furnture is killing children
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Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) and Financial Rights Legal Centre (Financial Rights) say ASIC’s overhaul of its responsible lending guidance is a welcome announcement in the wake of the devastating consumer harm exposed during the Banking Royal Commission. Too many lenders, including banks, finance companies, payday lenders, and consumer lease providers have not effectively complied with legal obligations to ensure they do not provide borrowers with unsuitable loans. ASIC’s updated responsible lending guidance make existing laws clearer, easier to enforce and will help to hold…
Read More ASIC’s overhaul of responsible lending guidance should focus lenders on the welfare of borrowers
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Financial Counselling Australia welcomes the implementation of a ban on unsolicited telephone sales of life insurance and consumer credit insurance sold without personal advice. ASIC announced that the ban will come into effect on January 13, 2020. In the experience of financial counsellors, who work with people in financial hardship, unsolicited telephone selling targets vulnerable consumers. The…
Read More Financial Counselling Australia welcomes ban on unsolicited telephone selling
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The Customer Owned Banking Code Compliance Committee (the Committee) is pleased to release its Annual Report 2018-19. The Annual Report demonstrates how subscribers to the Customer Owned Banking Code of Practice (the Code) have met their compliance obligations, managed Code breaches and responded to customer complaints throughout the year. It provides an overview of the Committee’s work during…
Read More Subscribers to the Customer Owned Banking Code of Practice need to focus on improved customer service delivery
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Consumer regulators have today released a report on their collaborative efforts in administering the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) over the last twelve months. The report shines a light on some of the key policy, education and enforcement activities undertaken by the members of Consumer Affairs Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ) during the 2018-19 financial year,…
Read More Australian Consumer Law collaboration benefits consumers
