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Recent surveillance activities by the ACCC have identified many convertible tricycle strollers did not have important safety features such as brakes, appropriate harnesses, tether straps or suitable warnings required under the standard.  There are a wide variety of tricycles currently for sale in the market. Some tricycles closely resemble a traditional tricycle (sometimes with a…

Read More Convertible tricycle strollers – have your say

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The sharing economy connects consumers to people who have products or services to sell, hire or lease via an online platform. It includes services such as Airbnb and Uber. An ISO International Workshop Agreement (IWA) aims to provide the foundation on which more standardisation solutions to support the sharing economy can be built. ISO COPOLCO supported the development of…

Read More Standards for the sharing economy

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The Queensland Consumers Association wants governments and industry to do much more to help consumers reduce the cost of using air conditioners when temperatures and humidity levels are high. The Association is particularly concerned about the lack of information available for consumers about using air conditioners in eco/econ mode. Association spokesperson, Ian Jarratt, says many…

Read More Consumers want more help to reduce the cost of keeping cool

Commonwealth, State, Territory and New Zealand Ministers responsible for fair trading and consumer protection met in Melbourne on 26 October 2018. The objective of the Legislative and Governance Forum on Consumer Affairs (CAF) is to provide the best and most consistent protection for Australian and New Zealand consumers through its consideration of consumer affairs and…

Read More Meeting of Ministers for Consumer Affairs

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Consumers and small business owners around the State will save more than half a billion dollars over 10 years thanks to the NSW Coalition’s sweeping Better Business Reforms. The package of reforms, which passed Parliament this week, includes significant red tape reductions for small businesses and better transparency measures for consumers. Minister for Better Regulation…

Read More Minister for Better Regulation announces business reforms

Ahead of this Friday’s meeting of Ministers for consumer affairs, the Consumers’ Federation of Australia (CFA) has urged faster progress on updating the Australian Consumer Law. Chairperson of the CFA Gerard Brody said that consumers have been waiting too long for vital reforms to laws on product safety, refund rights and unsolicited selling “The Final…

Read More Peak consumer group calls on Ministers to fast track priority consumer protections

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The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) will have investigative powers to assess whether a term in a standard form contract may be unfair, thanks to measures passed in the Parliament by the Coalition Government yesterday. This means the regulators will have stronger powers to ensure consumers…

Read More ACCC & ASIC given stronger powers over unfair contract terms

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The following is an excerpt from a report by Professor Michelle Kelly-Louw, President of the International Association of Consumer Law. The International Association of Consumer Law’s (IACL’s) 16th conference, entitled “Economic Development and Consumer Law” was held at the Faculty of Law of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in 2017. One of the topics…

Read More Access to Justice for International Tourists

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The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman has published its 2017-2018 Annual Report today (17 October 2018). Launching the report, Ombudsman Judi Jones said, “The number of complaints about telecommunications services in Australia appear to be turning a corner. “Declining complaints across all landline, mobile and internet services are a positive indicator of recent industry, government and regulator efforts…

Read More Phone and internet complaints turning a corner