Consumers' Federation of Australia

17 November , 2023

Nominations Open for EWON Community Director Positions

Original media release from EWON (2/11/2023). The Energy & Water Ombudsman NSW (EWON) is calling for nominations to be one of the five Community Directors on the EWON Board from December 2023. EWON is the independent dispute resolution scheme for NSW electricity and gas customers and some water customers. The Board is responsible for corporate governance, funding, and strategy. …

15 November , 2023

Carers who are also in Employment – New draft Standard open for public comment

In Australia there are over 2.65 million carers across Australia according to Carers Australia. Carers are people who provide unpaid care and support to family members and friends who have a disability, mental illness, chronic condition, terminal illness, an alcohol or other drug issue or older people who need support. One of the greatest challenges…

14 November , 2023

Independent Review of the 2020 General Insurance Code of Practice

Original media release by the Insurance Council of Australia (14/11/2023). An Independent Review of the 2020 General Insurance Code of Practice will be undertaken by an eminent three-person panel with backgrounds in consumer advocacy, financial regulation and the insurance industry, the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) announced today. The Code sets out the minimum standards…

14 November , 2023

Gen Z and Finance – Stress, Debt, BNPL, and the Desire for Better Money Skills

New research shows Gen Zs are feeling financially stressed, with high levels of debt including Buy Now Pay Later use.

13 November , 2023

Recycling – how can I get involved?

National Recycling Week 13-19 November, established by Planet Ark in 1996, encourages Australians to better recycle. This year’s theme is What goes around comes around. Join your community and get involved in events about giving resources a second life, consuming less, reducing the need for new resources, and of course, recycling! Reducing our waste not only…

10 November , 2023

World Consumer Rights Day 2024 – ‘Fair and responsible AI for consumers’

Every year on March 15 the consumer movement celebrates?World Consumer Rights Day, raising global awareness?of consumer?rights, consumer protection and empowerment. Consumers International?is proud and privileged to coordinate this day of global collaboration,?with?200 consumer advocacy members in over 100 countries.

10 November , 2023

Unfair Contract Terms Banned

The Albanese Government’s additional protections for small businesses and consumers take effect today outlawing unfair contract terms to help level the playing field in negotiations between big corporations and both small businesses and consumers.

10 November , 2023

New Investor Alert List Replaces ‘Companies you should not deal with’

ASIC has today strengthened its scam prevention tools to support consumers with the publication of a new investor alert list. Consumers can use this list to help inform themselves as to whether an entity they are considering investing in could be fraudulent, a scam or unlicensed.

10 November , 2023

Consumers’ Federation of Australia 2023 Annual General Meeting

The Consumers’ Federation of Australia (CFA) will soon be hosting its Annual General Meeting (AGM) for 2023 on Tuesday 28th November. The AGM will held be online from 1:00pm-2:00pm AEDT and all members, consumer representatives, and current and past mentees and mentors are invited.

10 November , 2023

Class Action Launched in Federal Court Against Pawnbroker ‘Taylors Business’

Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) has filed a class action in the Federal Court of Australia against Taylors Business Pty Ltd. The lead plaintiff, a Victorian woman, represents herself and a group of Taylors Business customers who pawned goods of value to them, but can no longer access their goods because the business has been shut down. Consumer Action became involved when we had a spike of enquiries to our frontlines from affected customers, many distraught at the prospect of losing their items.

9 November , 2023

Greenwashing a ‘misleading statement’ says ASIC

Greenwashing is simply misleading and deceptive conduct by another name, writes ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court FAICD.

8 November , 2023

ASIC Takes Down Over 2,000 Investment Scam and Phishing Websites

At a press conference today, Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones outlined a new scam website takedown capability implemented by ASIC. The takedown capability removes or limits access to fraudulent and malicious websites on the internet and expands on a three-week trial ASIC conducted in 2022.