Consumers' Federation of Australia

22 September , 2023

Improvements for Consumers But Concerns Linger Over Reporting Practices

The Customer Owned Banking Code Compliance Committee (COBCCC) has recently released its Annual Report for 2022-23 (available here). There was positive news in terms of the preparedness of customer-owned banks to adopt the new 2022 Customer Owned Banking Code of Practice (the Code) which has been characterised as clearer and stronger in its commitments, especially…

22 September , 2023

EnergyAustralia in Court over Alleged Misleading Information

“With electricity prices increasing, and many Australians looking for a better deal, it’s crucial that the information people receive from their energy company is correct and can be relied upon,” ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.

22 September , 2023

Preparing for a Bushfire Insurance Claim

“Natural disasters can be one of the most complex issues to navigate when it comes to insurance,” says CHOICE insurance expert Jodi Bird.

“There are some simple things you can do right now to make things easier should you become affected by a bushfire and need to make a claim.”

21 September , 2023

Calls for Independent Inquiry into Super Insurance Gaps

Research conducted by CHOICE in 2022 found many Australians aren’t aware of what insurance they have through their super. Only 54% of respondents knew how much they paid for insurance, and just 51% knew what situations their super insurance covered.

20 September , 2023

Cost-of-Living: Calls for Help and Families in Need

“We know that suicide is complex and often linked to many risk factors like personal debt, unemployment, family breakdown, social isolation, and mental health.
“Feeding the family and keeping a roof over our heads are two of the most basic human needs. While interest rates are a matter for the RBA Board, we must be prepared and proactive to prevent distress and suicide rates from continuing to rise,” said Ms Murray.

20 September , 2023

Webinar: Make Unfair Illegal – an unfair trading prohibition discussion

The Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC) has just announced a webinar to discuss the Federal Government’s recent proposals to address unfair business practices for Tuesday 10th October at 4:00pm AEDT

19 September , 2023

AustralianSuper Sued Over Multiple Superannuation Accounts

ASIC alleges that for almost ten years, AustralianSuper failed to have adequate policies and procedures to identify members who held multiple AustralianSuper accounts and to merge those accounts, where merger was in the member’s best interests.

19 September , 2023

Accessibility Best Practice Guide

Access to information, goods, and services are fundamental to consumer education, protection, advocacy, and rights. The importance of access and how some people are left out is something that is crucial to discussions about metropolitan areas as compared to rural and remote areas, where access to many goods and services can be limited and potentially…

19 September , 2023

AFCA Non-Executive Director Position Open for Applications

Original job advertisement from Johnson Partners LinkedIn post (here) on behalf of AFCA. AFCA Non-Executive Director · Independent for-purpose organisation · Serve Australia in support of a fair robust financial services sector · Consumer Affairs experience The purpose of the independent ombudsman, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) is to provide fair, independent and effective solutions for financial…

19 September , 2023

Almost a Third of Playpens Fail CHOICE Safety Test

Original media release from CHOICE (30/08/2023). “We gave several playpens a score of zero for performance simply because they had so many failures,” says Kim Gilmour, CHOICE’s team leader for household products. In fact, eight of the 25 models in our current review failed to pass CHOICE’s key safety requirements – that’s almost a third, a…

18 September , 2023

Call for Supermarkets to Help Shoppers Spot Package “shrinkflation”

QCA spokesperson, Ian Jarratt says manufacturers use shrinkflation to make “sneaky” price increases and improve or maintain their margins because most shoppers are more aware of, and sensitive to, higher selling prices than reductions in the amount in packages.

18 September , 2023

FCA on the Credit and Crypto Gambling Ban

“This legislation is terrific,” Ms Levin said. “We’re delighted that it covers not only credit cards, but also digital wallets and digital currencies.”
Ms Levin said the one area of disappointment was a carve-out for online lotteries.