Consumers' Federation of Australia

16 June , 2021

Public health and consumer organisations call for food regulatory reform to put the health of Australians and New Zealanders first

CFA has joined with serval public health and consumer organisations in calling for the Australian Government to prioritise the health of Australians and New Zealanders as they consider reforms to redesign the food regulatory system for Australia and New Zealand. The joint statement says the current review of the system: Will set the foundation for…

7 June , 2021

Scammers capitalise on pandemic as Australians lose record $851 million to scams

Australians lost over $851 million to scams in 2020, a record amount, as scammers took advantage of the pandemic to con unsuspecting people, according to the ACCC’s latest Targeting Scams report released today. The report compiles data from Scamwatch, ReportCyber, other government agencies and 10 banks and financial intermediaries, and is based on more than 444,000 reports.…

7 June , 2021

Adopting Trusted Overseas Product Safety Standards

The Morrison Government is supporting businesses to innovate, grow and minimise compliance costs while maintaining stringent safety standards for consumer products and related services. The Government in consultation with Consumer Ministers will look to develop amendments to the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) and associated legislation which would allow the adoption of trusted overseas product safety…

4 June , 2021

Safety and electricity

Electricity is something we all use every day and take for granted. But according to Safe Work Australia risk of death or injury from electricity is strongly linked to where and how it is used. Consumers Federation of Australia (CFA) supports representatives to Standards Australia Technical Committees working on the development of electrical energy standards and ensuring the consumer…

4 June , 2021

World Environment Day – 5th June 2021

The United Nations encourages worldwide awareness and action to protect our environment. Consumers’ Federation of Australia (CFA) has identified the environmental impact of services and products as a priority for participation on Standards Australia Technical Committees as part of the CFA Standards Project. CFA representatives are involved in standards development on Biodiversity and other environmental issues such as Environmental Management,…

3 June , 2021

UK’s Financial Conduct Authority proposes a new “consumer duty” – is it needed in Australia?

The UK’s financial services conduct regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), wants “higher level of consumer protection in retail financial markets, where firms are competing vigorously in the interests of consumers”. A key part of this is a new ‘Consumer Duty’. The consultation proposes: a new Consumer Principle that provides an overarching standard of conduct; and a set of Crosscutting Rules and four Outcomes that…

2 June , 2021

Code Compliance Committee releases Annual Data Verification Report 2019-20

The Customer Owned Banking Code Compliance Committee (the Committee) has released its ACS Verification Report 2019–20: Insights and Learnings. This Report is an addition to the summary data published in the Committee’s Annual Report in December 2020. It contains analysis of the self-reported data collected in the 2019–20 Annual Compliance Statement (ACS) and of the…

31 May , 2021

Draft new federal grocery unit pricing legislation released for comment

The federal government is seeking comments on an exposure draft of a new grocery unit pricing code to replace the current code which sunsets on 1 October 2021. The exposure draft, explanatory information, and the outcomes of the review that started in late 2018, are available here. The closing date for comments is Monday 14…

31 May , 2021

Unaisi Buli wins prestigious award

On May 19th, ICAN’s own Unaisi Buli was awarded the prestigious Jan Pentland Prize at the national Financial Counselling Australia Conference held in Darwin, in recognition of her outstanding work in financial counselling. For Unaisi, her work as a Financial Counsellor is a journey that began with seeing injustices happening to her people on a…

31 May , 2021

Public consultation for a National Register of Enduring Powers of Attorney

Attorneys-General from each Australian jurisdiction have taken a leading role in pursuing reforms to enduring document arrangements. A mandatory national registration scheme for enduring powers of attorney relating to financial matters has been proposed as one way to reduce the financial abuse of older Australians. Attorneys-General from each Australian jurisdiction have agreed to consult on…

26 May , 2021

Tougher rules banning aggressive energy & solar sales a big win for all Victorians

Consumer Action has welcomed the Victorian Government’s announcement today that it is banning high-pressure sales tactics like unsolicited door-to-door sales and cold-calling to protect people from being taken advantage of by energy retailers. The Victorian Government has also announced plans to ban door-to-door sales of solar panels through the Solar Homes Program. This is a Consumer Action Law Centre media release, originally published on 25th…

25 May , 2021

Confused about IoT terminology?

Wireless networks have enabled the Internet of Things (IoT) to connect the billions of physical devices around the world to the internet, enabling them to communicate real-time data without involving a human being. Consumers Federation of Australia is supporting a representative to participate on the Standards Australia Technical Committee on IoT, to bring the consumer perspective to…