Consumers' Federation of Australia

30 April , 2021

Consultation on options for changes to the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) Act 1991

The federal government is consulting on a Draft Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) containing options for changes to the FSANZ Act. The draft RIS and information on how to participate in the consultation are available here. The closing date for submissions is 18 May 2021. The Act is one of the main pieces of legislation and…

28 April , 2021

Losses to car ad scams climbing

Australians have already lost over $288,000 to vehicle scams in the first quarter of this year, more than all losses reported to Scamwatch in 2019, and scammers have now begun impersonating defence personnel to con their victims. This is an ACCC media release, originally published on 27th April, 2021. In a vehicle scam, scammers post fake…

28 April , 2021

Morrison Government powering up household battery recycling

The Morrison Government is helping maximise opportunities for Australia’s manufacturers while also driving down emissions and protecting the environment, with funding. This is a joint media release from Minister for the Environment, the Hon Sussan Ley MP and Federal Member for Chisholm, the Hon Gladys Liu MP, originally published on 23rd April, 2021. Batteries are…

21 April , 2021

Competition exemptions in the time of COVID-19

In a six week period from mid-March 2020, the ACCC received 33 applications for authorisation of competitor collaborations to deal with disruption and risks arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to this unprecedented number of urgent applications, the ACCC deployed substantial resources and used streamlined processes to grant interim and final authorisations in extremely…

21 April , 2021

Limited impact of COVID-19 on bank compliance

In a report released today, the Banking Code Compliance Committee (BCCC) has stated the impact of COVID-19 on banks’ compliance with the Banking Code of Practice (the Code) appears to be less significant than expected. However, breaches overall increased significantly during the 2019–20 financial year. This is a BCCC media release, originally published on 20th April, 2021.…

16 April , 2021

Joint consumer submission to the Review of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority

CFA has endorsed the joint consumer submission to the Treasury Review of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA). Contributors to this submission have supported and represented thousands of people in disputes with financial services providers and superannuation funds over many years. This includes extensive experience with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), as well as its predecessor schemes,the Financial…

15 April , 2021

Defamation law reform: implications for consumer advocacy

In 2019, the Consumers Federation of Australia participated in initial consultations as part of the Review of Defamation Law. Part 1 of this Review has now been completed, and on 31 March 2021, Attorneys-General agreed that New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and all other jurisdictions that are able to do so will commence the…

14 April , 2021

Public comment invited on draft standards for summer toboggan runs

There are a number of facilities with summer toboggan runs operating in Australia. Summer toboggans are an amusement or recreational ride which uses a sled or cart to run down a track usually built on the side of a hill. The type of track, safety features, speed and layout vary. The two new standards open…

12 April , 2021

New global update on unit pricing newsletter released by consumer group

A new issue of the Unit Pricing Global Update, a newsletter prepared six monthly by the Queensland Consumers Association, has been released and is available here. It contains short items about unit pricing in, or research on it for, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Japan, and the European Union. The section on Australia includes the results…

12 April , 2021

Unit Pricing (pricing per unit of measure) global update – March 2021

Prepared by Ian Jarratt, Queensland Consumers Association, Australia. Email: ijarratt@australiamail.com. Australia Unit pricing review The results of the federal government’s review of the mandatory Grocery Unit Pricing Code, which started in November 2018, have still not been announced. Unless renewed, the Code will cease to exist on 1 October 2021. The previous 1 October 2019…

12 April , 2021

Retirement Living Code of Conduct – Annual Report

The Code Review Panel for the Retirement Living Code has published its inaugural Annual Report. The report confirms that in Australia today, more than 46% of retirement village residents are living in a Code Compliant community. The Code Review Panel comprises Dr Elizabeth Lanyon (Independent Chair of the Code Review Panel), Peter Nilsson (Operator Representative),…

9 April , 2021

Consumers from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds experienced greater hardship during COVID-19 lockdown due to financial stress and poor industry practices

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating across Australia. Whilst job losses and financial instability did not discriminate, consumers from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities have been disproportionately impacted. CPRC undertook this research to measure the economic fallout of COVID-19 with consumers who speak a language other than English at home, compared…