Two people on a quad bike Two people on a quad bike

On Friday, CFA hosted its Consumer Advocacy Soapbox Session, celebrating the best consumer advocacy campaigns over 2019–20. The Soapbox Session was initially part of the National Consumer Congress, which was to be in March. With the support of the ACCC, CFA moved the Session online. The winner of the Award was Raphael Grzebieta from the…

Read More CFA Soapbox Prizewinner — Quad Bike Performance Project

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ASIC has commenced proceedings in the Federal Court against ACBF Funeral Plans Pty Ltd (ACBF Funeral Plans) and Youpla Group Pty Ltd (Youpla Group) for alleged contraventions of the ASIC Act. ACBF Funeral Plans, a wholly owned subsidiary of Youpla Group, offered, promoted and sold the Aboriginal Community Funeral Plan (ACF Plan), a funeral expenses…

Read More ASIC commences proceedings against ACBF Funeral Plans and Youpla Group concerning funeral expenses insurance

Smartphone hardware being repaired Smartphone hardware being repaired

The Morrison Government yesterday released terms of reference for the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into the Right to Repair in Australia. Consumers, or third parties, can face challenges repairing products that develop faults or require maintenance, due to a lack of access to necessary tools, parts or diagnostic software. According to MobileMuster, 33 per cent of…

Read More Productivity Commission Inquiry into Right to Repair

A childs hands playing with toy blocks A childs hands playing with toy blocks

Luke Nottage, Professor, Sydney Law School, University of Sydney This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The death of Brittney Conway, the three-year-old Gold Coast girl killed by swallowing a button battery, has again drawn attention to deaths and injuries caused by consumer goods – and to…

Read More Rather than recalling unsafe products, why not ensure they’re safe in the first place?

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Between July and September 2020, residential consumers and small businesses made 34,476 complaints about phone and internet services. This is an increase of 3.4 percent on the previous quarter, and the third consecutive quarter of incremental growth in overall complaints. The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman’s Quarter 1 (Q1) 2020-21 Complaints Report shows complaints from small businesses…

Read More Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman reports third consecutive quarter of growth in overall complaints, Q1 small business complaints spike 28%

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The Australian Digital Inclusion Index 2020, released by RMIT and Swinburne University of Technology for Telstra, illustrates Australia’s online participation. The following is a summary of the key findings of the study, published by the Analysis and Policy Observatory. The COVID-19 pandemic has underlined the critical importance of digital inclusion in contemporary Australia. With the…

Read More Measuring Australia’s digital divide: the Australian digital inclusion index 2020

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Having difficulty understanding the jargon of your builder or plumber? Different terminology makes it confusing to understand exactly what is needed. The free online National Dictionary of Building and Plumbing Terms aims to assist consumers, industry and government to understand the range of terminology used to describe the same or similar terms and processes across Australia. Standards…

Read More Building or renovating? Free online dictionary for building and plumbing terms

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The ACCC is urging parents and carers to be aware of the serious risks associated with button batteries, as it launches its ‘Tiny batteries, Big danger’ safety campaign today. In Australia, one child a month is seriously injured after swallowing or inserting a button battery, with some of them sustaining lifelong injuries. In Australia and globally, there…

Read More Button batteries – tiny batteries, big danger

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This is an important consultation because this Act is one of the main pieces of legislation and agreements that that make up the joint food regulatory system that operates in Australia and New Zealand. It mainly empowers Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) to set and amend food standards and undertake other core functions. It…

Read More Scoping Paper on the Review of the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 released for public consultation

An open door with keys hanging in the lock An open door with keys hanging in the lock

Consumers and COVID-19: September results snapshot. New consumer data released today by the Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC) investigating the experience of consumers in the month of September reveals a stark contrast in the experiences of renters and mortgage holders trying to maintain their financial, emotional and physical wellbeing during the pandemic. Higher levels of financial stress…

Read More A tale of two homes: Australia’s housing market divides the population

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A year that began with bushfires and floods before being overwhelmed by the global pandemic has set unprecedented challenges for Australian insurance brokers. These will only intensify as the new “normal” unfolds, especially given many broking firms are small businesses themselves. “Who, in their wildest imagination, could have created a ‘risk model’ equivalent to this…

Read More Rising to meet the challenges: Insurance Brokers Code Compliance Committee releases Annual Review of 2019-20

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On World Standard Day, CFA recognises the efforts of the volunteers who represent CFA on Standards Australia Technical Committees. Each year on the 14 October, the members of standards making organisations celebrate World Standards Day – This year’s theme is Protecting the Planet with Standards. Currently CFA has representation on a number of committees that are developing…

Read More World Standards Day 2020 – Protecting the Planet with Standards