Consumers' Federation of Australia

30 October , 2020

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

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…

28 October , 2020

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

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…

28 October , 2020

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

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…

26 October , 2020

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

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…

26 October , 2020

Button batteries – tiny batteries, big danger

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…

21 October , 2020

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

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…

21 October , 2020

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

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…

21 October , 2020

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

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…

14 October , 2020

World Standards Day 2020 – Protecting the Planet with Standards

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…

14 October , 2020

CFA representative appointed to ISO/COPOLCO-Capacity building mentorship programme

CFA Standards Representative John Henry has been appointed to be a mentor as part of the ISO-COPOLCO-Capacity building mentorship programme. He will be working with trainees in developing countries to attain concrete standards-related consumer protection objectives and significantly improve consumer involvement with priority issues for the country. Participation of developing countries in international standardization is…

14 October , 2020

Smart sunglasses — what’s next?

Smart sunglasses and glasses are the latest ‘wearable technology’ to emerge over the last couple of years and may well be the next big breakthrough that will filter into our daily lives. However, as with any new technology where standards may not yet exist, there are some consumer protection issues that need to be considered.…

12 October , 2020

Australian Association of National Advertisers Launches new Code of Ethics

Following an extensive public review process, the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) can now announce the new advertising Code of Ethics which will take effect from 1 February 2021. The AANA Code of Ethics applies to all advertising in Australia and the review sought to ensure that the Code continued to meet its objective…