ACCC Archives - Page 8 of 28 - Consumers' Federation of Australia

9 February , 2024

NASC Warns Consumers to Be Aware to Valentine and Romance Baiting Scams

Romance baiting scams cause significant emotional and financial harm to Australians, with Scamwatch receiving 484 reports of this scam in 2023. Despite overall losses nearly halving in the past year, reports to Scamwatch show that more than $40 million was lost to romance baiting scams in 2023.

Romance baiting scams disproportionately impact people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, with reports to Scamwatch from these communities accounting for more than 30 per cent ($12 million) of total losses last year.

6 February , 2024

Compulsory Recall for Dangerous LG Solar Batteries Proposed

Across Australia, 13 incidents of property damage have been linked to the affected batteries, including a house in Victoria that was destroyed.

Following a recommendation by the ACCC, the proposed recall notice was issued by the Assistant Treasurer because it appears to him that LG has not taken satisfactory action to prevent the affected batteries causing injury to any person.

5 February , 2024

ACCC: Urgent Need for Merger Law Reform

[T]he research commissioned by the Competition Review Taskforce now provides clear evidence in support of merger reform, strengthening the ACCC’s confidence in its recommendations.

The research demonstrates that an estimated 1000-1500 mergers occur in Australia each year. Only about 330 are notified to the ACCC under the existing voluntary merger regime.

About half of the 1000-1500 mergers are made by the largest one per cent of businesses.

25 January , 2024

CFA Supports Reforms to Merger Approvals

The Consumers Federation of Australia (CFA) and CHOICE have provided a submission to the newly newly established Competition Taskforce on merger approvals. Australia has many markets that are highly concentrated; supermarkets, airlines, banking, telecommunications, energy and insurance are all markets where a few dominant companies provide most Australians with essential products and services. Increasingly, we…

25 January , 2024

Government Announces ACCC Inquiry into Supermarket Prices

The Albanese Government has announced its intent to have the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) conduct a year-long inquiry into supermarket prices as allegations of price gouging, a lack of competition in the sector and the cost of living crisis continue. According to a joint press release by the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese MP,…

23 January , 2024

Employment and Side Hustle Scams on the Rise

Jobs and employment scams were the fastest growing scam type last year, with Australians reporting over 4,800 job scams to Scamwatch in 2023 leading to losses of $24.7 million, compared to $8.7 million in 2022.

Reports to Scamwatch show that these scams are disproportionally affecting younger Australians aged 18-44 years old, including students looking for part-time work. People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds including non-resident visa holders are also particularly at risk.

17 January , 2024

Survey on Mandatory Furniture Safety Standards

How stable is your furniture? Does your heavy, full wardrobe have appropriate anchors or tip-over failsafes? Currently, Australia only has a voluntary safety standard (AS/NZS 4935:2009) but in light of the recently published mandatory American standard (ASTM F2057–23 Standard Safety Specification for Clothing Storage Units) the Australian Competition and ConsumerCommission has decided to re-investigate the…

22 December , 2023

Consumers Warned to Stay Alert to Scams over the Holiday and Sale Season

“Our advice to consumers is to never click on links in text messages or emails, even if you’re expecting a delivery. Instead, consumers should independently check the status of their delivery by going to the Australia Post app or website or the courier service they’re expecting the delivery from.”

20 December , 2023

Merger Reform Key to Competition and Quality

“We shouldn’t have a process that is prey to legal brinkmanship, with all the uncertainty and expense that entails,” Ms Cass-Gottlieb said.

“Consumers, small businesses and farmers will benefit from the ACCC reforms, which will include high levels of transparency and provide certainty. But we also believe that companies and other businesses concerned about their suppliers, customers or rivals merging will also benefit.”

19 December , 2023

Consumer Thoughts: 2023 Australian Consumer Survey Released

The 2023 Australian Consumer Survey has just been released and the figures are interesting, with a little over half of all purchases in Australia are now made online compared to 23% in 2016. The concerns of consumers also reflects this online trend as consumers making online international purchases are often unsure about the application of Australian Consumer Law (ACL), and as more and more people are targeted by, and are concerned about, scams.

12 December , 2023

Major Suppliers and Retailers Pay Penalties for Alleged Button Battery Standards Breaches

The ACCC issued four infringement notices to IMG in relation to four different models of Mechatronic Auto Parts branded replacement car key remotes supplied by IMG to Repco and Supercheap Auto that allegedly failed to include the required safety warning labels about the hazards associated with button batteries. IMG paid $59,640 in penalties.

The ACCC also issued two infringement notices to each of Repco and Supercheap Auto for supplying two types of car key remote products to consumers. Repco and Supercheap Auto paid $33,000 and $26,640, respectively, in penalties.

Mandatory safety and information standards were introduced in Australia in June 2022, following significant injuries and the death of three children caused by button batteries. The information standard requires warning information and safety advice to be displayed on packaging and batteries.

11 December , 2023

Government Responds to ACCC’s Digital Platform Recommendations

Following the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) September 2022 Digital Platform Services Inquiry report, and the Albanese Government’s commitment in November to mandatory industry codes regarding scams (consultation closes 29/01/2024) has now announced an in-principle agreement to desperately needed new consumer and competition laws regarding digital platforms. Currently, the government is requesting that industry…