law, attorney, lawyers-39989.jpg
Research conducted by CHOICE in 2022 found many Australians aren’t aware of what insurance they have through their super. Only 54% of respondents knew how much they paid for insurance, and just 51% knew what situations their super insurance covered.
Read More Calls for Independent Inquiry into Super Insurance Gaps
service, customer, center-4482162.jpg
“We know that suicide is complex and often linked to many risk factors like personal debt, unemployment, family breakdown, social isolation, and mental health.
“Feeding the family and keeping a roof over our heads are two of the most basic human needs. While interest rates are a matter for the RBA Board, we must be prepared and proactive to prevent distress and suicide rates from continuing to rise,” said Ms Murray.
toys, frame, free background-3200969.jpg
Original media release from CHOICE (30/08/2023). “We gave several playpens a score of zero for performance simply because they had so many failures,” says Kim Gilmour, CHOICE’s team leader for household products. In fact, eight of the 25 models in our current review failed to pass CHOICE’s key safety requirements – that’s almost a third, a…
Read More Almost a Third of Playpens Fail CHOICE Safety Test
money, currency, euro-5098144.jpg
QCA spokesperson, Ian Jarratt says manufacturers use shrinkflation to make “sneaky” price increases and improve or maintain their margins because most shoppers are more aware of, and sensitive to, higher selling prices than reductions in the amount in packages.
Read More Call for Supermarkets to Help Shoppers Spot Package “shrinkflation”
problem, solution, help-2731501.jpg
“This legislation is terrific,” Ms Levin said. “We’re delighted that it covers not only credit cards, but also digital wallets and digital currencies.”
Ms Levin said the one area of disappointment was a carve-out for online lotteries.
change, arrows, clouds-948024.jpg
Lauren’s eye-opening presentation on gambling harm prevention demonstrates just how much Australian regulators and politicians can learn from their European counterparts.
Read More “The sky didn’t fall in”
flight, airline, airplane-1458759.jpg
The Federal Government is calling for feedback on its ‘Aviation Green Paper – towards 2050’, found here.
The Green Paper is the next step in the development of the Aviation White Paper which will set the policy direction for the aviation sector out to 2050 and is likely to be released in mid-2024.
Read More Aviation Green Paper Open for Consultation
quality control, quality, magnifying glass-1257235.jpg
Today’s super performance test results have revealed 96 underperforming choice products in
the market.
gavel, wood, courtroom-1017953.jpg
Since March 2023, ASIC has taken regulatory action against five issuers of retail OTC derivative products for breaches of DDO. This has resulted in 10 interim stop orders relating to retail OTC derivatives, with further DDO-related investigations of high-risk product issuers underway. ASIC recently commenced its first design and distribution proceedings in the Federal Court against a CFD issuer (23-204MR) and will continue to take appropriate regulatory action where it sees DDO contraventions and risk of consumer harm.
Read More ASIC ‘takes aim’ at Over-the-Counter Derivate Distribution and Other High Risk Products
Consumer Protection
Almost a year after state and territory consumer ministers agreed to open consultation on options to address the gap in Australian Consumer Law (ACL) around unfair trading practices, Treasury has released a Consultation Regulation Impact Statement (CRIS) and given stakeholders 91 days to respond starting 31st August and ending 29th November 2023.
Read More Consumer Groups Advocate for Change as Consultations Open on Unfair Trading Practices
ASIC will take further enforcement action to protect Australian consumers and small businesses in an environment where scams, digitally-enabled misconduct and predatory lending practices are increasingly prevalent.
‘We are responding to key trends and emerging issues in the regulatory landscape, where there are major shifts across sustainable finance, the digital and data economy, and an ageing population.’
‘We are also closely monitoring the development and use of artificial intelligence and what this means for the businesses and markets we regulate and exploring potential uses of this and other technologies within ASIC,’ Mr Longo said.
Read More ASIC’s Corporate Plan: Focus on Protecting Vulnerable Consumers and Small Businesses in 23-24
BET STOP: The National Self-Exclusion Register™
Financial Counselling Australia (FCA) has welcomed the start of Australia’s first online gambling exclusion register, while at the same time calling on governments to expand the facility to casinos, pokies and lotteries.
“We started advocating for this in 2015 and didn’t give up, because we always knew that an online gambling self-exclusion register would help a lot of people,” Ms Levin said.
“Now we call on the state premiers to make BetStop a national register for all forms of gambling, including casinos, pokies, and lotteries. It’s not rocket science to simply give people the protection that they are asking for.”
Read More FCA Welcomes BetStop, Calls for Register to Extend Further
