Everyday Consumer

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This week Consumers International launched a global campaign for transparent digital finance. Poor transparency has long been a problem in financial services, but now more than ever there are billions of consumers (1) using banks and other financial services and (2) using or connecting to these financial services digitally. Over mounting concern on both digital…

Read More Global Campaign for Transparent Digital Finance Launches

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A new report released today has found improvements are needed to the quality of advice and supports, and to the service provided by retailers and other energy service providers, or culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) consumers risk being left behind in the energy transition. The joint Insights Report by Energy Consumers Australia (ECA) and Sydney Community Forum (SCF) is…

Read More CALD Communities in need of urgent supports for energy transition

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Last week the Consumers’ Federation of Australia (CFA) along with member organisations CHOICE, Queensland Consumers Association (QCA), Financial Counselling Australia (FCA), Consumers SA (South Australia), the Combined Pensioners and Superannuants Association (CPSA) and the Indigenous Consumers Assistance Network submitted our joint group submission to the 2024-25 ACCC Supermarket Inquiry. Generally, the submission calls for the…

Read More Joint Submission to the ACCC Supermarket Inquiry

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This year’s Ruby Hutchison Memorial lecture shone a light on just how much the consumer protection movement together with regulators has achieved in the last 50 years, and the complex consumer issues we’re still seeking answers to today. Bringing in a musical theme and recognising the rockstar influence of the speakers, the ACCC Deputy Chair…

Read More The 2024 Ruby Hutchison Memorial Lecture – 50 Years of Consumer Advocacy

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Australians struggling with debt and cost-of-living pressures are turning to free and independent debt helplines in their thousands. Calls and chats to the National Debt Helpline (NDH) and the Small Business Debt Helpline (SBDH) have soared over the past 12 months. Both services are coordinated by Financial Counselling Australia. “In February NDH dealt with 14,871 enquiries. That’s a 17%…

Read More Cost of Living Crisis sees more calls to Free Debt Helplines

The ACCC welcomes the Government’s announcement today that it will move to strengthen Australia’s merger laws, bringing Australia into line with most other developed economies. The proposed reforms will be announced by the Treasurer, the Honourable Dr Jim Chalmers, at the 10th annual Bannerman Competition Lecture in Sydney today and follow submissions by the ACCC…

Read More Stronger Merger Reforms Welcomed by ACCC

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The Productivity Commission is undertaking a study to assess the economic effects of national competition reforms. It is now inviting community members to share perspectives, experiences and expertise on national competition matters and modelling competition reforms. The Commission’s review is occurring against a backdrop of declining productivity growth in the past decade. As such, a…

Read More Submission Call for National Competition Policy

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The Centre for Women’s Economic Safety (CWES) welcomes the establishment of aParliamentary Inquiry into the effectiveness of financial services regulation in addressing financialabuse.The move follows calls by CWES for regulatory change so the financial sector can better respond tofinancial abuse and design safer financial products.More than 85% of women experiencing domestic and family violence experience…

Read More CWES Statement on the Inquiry into Financial Abuse by the Parliamentary Joint Committee

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Australians are being urged to check payment details directly with a business before paying an emailed invoice, following a rise in losses to payment redirection scams. Last year, Australians reported losing $16.2 million to payment redirection scams. Despite the total number of reports to Scamwatch decreasing by 28 per cent, the total amount lost increased…

Read More ACCC Warns Consumers of Fake Business Invoice Scams

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Australian authorities have never had the power to break up big businesses that behave badly. It’s a power available to courts in the United States and elsewhere, but not here – at least not unless the Greens succeed with a bill now before the Senate. The so-called Competition and Consumer Amendment (Divestiture Powers) Bill would…

Read More It’s time to give Australian courts the power to break up big firms that behave badly

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Below is the Centre for Media Transition’s website post on The Enforcement of Telecommunications Consumer Protections and the accompanying media release on the report by the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN). The website posts were released on 3/04/2024 and are available here (https://www.uts.edu.au/research/centre-media-transition/projects-and-research/enforcement-telecommunications-consumer-protections) and here (https://accan.org.au/media-centre/media-releases/2288-uts-enforcement-report). As noted by both the report and ACCAN,…

Read More 13 Years of ACMA Telecommunications Enforcement