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Retirement village residents and their families will be better protected under new legislation that has passed Parliament. Minister for Better Regulation Matt Kean said the NSW Coalition implemented a number of reforms recommended by Kathryn Greiner AO, following her independent inquiry into the retirement village sector last year. “For too long, retirees and their families…
Read More NSW Retirement Village Shake Up
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The Morrison Government wants to hear from people and retailers whether the requirement to display the unit price of grocery staples, together with the “headline” price, needs reconsideration, before the current law lapses in October 2019. Those grocery retailers that are subject to the Retail Grocery Industry (Unit Pricing) Code of Conduct (the Code) must…
Read More Have your say on Grocery Unit Pricing
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The Queensland Consumers Association is calling on Aldi to made the unit prices on its supermarket “new look” shelf labels much more prominent and legible. Association spokesperson, Ian Jarratt, says the unit prices on the new labels being widely introduced are much less easy for consumers to notice and read than those on the old…
Read More Consumers call on Aldi to improve shelf labels
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The sharing economy connects consumers to people who have products or services to sell, hire or lease via an online platform. It includes services such as Airbnb and Uber. An ISO International Workshop Agreement (IWA) aims to provide the foundation on which more standardisation solutions to support the sharing economy can be built. ISO COPOLCO supported the development of…
Read More Standards for the sharing economy
Commonwealth, State, Territory and New Zealand Ministers responsible for fair trading and consumer protection met in Melbourne on 26 October 2018. The objective of the Legislative and Governance Forum on Consumer Affairs (CAF) is to provide the best and most consistent protection for Australian and New Zealand consumers through its consideration of consumer affairs and…
Read More Meeting of Ministers for Consumer Affairs
Ahead of this Friday’s meeting of Ministers for consumer affairs, the Consumers’ Federation of Australia (CFA) has urged faster progress on updating the Australian Consumer Law. Chairperson of the CFA Gerard Brody said that consumers have been waiting too long for vital reforms to laws on product safety, refund rights and unsolicited selling “The Final…
Read More Peak consumer group calls on Ministers to fast track priority consumer protections
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The Commonwealth Bank, KitchenAid, Nutri-Grain and Marriott Vacation Club are among the big brands whose bad behavior has earned them a lemon gong at the 13th annual CHOICE Shonkys. “From cots that put our kids’ lives at risk, to a bank that buys its way into our schools and the toaster that leaves your bread…
Read More 2018 Shonkys winners revealed
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Peak older persons advocate, COTA Australia, today welcomed the Royal Commission into aged care for the spotlight it will throw on the challenges facing aged care over the next two decades, but warned it must not delay significant reforms now underway and in the wings to improve safety and quality standards for the 1.3 million…
Read More COTA welcomes Royal Commission into aged care but warns against delaying reforms
ACCC Chair Rod Sims has put telecommunications companies on notice to ensure their advertising is clear and transparent or face court action from the regulator, including much higher penalties and a warning that the ACCC may bring proceedings against executives who knowingly approve misleading advertisements. Earlier this year the ACCC began investigating Optus, Vodafone and…
Read More Telcos on notice about false and misleading advertising
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Perth home owners are being warned about bogus door to door water testers who give the impression that they are from the Government, but are really sellers of water filtration systems. Several reports have been received about the door knockers, some in high-vis vests, who tell householders they are testing water quality in the area…
Read More Don’t be fooled by bogus door to door water testers
The Queensland Consumers Association (QCA) wants the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) to change its proposed new rule in the National Energy Customer Framework (NECF) that will require energy retailers to provide customers with prior notification of price changes for many types of contracts. Although the QCA’s submission to the AEMC supports most of the…
Read More Queensland consumers want changes to proposals for National Energy Consumer Framework
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Grieving families are increasingly being taken advantage of when planning a funeral, with the number of complaints to NSW Fair Trading jumping to record levels. It prompted a warning from Minister for Better Regulation Matt Kean, who said consumers should know their rights when choosing a funeral package, to avoid dodgy operators who don’t properly…
Read More Consumer rights extend to the grave