cost of living

Ian Jarratt of the Queensland Consumers Association in a supermarket with unit price labels in the background

The Queensland Consumers Association (QCA) is calling for the inquiries into supermarkets now being undertaken by a Senate Select Committee, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and a Queensland Parliament Select Committee to recommend improvements to the clarity of supermarket pricing. In submissions to each inquiry, the QCA says improvements are essential in order…

Read More Advocates Call For Supermarket Inquiries to Recommend Clearer Pricing

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More Australians will now have access to support from financial counsellors with the launch of the Financial Counselling Industry Fund (FCIF). The FCIF is the result of a collaboration between the financial counselling sector and a number of industries and companies – Australian Banking Association member banks, Australian Energy Council, Energy Networks Australia, Insurance Council…

Read More Financial Counselling Industry Fund Launches

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As a provider of education, advocacy, and financial counselling services to people across North and Far North Queensland, ICAN recently provided a submission to the Inquiry into Supermarket Pricing in Queensland. Our submission focused on the significant price differences people experience when shopping depending on whether they are based in metropolitan Queensland or remote and…

Read More The Price Is Not Right: ICAN’s Queensland Supermarket Submission

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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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The Supermarket Pricing Select Committee wishes to advise that they have opened a second round of submissions to the Inquiry into Supermarket Pricing which will close at 10am on Friday, 19 April 2024. Guidelines for making a submission to a parliamentary committee are available here: Guide to making a submission.  Submissions can be made online…

Read More Second Round Opens for Queensland’s Inquiry into Supermarket Pricing

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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

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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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First Nations and other consumer advocates have welcomed the extension of ASIC’s interim Stop Order on Coral Coast Distributors (Cairns) Ptd Ltd trading as Urban Rampage (Urban Rampage) retail stores, where customers enter agreements to pay for goods on credit through Centrepay deductions. The original stop order was imposed because ASIC received complaints about Urban…

Read More Continued Ban of Business Centrepay Use in Remote Australia Welcomed as Advocates Call for Broader Centrepay Reform

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“Taking into account the demographics of those who have already responded, we particularly want to hear from more adults under the age of 30, people for whom English is not their first language, and people in rural and regional parts of Australia.”

“Having responses that reflect the whole community’s experience will help us to identify the right issues that need to be explored more deeply in our inquiry. Findings from the consumer survey will be included as part of the ACCC’s interim report, due by the end of August,” Mr Keogh said.

Read More Consumers Respond to ACCC: Higher Grocery Prices Force Many to Sacrifice

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Submissions are open for an inquiry being undertaken by the Supermarket Pricing Select Committee which was established by the Queensland Parliament on 7 March 2024. Information about the committee can be accessed here. 

The committee is calling for submissions to the Inquiry into Supermarket Pricing by 10am on Tuesday, 2 April 2024. Information about how to make a submission to the inquiry and planned public proceedings is provided below.

Read More Queensland Inquiry into Supermarket Pricing Open