cost of living Archives - Page 4 of 8 - Consumers' Federation of Australia

15 April , 2024

Second Round Opens for Queensland’s Inquiry into Supermarket Pricing

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…

12 April , 2024

Cost of Living Crisis sees more calls to Free Debt Helplines

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%…

10 April , 2024

Interim Grocery Code of Conduct Review Released

Dr Emerson said: ‘If suppliers have no ability to influence the terms of a grocery supply agreement, the practice of supermarkets in contracting out of their obligations makes the Code farcical.’

5 April , 2024

Submission Call for National Competition Policy

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…

28 March , 2024

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

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…

28 March , 2024

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

“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.

21 March , 2024

Queensland Inquiry into Supermarket Pricing Open

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.

20 March , 2024

Cost to Teeth – Advocates Urge Action on Dental Cover

Almost four in ten Australians (37%) aged 55+ have delayed or completely put off going to the dentist in the past year due to cost, research released today by COTA Australia – the leading advocacy organisation for older Australians has found.

19 March , 2024

Energy Consumers Australia Responds to Regulators Draft Default Market Offer

Original media release by and from Energy Consumers Australia (19/03/2024). Energy Consumers Australia CEO Brendan French: “We are pleased that the AER’s draft decision is to reduce the retail margins allowed in the Default Market Offer in recognition of the cost of living demands on consumers. This is something we have called for in our…

13 March , 2024

Buy Now, Pay Later Regulation A Step Forward, But Regulatory Holes Remain A Concern

Original media release by and from Consumer Action Law Centre (12/03/2024). Consumer groups have responded to draft Buy Now, Pay Later legislation (BNPL) released today : Quotes attributable to Stephanie Tonkin, CEO of Consumer Action Law Centre“We welcome regulating Buy Now, Pay Later and future unregulated products as credit because every day we are speaking…

8 March , 2024

Consultation for AER on Developing a Toolkit to Identify and Support Vulnerable Consumers

Original text from the AER (8/03/2024). The Australian Energy Regulator is developing a toolkit to help consumer-facing energy businesses identify and engage with consumers experiencing vulnerability. The toolkit has been informed by: It summarises insights from these sources into 6 better practice principles: The toolkit has been designed to help staff at consumer-facing energy businesses…

7 March , 2024

ACCC Announces 2024-25 Enforcement Priorities

Original media release from the ACCC (7/03/2024). Consumer and competition issues in the supermarket sector and essential services including electricity and financial services are among the ACCC’s compliance and enforcement priorities for the year ahead, ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb announced today. “Our priorities continue to be shaped by the key challenges facing our economy and the…