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The Consumer Affairs Victoria Strategic Plan for 2023-26, and regulatory priorities for 2023-24 have been published this week.
Read More Consumer Affairs Victoria Releases New Strategic Plan and Regulatory Priorities
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Specialist Disability Accommodation, or SDA, is a vital piece of infrastructure for may disabled people to navigate their own home and retain independence. However, despite recent improvement spurred on by the advocacy of organisations and individuals, a recent report from the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and the Housing Hub shows there is still great room for improvement in the decisions and delivery of these vital accommodations.
Read More Housing Delayed and Denied: Improving Access to Specialist Disability Accommodation
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One-and-a-quarter million Australian households face home insurance affordability stress
Read More Priced Out – House Insurance Affordability
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In recent times there have been significant storms and flooding in Australia with a serious impact on dwellings and communities. When carrying out flood repairs to a building, after prioritising health and safety, there are precautions to be taken, and consumers should be aware of the serious impact of mould and other effects of exposure…
Read More Water, Buildings, and Restoration: Beware of Mould
John Trowbridge, a consultant and insurance industry expert who has been conducting an independent review into strata insurance, has released a handbook for navigating strata insurance, available for free here. The Disclosure Handbook is designed as a reference guide for owners, strata committees, strata managers and brokers. It has been prepared on completion of an…
Read More Free Strata Insurance Handbook Released
Media release from CHOICE 18/04/2023. New national research from CHOICE has revealed over 40% of renters have been pressured to use RentTech to apply for a home – putting them at risk of data breaches, extra costs and exclusion from housing. Some tenants are also being forced to use these third-party rental platforms, such as…
Read More Your data, open for inspection: CHOICE raises alarm on RentTech
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The Insurance in a Changing Climate forum was held in Melbourne on 26 July 2022, with over 70 people attending from a range of sectors including financial counselling, consumer law, academia, government and industry. The event was hosted by Financial Counselling Victoria, the Brotherhood of St Laurence and the Melbourne Institute. Through three panel discussions, the forum…
Read More Insurance in a Changing Climate – Event summary
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Federal, state and territory building ministers have agreed on a series of sweeping national reforms that will ensure that new homes in Australia will be more comfortable, liveable, accessible and energy efficient. This is a media release from The Hon Ed Husic MP: Minister for Industry and Science. It was originally published on 26th August, 2022. Industry…
Read More Making Australia’s new homes more liveable
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A consumer think tank has released a new report today with ten ideas to make the process of buying a home easier for Victorians. The report from the Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC) has found that people buying a home do not have access to accurate information about the price and quality of a property…
Read More 10 ideas to make the painful property purchase process easier: 27% of Victorian home buyers report that they have experienced underquoting
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South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS) has released a new report: Protecting the Basics: Insurance access for people on low incomes at risk from climate emergencies. The report finds that there is a significant proportion of people in South Australia on low incomes with uninsured homes, contents, and cars because they can’t afford insurance. It…
Read More Protecting the Basics report highlights insurance gaps
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Joint campaign from WEstjustice and CHOICE improves landlord insurance recoveries processes WEstjustice and CHOICE have secured insurance industry commitments to stop the practice of unfairly pursuing renters for accidental damage. This change means that no renter in Australia should receive a bill for accidental or unintentional property damage to the homes they rent. All major…
Read More Insurers stop renter robodebt and commit to minimum standards to protect tenants
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The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) is proposing to update the energy efficiency provisions for residential buildings in the 2022 edition of the National Construction Code (NCC). The proposed provisions are included in stage 2 of the NCC 2022 public comment draft (PCD). This is a consultation from the Australian Building Codes Board. It was originally published on…
Read More Consultation Regulation Impact Statement closing soon
