International News Archives - Consumers' Federation of Australia

4 March , 2025

March 8th International Women’s Day 2025 ‘For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.’

This year’s IWD theme calls for action For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Action that can unlock equal rights, power, and opportunities for all, and a feminist future where no one is left behind. Central to this vision is empowering the next generation – particularly young women, and adolescent girls – as catalysts for…

31 January , 2025

Joint media release from Australian and Philippines authorities as over 5,000 Australians receive text warnings over a romance scam

This is a joint media release between the AFP, National Anti-Scam Centre, Philippines Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission and National Bureau of Investigation Editor’s note: Text message screenshot, images from investigation, and audio grabs from AFP Commander Graeme Marshall are available via Hightail Authorities have texted more than 5000 potential victims in Australia to warn they may…

13 December , 2024

Just Transition to Sustainable Living to be the focus of the international consumer movement

The past decade has been the warmest on record, and extreme weather has become routine in many nations, disrupting lives and livelihoods. At the same time, biodiversity loss and pollution are posing a growing threat to planetary and human health. It is increasingly clear that the impact of these crises is not just environmental, but economic and social too and is undermining progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To remain within planetary boundaries, we will need…

14 October , 2024

World Standards Day 14 October 2024

Shared vision for a better world: Spotlight on SDG 9 Industry, innovation, and infrastructure in the age of AI Standards are voluntary technical agreements that impact almost every part of our daily lives. They ensure that products and services work the way that we expect them to, making life safer and easier. There’s a role…

2 July , 2024

Consumers International Speaks With Intergovernmental Group of Experts for Consumer Protection Law and Policy

False information, widespread political change, budgetary cuts. These are just some of mounting issues facing civil society in 2024 at a time when the role they play is needed more than ever. Next week, Consumers International joins discussions at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) to discuss the role of consumer organisations, the value…

7 May , 2024

US Consumer Protection Body Publishes Research Finding Higher Price Complexity Leads to Consumers Paying More

The United States of America’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has published a new report, Price Complexity in Laboratory Markets, which indicates that complex pricings, or costs separated into various sub-prices, are typically more expensive and harder to compare – leading to consumers paying more. Based on the CFPB’s previous research, this increased complexity and…

25 April , 2024

Global Experiment Reveals a ‘worrying margin of harm’ in AI Chatbots

23 April 2024 Last month we brought together a powerful cohort of consumer advocate groups, international organisations, business, government and civil society to call for Fair and Responsible AI on World Consumer Rights Day Friday March 15. AI is changing how millions of us experience the online world. Within just five days of the release of ChatGPT last…

22 April , 2024

Advocates Call For Supermarket Inquiries to Recommend Clearer Pricing

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…

18 April , 2024

Global Campaign for Transparent Digital Finance Launches

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…

6 March , 2024

Memorandum of Understanding Between Philippines and Australian Competition Watch-Dogs

Original media release by and from the ACCC (29/02/2024). A new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), signed by the ACCC and its Filipino counterpart, the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), will continue to strengthen cooperation between the two competition regulators. Interagency collaboration fostered by the MOU, will enhance the effective administration of competition law and policy in…

16 February , 2024

Results of UK Research on Grocery Unit Pricing Released

The results of recent research on grocery unit pricing (pricing per standardised unit of measurement) in the United Kingdom have been released by Competition and Markets Authority. The research involved: The Queensland Consumers Association says that many of the results are very relevant to grocery unit pricing in Australia including that: The CMA’s conclusions from…

12 February , 2024

Consumer Price Transparency and Product Information to be Improved in UK

Following public consultation on ways to improve price transparency and information about products for consumers, the UK government has announced that it will make several changes.