International News Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Consumers' Federation of Australia

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.

19 January , 2024

Enforcement Technology and Consumer Protection

Enforcement Technology, also known as EnfTech, is technology used in any enforcement capacity for investigation, preventative measures, surveillance, remedies and/or sanctions and there could be a vital role for EnfTech to play in consumer protection. With the advent of the global digital market as the new norm for most consumers the need for consumer protection…

5 January , 2024

Standards and Artificial Intelligence in the APEC Region

Original news article by Standards Australia (20/12/2023). A soon-to-be-released Standards Australia publication supporting the responsible expansion of AI has been showcased at an international event. Aurelie Jacquet, Chair of Australia’s AI standards committee, and Roland Terry-Lloyd, Head of Engagement & Strategic Delivery, represented Standards Australia at the recent 2023 Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) Summit in…

18 December , 2023

UK Government Considering Reforms to Improve Unit Pricing

As a result the UK government included possible unit pricing reforms in a consultation document “Smarter Regulation: Consultation on Improving Price Transparency and Product Information for Consumers” released in September (available here) and is now considering stakeholder responses.

12 December , 2023

CFA Supports Global Anti-Scam Statement and Coalition

As part of the 2023 Global Congress, Consumers International and members have launched a Global Statement to Stop Online Scams. As a member of Consumers International and as a consumer advocacy organisation, the Consumers’ Federation of Australia strongly supports this call to stop online scams. As Australia’s representative to Consumers International, CHOICE is a signature…

12 December , 2023

Global Consumer Alliance Urges Governments to Require Tech Companies to Protect People from Scams

9 out of 10 Australians also support strong penalties for digital platforms who fail to detect and prevent scams.

“Tech giants such as Facebook, Instagram and Google are failing to prevent scammers from using their platforms to target victims, causing enormous amounts of harm to consumers globally. In Australia, losses reported to Scamwatch from scams on social media have increased to over $66 million in 2023, an increase of more than 40% on the same time period in 2022,” says CHOICE Senior Campaigns and Policy Adviser, Alex Soderlund.

11 December , 2023

T’s & C’s In and Out of Australia

Yesterday, the High Court unanimously ruled in favour of the passengers. In so doing, it put companies doing business in Australia on notice that Australia’s consumer protection laws apply both inside and outside the country’s borders.

It decided the class action waiver was unfair to the passengers. This was because Australian consumer law prohibits unfair consumer contracts and because the express terms of that law apply to companies doing business in Australia, regardless of whether they are headquartered in Australia or overseas.

As the High Court explained, a price of a company doing business in Australia is that it must adhere to Australia’s consumer protection laws.

11 December , 2023

Building a Resilient Future – Day 3 of Consumers International Global Congress

A report from our Consumers International Global Congress representative, Deputy Chair Chandni Gupta Final day of the 2023 Global Congress and the pace remained fast and fascinating with enlightening presentations with a key focus on sustainability to close off the conference. Below are some highlights from Day 3. Sustainable appliances for a green transition An…