Articles Archives - Consumers' Federation of Australia

7 July , 2025

Centrepay Reforms Take Home the 2025 Consumer Advocacy Award

At the 2025 ACCC National Consumer Congress the Consumers’ Federation of Australia, with help from CPRC’s Chandni Gupta, was proud to present our Consumer Advocacy Award for the best consumer advocacy campaign or project of the past year. The nominees this year were: 1. 10 Successes of the National Scams Campaign – scams are a huge…

18 June , 2025

Optus Admits to Unconscionable Conduct, Advocates Welcome ACCC Action but Highlight Need for Strong Telco Regulation

Australia’s peak communications consumer body, ACCAN, has welcomed news that Optus will pay one of the largest consumer law penalties in Australian history – a $100 million fine, subject to court approval, for unconscionable conduct. ACCAN CEO Carol Bennett said, “Unconscionable conduct is a high bar and one that Optus has spectacularly surpassed in its behaviour…

18 June , 2025

Advocates Welcome ACCC Review into Unsolicited Selling

Consumer Action Law Centre CEO, Stephanie Tonkin says she is thrilled by the decision of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to launch a detailed review into the national impact and harms of unsolicited selling, consultation which opens today. “This decision by our national, economy-wide regulator shows the dynamic power of the ‘designated complaint’ super-complaint…

16 June , 2025

Dementia Inclusive Communities and Standards

More than 430,000 Australians are living with dementia and the number is growing as our population ages. Dementia is an umbrella term for a group of conditions of which Alzheimer’s disease is the most common. Because dementia is the second leading cause of death in Australia there is considerable interest in managing its social and economic…

13 June , 2025

CHOICE study finds most sunscreens fail to meet packaging claims

Consumer group CHOICE has tested 20 popular SPF 50 or 50+ sunscreens and found 16 of 20 products didn’t meet their SPF claims. Sunscreens were chosen from a range of brands, retailers, and price points, and tested by experts in a specialised, accredited sunscreen lab. “Of the 20 sunscreens we tested, only four products actually…

2 June , 2025

Consumers Federation of Australia Representative Recognised with Prestigious Standards Award

The annual Standards Australia Standards Awards celebrate excellence in standards development and are presented to those who have made significant contributions to standardisation and demonstrated outstanding service, enabling Standards Australia to attain its objectives. This year CFA Standards representative John Furbank was awarded the W.R. Hebblewhite Medal, Standards Australia’s most esteemed prize. John was recognised…

27 May , 2025

Consumer vulnerability – New standard open for public comment

Vulnerability can affect anyone at any time particularly if the consumer is faced with an unexpected change of circumstance or a particularly urgent or complex situation and information is not transparent and accessible. Standards Australia has released a new draft standard which specifies requirements and guidelines for organizations on how to design and deliver fair,…

21 May , 2025

2025 National Consumer Advocacy Award – Applications Now Open!

The Consumers’ Federation of Australia (CFA) is pleased to announce that applications are now open for the 2025 Consumer Advocacy Award. This award recognises the best consumer advocacy campaign or project run by a CFA member organisation during the past year. If your organisation or group has delivered an outstanding campaign or project, we would…

19 May , 2025

Productivity Commission Opens 5 Key Inquiries

The Productivity Commission (PC) has identified 15 priority reform areas for further exploration under the five productivity inquiries commissioned by the Government. The PC is seeking input on these reform areas to inform the draft recommendations in our interim reports. “Boosting productivity is the only sustainable way to improve Australians’ living standards, but productivity growth…

14 May , 2025

Webinar: Made to Manipulate – A Global Tour of Dark Patterns

The Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC) will be hosting a webinar on June 3rd at 4:30pm to 5:30pm AEST, to register for the event follow the directions here. From CPRC’s Events page: Is your online “freedom of choice” just an illusion? Every day, websites and apps deploy sophisticated design traps that manipulate your decisions without…

13 May , 2025

National Volunteer Week 19-25 May 2025 ‘Connecting communities’

National Volunteer Week 2025 celebrates the power of volunteering to bring people together, it’s Australia’s largest annual celebration of volunteering, highlighting the important role of volunteers in our community. Consumers Federation of Australia (CFA) depends on volunteers who represent CFA on Standards Australia Technical Committees, as part of the CFA Standards Project, and on a…

9 May , 2025

Infringement notices issued for button battery information standard breaches

Australian fast-food franchise Hungry Jack’s Pty Ltd has paid penalties totalling $150,240 after the ACCC issued it with eight infringement notices for alleged breaches of the Australian Consumer Law by failing to comply with the mandatory button battery information standard. The infringement notices relate to a Garfield toy powered by button batteries that was supplied…