“Cost of living issues aren’t going away for the foreseeable future, so it’s particularly concerning that over 40% of the Australian adult population are unaware that they can contact their telco provider for help managing their bills. This research shows that it is imperative that financial hardship policies are promoted by telcos and made easily accessible on their websites,”
Read More Consumers Want (and need) More from Telcos
Super Consumers Australia welcomes the Federal Government’s announcement that people will now be paid super at the same time as wages. The move will see more money in the pockets of Australians at retirement and help the regulator crack down on wage theft.
Read More Super Payday
The ACCC has highlighted a range of harms to consumers and small businesses occurring across social media services, including excessive data collection practices, lack of effective dispute resolution options, prevalence of scams, lack of transparency for advertisers and inadequate disclosure of sponsored content by influencers and brands.
Read More ACCC Social Media Report Finds Consumers and Small Businesses Require More Protections
The Albanese Government has announced its intent to establish an SMS sender ID Registry or SMS Scam registry to help combat the increasingly large number of scam text messages being sent to Australians. From the 23/04/23 media release from the Minister for Communications, Hon Michelle Rowland MP: Almost half of all Australians have been scammed,…
Read More Federal Government to Act on Disrupting Illegal Text Message Scams
Consumers International’s (CI) Global Congress, an event held every four years to bring together the consumer movement and cross-sector influencers, has announced its 2023 location as Nairobi, Kenya from 6th-8th December.
Read More 2023 Consumers International Global Congress: Kenya
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
Below is a media release (12/04/2023) from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) regarding current Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb’s speech to the National Press Club on the need to reform merger laws in Australia. A full transcript of the speech is available from the ACCC’s website here. Australia’s merger laws are no longer fit for…
Read More ACCC: Reform of merger laws critical for Australia’s economic transition
The trend towards digital and cashless banking is already negatively impacting many vulnerable Australians as COTA (Council on the Ageing) highlighted in their recent media release, as seen below: The closure of cash services at bank branches risks cutting off access to vital and basic banking services for many older Australians, particularly our most vulnerable,…
Read More COTA: Don’t lock vulnerable Australians out of banking
From Consumer Action Law Centre, Released 03/04/2023. Original here. Consumer advocates around Australia have welcomed moves by Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus KC MP to reform bankruptcy laws. Last month, consumer advocates attended a Ministerial Roundtable on Personal Insolvency to discuss pressure points in the current system, critical reform areas and longer-term strategic challenges with the Attorney-General and…
Read More Now is the time to make positive reforms to bankruptcy laws say consumer advocates
From the Consumer Policy Research Centre, originally released here on 29/03/2023. The latest research from the Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC), has found that most Australians don’t feel businesses are doing enough to keep their data safe. While 84 per cent agree a company should be responsible for keeping their data safe, only 15 per…
Read More 6 Out of 7 Australians Don’t Feel Their Data is Safe with Businesses
From ACCAN, original media release 21/03/2023 found here. Households are increasingly feeling the impact of higher costs of living. New research by the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), conducted in March, has revealed a fifth of consumers reporting that they missed a payment for a phone or internet service because they could not afford…
Read More 1 in 5 Australians Struggling to Pay a Telco Bill
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Supported by the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO), the Australian Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) is calling for the registration of all telecommunication providers in Australia for the benefit of all consumers, regulators, and providers. From ACCAN media release (03/03/2023): The Australian Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) is calling for the development of a retail registration scheme for telco…
Read More Calls for Telco Retail Registration Scheme
