Articles Archives - Page 24 of 180 - Consumers' Federation of Australia

20 December , 2023

Merger Reform Key to Competition and Quality

“We shouldn’t have a process that is prey to legal brinkmanship, with all the uncertainty and expense that entails,” Ms Cass-Gottlieb said.

“Consumers, small businesses and farmers will benefit from the ACCC reforms, which will include high levels of transparency and provide certainty. But we also believe that companies and other businesses concerned about their suppliers, customers or rivals merging will also benefit.”

19 December , 2023

Submissions Open for Senate Inquiry into Supermarket Prices

The Senate has established a Select Committee on Supermarket Prices, to inquire into and report on the price setting practices and market power of major supermarkets.

The committee is seeking submissions that address the terms of reference by Friday, 2 February 2024 and the committee’s final report is due by 7 May 2024.

19 December , 2023

Consumer Groups Call for New Passenger Rights for Flyers as Delays and Cancellations Continue

A new survey of almost 9000 supporters from consumer group CHOICE has found 40% of respondents had a flight cancelled or delayed in the past 12 months.

“As we head into the Christmas season, a huge number of people will be relying on flights to visit family and friends. Unfortunately, our survey of almost 9000 people from across the country has found consumers still face a number of difficulties when dealing with the aviation industry,” says CHOICE Senior Campaigns and Policy Advisor, Bea Sherwood.

19 December , 2023

Consumer Thoughts: 2023 Australian Consumer Survey Released

The 2023 Australian Consumer Survey has just been released and the figures are interesting, with a little over half of all purchases in Australia are now made online compared to 23% in 2016. The concerns of consumers also reflects this online trend as consumers making online international purchases are often unsure about the application of Australian Consumer Law (ACL), and as more and more people are targeted by, and are concerned about, scams.

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.

18 December , 2023

Increase in Banks’ Breaches of Financial Difficulty Obligations

Despite a decline in breaches overall, the latest report from the Banking Code Compliance Committee (BCCC) shows a concerning increase in breaches of bank obligations to support customers facing financial difficulty.

The report, Compliance with the Banking Code of Practice for January to June 2023, notes that breaches of obligations for dealing with customers facing financial difficulty have increased by nearly 40%.

This comes amidst a 9% decline in overall breaches, signalling a welcome success in efforts to improve practices.

18 December , 2023

AFCA’s Approach to Responsible Lending

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) has published its Responsible Lending Approach, documenting for financial firms and consumers the way it considers complaints in this area.

The Approach was developed in response to calls from stakeholders to provide greater clarity around AFCA’s existing approach and to ensure consistency in AFCA complaint outcomes in these complex areas.

13 December , 2023

2023 Rank the Banks (and Other Lenders) Released

Financial Counselling Australia, in conjunction with the state and territory financial counselling associations, released its bi-annual Rank the Banks (and Other Lenders) survey which found the big four banks performing well, but all other lenders failing their customers in financial hardship.

The survey collates the views of financial counsellors on how the banking industry and other lenders respond to customers in financial hardship. Undertaken in late September and October 2023, 431 financial counsellors responded from every Australian state and territory for a response rate of 42 per cent.

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.

12 December , 2023

Report Released, “Australians for Sale: Targeted Advertising, Data Brokering and Consumer Manipulation”

This report documents the nature of some of the more troubling consumer manipulation practices currently occurring in Australia. It explores how targeted advertising affects people who gamble, consume alcohol, are experiencing financial stress, and how it affects children and young people. Each case study describes potential consumer harm and rights violations and goes on to include evidence from the ‘Xandr File’ about the nature of data that is routinely traded for targeted advertising about each of these groups.

A brave, bold and strong response to this issue is necessary, and long overdue.
A wide range of measures could be implemented to curb this practice

Foreword co-signed by Reset, CHOICE, and CPRC

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.