March 28th was a day of action for First Nations advocates a year after the federal government established an interim scheme so that some of the families harmed by Aboriginal Community Benefit Fund/Youpla could conduct the important cultural practice of Sorry Business. The Save Sorry Business coalition used this day of action to call for…
Read More Save Sorry Business Day of Action
The Queensland Consumers Association has made a submission to the Senate Select Committee on the Cost of Living which is inquiring into: the cost of living pressures facing Australians; the Government’s fiscal policy response to the cost of living; ways to ease cost of living pressures through the tax and transfer system; measures to ease…
Read More Queensland Consumers Association Makes Submission to Senate Cost of Living Inquiry
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
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This is a media release from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. It was originally published on March 7th 2023 and can be found on the ACCC website here, with graphs. Domestic airfares have declined from historic highs at the end of 2022; however, they remain above 2019 prices, the ACCC’s latest Airline Competition in Australia…
Read More Domestic airfares fall but prices remain above pre-pandemic levels
Consumers International has recently released a white paper on ‘Consumer protection and empowerment for a clean energy future’ centred on the “twin challenge” of switching to sustainable and affordable alternatives in an increasingly shorter timeframe while ensuring consumers are represented and helped through and with the process. The report focuses on how “consumer protection and…
Read More Consumers International Whitepaper – ‘Consumer protection and empowerment for a clean energy future’
This is a media release from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC). It was originally published on 7th March 2023. Consumer and competition issues in essential services, environmental claims and sustainability, financial services and other critical areas will be among the ACCC’s compliance and enforcement priorities during 2023-24, ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb announced today. Unveiling the ACCC’s annual…
Read More ACCC competition and consumer issues in essential services, sustainability among 2023-24 compliance and enforcement priorities
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The latest available Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 data show that the world is not on track to achieve gender equality by 2030 see the report Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The gender snapshot 2022. A gender-responsive approach to innovation, technology and digital education can increase the awareness of women and girls regarding their…
Read More Women and Standards International Women’s Day 8 March 2023 DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality
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With extreme weather continuing to affect large parts of Australia, the importance of insurance is larger than ever. Following from CFA’s webinar on the UK’s System for Flood Insurance, this webinar will examine measures to improve affordability and access of general insurance, including home & contents insurance. It was hosted by CFA on the 7th…
Read More Watch CFA webinar: Is Insurance an Essential Service? Promoting affordability & accessibility for all
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This webinar was designed for CFA members, consumer advocates and others to learn from the experience in the UK with flood insurance and relief. It was hosted by CFA on the 6th of September 2022, and was followed by a webinar on the affordability and access of insurance. Below, watch presentations by: Andy Board, CEO,…
Read More Watch CFA Webinar: Flood Insurance and Relief – the UK experience
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The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) has received more than 2,000 complaints from flood-affected consumers in the year since the devastating South-East Queensland/northern NSW storms, with delays in claim handling the most significant issue. This is a media release from the Essential Services Commission. It was originally published on 27th February, 2023. Disputes with insurers in the…
Read More AFCA receives over 2000 complaints in year since SEQ/NSW floods
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More than 15,000 potentially unsafe products were delisted by online marketplaces signed up to the ACCC’s Australian Product Safety Pledge last financial year, with 98 per cent of regulator-initiated take down requests actioned within 2 days. Pledge signatories also used artificial intelligence, image recognition and automated scanning to prevent hundreds of thousands of unsafe products…
Read More Product Safety Pledge removes thousands of dangerous items from online marketplaces
