The Federal Government has begun an evaluation of Australia’s country of origin food labelling system to make sure it’s working for Australian consumers. The evaluation of country of origin labelling for food will consider if the labels are helping consumers make more informed choices, as well as clarifying the origin claims that businesses can make,…
Read More Participate in the Country of Origin Food Labelling Consultation
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During this challenging time standards ensure that we can work from home safely and efficiently. Standards Australia developed these standards via technical committees whose members come from a range of stakeholders including Consumers’ Federation of Australia (CFA). Can you speak up for consumers as part of the CFA Standards Project to ensure that new standards…
Read More Standards and working from home
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The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) today launched the next phase of its action plan to combat scams, unveiling a suite of new resources designed to help Australians protect themselves on their home and mobile phones from scams. Chair of the ACMA’s Scam Taskforce Fiona Cameron said scammers are using the COVID-19 pandemic to take advantage of…
Read More ACMA moves to protect Australians from phone scams
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Australian and New Zealand consumers had a significant victory on 17 July 2020 when, by a majority vote, the Australian and New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation decided that there should be a mandatory standardised pregnancy warning label on alcoholic beverages. There will be a 3 year implementation period. Currently, provision of a pregnancy…
Read More Pregnancy warning label to be mandatory on alcoholic beverages
A website designed to empower consumers and help insurance brokers improve their service standards has been launched by the independent Insurance Brokers Code Compliance Committee (the Committee) that monitors compliance with the Insurance Brokers Code of Practice (the Code). It is an exciting development for the Committee, which works with consumer groups, regulators and Code subscribers to…
Read More New website of the Insurance Brokers Code Compliance Committee links consumers and insurance brokers
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Super Consumers Australia urges insurers to drop discriminatory policies that don’t protect the unemployed or people working limited hours. Super Consumers Australia has warned that the insurance industry will put approximately 343,000 people at financial risk if it doesn’t take action by the end of September. The warning comes after the Financial Services Council promised…
Read More COVID job losses leading to people paying for junk insurance
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Today’s announcement by the banking industry of further assistance to help customers experiencing financial hardship will provide some important relief to those who continue to be impacted by COVID-19. CHOICE, Financial Rights Legal Centre, Consumer Action Law Centre and Financial Counselling Australia are at the forefront of helping people impacted by COVID-19, particularly people doing…
Read More Banks Announcement of Further Assistance for Customers a Timely Relief: Consumer Groups
In this short animated video, Legal Aid Queensland’s Paul Holmes, senior lawyer (consumer advocate), Civil Justice Services team talks about how to reduce your debt, particularly during COVID-19. In the legal information bites series, Legal Aid Queensland talks about the law, your rights and where to get legal help if you need it. To find…
Read More How to reduce your debt – Legal information bites by Queensland Legal Aid
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Ladders are used in most households for a range of jobs from DIY to changing lightbulbs; however, if the ladder is not in good condition or is used unsafely, falls can occur and cause fractured limbs, spinal cord damage, severe brain injury or death. Standards Australia has just published a revised standard AS 1895.2:2020 Portable ladders which provides minimum requirements…
Read More Safe ladder use and Australian Standards
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Consumers can now choose to share their banking data to access more personalised financial products and services following the launch of the Consumer Data Right today. All four major banks are capable of sharing their customers’ data, when requested by the customer. Other authorised deposit-taking institutions will join the Consumer Data Right over the coming…
Read More Consumer Data Right goes live for data sharing
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Victorian energy consumers can now sign up to a new energy deal with the assurance that prices won’t increase more than once every 12 months, with new rules taking effect today. The change is one of many energy reforms to begin on 1 July and mean retailers can no longer engage in ‘bait and switch’…
Read More New protections for energy customers take effect
In this short animated video, Legal Aid Queensland’s Paul Holmes, senior lawyer (consumer advocate), Civil Justice Services team talks about consumer credit insurance. In the legal information bites series, Legal Aid Queensland talks about the law, your rights and where to get legal help if you need it. To find out more about your consumer…
Read More How to access your consumer credit insurance in 3 steps
