Articles Archives - Page 73 of 180 - Consumers' Federation of Australia

17 February , 2020

ASIC releases report reviewing trustees’ PYSP communications

ASIC has released the findings from its recent review of superannuation trustees’ communications with their members about changes introduced through the Treasury Laws Amendment (Protecting Your Superannuation Package) Act 2019 (PYSP). The PYSP reforms were introduced to protect the superannuation savings of Australians from erosion due to inappropriate fees and insurance premiums as well as to reduce unintended…

16 February , 2020

Consumer research centre releases latest report – Choosing care: the difficulties of navigating home care

The report from Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC) draws on research undertaken in partnership with University of South Australia (UniSA) which surveyed 502 Home Care Package (HCP) recipients across metropolitan Australia in June and July last year. “Older Australians are being abandoned by the system, often unable to access the necessary support to live happier,…

14 February , 2020

CHOICE calls for stronger ticket resale protections

CHOICE is warning Australians to avoid ticketing fakes on platforms like Viagogo after Google let the exploitative ticket seller back onto its search advertising. “The Federal Government and Michael Sukkar have the power to make this the last summer of ticketing fakes,” says Julia Steward, Head of Policy at CHOICE. “We’re glad to see the…

13 February , 2020

Inclined sleepers: A tragedy waiting to happen in our homes

CHOICE is calling on the government to introduce tighter product safety laws, following an alarming number of infant deaths linked to inclined sleepers in the US. CHOICE experts say that based on research conducted in the US, inclined sleepers are so dangerous for young babies that they should be completely avoided. Two inclined sleeping products…

12 February , 2020

Are you paying for junk insurance in your super?

Casual and part-time workers, people out of work and people in ‘hazardous’ jobs often face the activities of daily living (ADL) test if they make a total and permanent disability claim. This effectively makes the TPD insurance in their super junk. More than 12 million Australians have total and permanent disability (TPD) insurance through their…

12 February , 2020

Summer, standards and how they relate to you

The Australian Summer is an iconic part of the Aussie lifestyle but did you know that some of our favourite summer pastimes include a range of standards designed to keep us safe? They affect everything from the fans keeping you cool to your coolest pair of sunnies, read more here. Consumers’ Federation of Australia (CFA) regularly seeks…

5 February , 2020

Tackling ageism through Standards

Age discrimination can creep up on you. Ageism is stereotyping, discrimination or mistreatment based solely upon age. It comes from negative attitudes and beliefs about what it means to be older. Ageism is pervasive and can have profound negative consequences on older adults’ health and wellbeing. We need to act now to improve the lives…

5 February , 2020

More than 250,000 vehicles with defective Takata airbags remaining for replacement

About 3.56 million defective Takata airbags have now been replaced as part of the compulsory recall, but more than seven percent remain outstanding and the ACCC is urging consumers not to ignore or delay responding to recall notices. Figures released on Friday show about 3.56 million airbags in 2.59 million vehicles were rectified as at…

29 January , 2020

Who is protecting your information on the internet?

The recent ABC article titled How safe are GPS trackers for children – and what should I know before buying one? raises concerns about the ethics of technological surveillance and asks, ‘are we being sucked in by their convenience?’ When we digitise information or upload it to the internet, we run the risk of having that information…

22 January , 2020

Honda and Mitsubishi recall 42,000 cars due to serious airbag safety risk

ACCC Media Release 3/20: Honda and Mitsubishi have commenced voluntary recalls for vehicles manufactured between 1996 and 2000 due to a serious safety concern relating to faulty airbags. These vehicles may have been fitted with potentially deadly Takata NADI 5-AT airbags. There is a risk these airbags may misdeploy in an accident and cause metal…

22 January , 2020

Proposed battery recycling scheme to combat waste

Battery waste is a growing problem in Australia; in 2014 it was estimated that Australia was generating 17,500 tonnes of waste in batteries, or 700 million batteries based on an equivalent battery unit. 97% of all batteries were being inappropriately disposed of in landfill and impacting on the environment. It is proposed that an industry-led…

19 December , 2019

New consumer protections to reduce mobile roaming bill shock

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has enhanced rules for telcos in order to better protect people against the ‘bill shock’ that can come from high international mobile roaming charges. Under current rules, telcos must send notifications about international mobile roaming charges to devices that can receive SMS messages – mostly mobile phones. This…