Articles Archives - Page 79 of 180 - Consumers' Federation of Australia

11 April , 2019

CFA and members make submissions to review of federal unit pricing regulation

CFA and several member organisations have made written submissions to the federal government’s review of the grocery industry unit pricing mandatory Code of Conduct administered by the ACCC. The Code requires most very large grocery stores and online grocery retailers to display on shelf labels, etc. the price per unit of measure of grocery products…

10 April , 2019

Deliver strong and fair culture or risk business, insurers told

Insurers should accept the challenge of embedding a strong culture of fairness, honesty and transparency, or risk being forced out of business, according to an insurance compliance leader. Lynelle Briggs AO, Independent Chair of the General Insurance Code Governance Committee (the Committee), said there was evidence that some subscribers were not taking the Code and…

5 April , 2019

Budget backing for superannuation consumer advocate

The Federal Government has committed to a process to fund a superannuation consumer advocate in Tuesday night’s budget. Independent consumer groups CHOICE and the Superannuation Consumers Centre (SCC) have welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement to scope the permanent funding of a Superannuation Consumer Advocate but say this needs to be backed by a substantial long-term…

5 April , 2019

Sunny Side Up: Strengthening the consumer protection regime for solar panels in Victoria

Reliable, affordable, renewable energy has helped many Australians take back control of their power prices. Yet as the solar industry booms, consumer protection has not kept up. More needs to be done to protect householders, according to a comprehensive report released by Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action). Sunny Side Up: Strengthening the consumer protection…

3 April , 2019

Artificial Intelligence and ethics

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the most transformative forces of our time, and is bound to alter the fabric of society. Over the last decade, major advances were realised due to the availability of vast amounts of digital data, powerful computing architectures, and advances in AI techniques such as machine learning. To ensure that…

3 April , 2019

Labor proposes to increase penalties for competition law contraventions if elected

Labor will make the Australian economy fairer and more competitive by raising the penalties for competition and consumer breaches to levels in line with other advanced nations. In recent years, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has brought cases against a veritable who’s who of major firms. Telstra was fined for misleading consumers about…

3 April , 2019

Coalition issues button battery safety alert

The Morrison Government has issued a safety warning notice to the public regarding risks associated with button batteries. Button batteries, also known as coin cell batteries, are flat, round, single cell batteries, used in a broad range of personal and household products such as children’s toys, hearing aids, watches, remote controls, digital thermometers and bathroom…

2 April , 2019

APRA and ASIC publish world-leading life insurance data

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) have released a series of publications and an online tool allowing policyholders – for the first time – to compare life insurers’ performance in handling claims and disputes. The joint project is the culmination of more than two years of work…

28 March , 2019

Life insurance code monitoring body delivers report on Australian life insurance industry compliance

Almost 38 million life insurance cover types were in force at 30 June 2018, according to the inaugural Annual Industry Data and Compliance Report compiled by the Life Code Compliance Committee (LCCC). The report is based on information provided by subscribers to the Life Insurance Code of Practice). Death (41%) and total and permanent disability…

28 March , 2019

ACCAN shines a light on telco sales practices in new report

A new report released today by Australia’s peak communications consumer organisation, the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), shows that telco customer service representatives are being encouraged to focus on selling over service, potentially exposing consumers to questionable selling practices. The Spotlight on Telco Commissions and Targets exploratory report was commissioned following a number of…

27 March , 2019

2019 CFA Advocacy Prizewinner announced

The CFA Prize for Consumer Advocacy is awarded annually at the ACCC National Consumer Congress. Now in its second year, the prize is open to any consumer advocate or advocacy organisation who has conducted consumer advocacy during the previous year. This year, the judging panel consisted of Gail Pearson, Gordon Renouf and Delia Rickard. Entries were judged on the following…

27 March , 2019

Payment demanded by gift card? It’s a scam

Gift cards are increasingly the payment method of choice for scammers. Scamwatch reports show more than $5 million was lost in 2018, a 38 per cent increase compared with 2017. iTunes cards accounted for $3.1 million in losses – a 156 per cent increase from the $1.23 million reported in 2017. However Scamwatch has also…