From July 2024 select advocacy groups for consumers and small business will be able to lodge complaints with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) – and the ACCC will be obligated to respond. From the website of Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury, Andrew Leigh MP:
Read More Designated Complaints Function Announced
The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman’s (TIO) Quarter Three Complaints Report shows residential consumers and small businesses made 17,777 complaints about phone and internet services between January and March this year. While complaints have remained steady compared to the previous quarter, the results show an almost 19 per cent decrease against the same period last year.
Read More Problems Persist but Hold Steady – TIO 3rd Quarterly Report
Original media release 1/05/2023 from Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. Privacy regulators from across Australia have issued a joint statement to mark the start of Privacy Awareness Week 2023 (1 to 7 May). For Privacy Awareness Week, privacy authorities from around Australia are joining together to call for people, organisations and agencies to get ‘back to basics’…
Read More Privacy Week 1-7 May 2023: Back to Basics
“Cost of living issues aren’t going away for the foreseeable future, so it’s particularly concerning that over 40% of the Australian adult population are unaware that they can contact their telco provider for help managing their bills. This research shows that it is imperative that financial hardship policies are promoted by telcos and made easily accessible on their websites,”
Read More Consumers Want (and need) More from Telcos
The ACCC has highlighted a range of harms to consumers and small businesses occurring across social media services, including excessive data collection practices, lack of effective dispute resolution options, prevalence of scams, lack of transparency for advertisers and inadequate disclosure of sponsored content by influencers and brands.
Read More ACCC Social Media Report Finds Consumers and Small Businesses Require More Protections
The Customer Owned Banking Code Compliance Committee (COBCCC) has warned customer owned banking institutions to improve reporting following the release of its 2021-22 Annual Data Report.
Read More Customer-Owned Banks Urged to Improve Reporting
Consumers International’s (CI) Global Congress, an event held every four years to bring together the consumer movement and cross-sector influencers, has announced its 2023 location as Nairobi, Kenya from 6th-8th December.
Read More 2023 Consumers International Global Congress: Kenya
Australia’s four major banks are failing their customers by taking a ‘variable and…less mature’ approach to scams than expected, with ‘inconsistent and narrow approaches to determining liability’ as well as gaps in how they detect and stop scam payments, according to Report 761 today from the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC).
Read More ASIC Report says Australian Banks are Failing Customers
Media release first posted 18/04/2023. The ACCC is asking parents and guardians for their views on childcare services in Australia, as part of its year-long inquiry into the sector. Parents and guardians are invited to complete a short online survey to share their experiences when looking for and using childcare services in Australia. The ACCC is seeking…
Read More Parents and Guardians Asked for Their Experience with Childcare
Media release from CHOICE 18/04/2023. New national research from CHOICE has revealed over 40% of renters have been pressured to use RentTech to apply for a home – putting them at risk of data breaches, extra costs and exclusion from housing. Some tenants are also being forced to use these third-party rental platforms, such as…
Read More Your data, open for inspection: CHOICE raises alarm on RentTech
Below is a media release (12/04/2023) from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) regarding current Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb’s speech to the National Press Club on the need to reform merger laws in Australia. A full transcript of the speech is available from the ACCC’s website here. Australia’s merger laws are no longer fit for…
Read More ACCC: Reform of merger laws critical for Australia’s economic transition
The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), along with the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), has found that while direct debit may work for some consumers direct debits automatic system and lack of flexibility created unfair additional costs and financial distress for vulnerable consumers. In a media release (05/04/2023) ACCAN said: A thriving and competitive…
Read More Direct Debit for Telcos and Utilities a Problem for Vulnerable Consumers
