Regulator news and government inquiries

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Consumers Federation Australia along with the Consumer Action Law Centre, Financial Rights Legal Centre and Financial Counselling Australia have written a letter to the Prime Minister, Minister for Financial Services and the Treasurer in response to announcements of the Federal Government possibly instituting a financial services tribunal. CFA, along with other signed organisations have raised…

Read More Is a banking tribunal really the answer?

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Earlier in 2016, the Productivity Commission announced its study on consumer law enforcement and administration. The study seeks to focus on the efficacy of the single law, multiple regulator model which provides the foundation for Australian Consumer Law. The Productivity Commission was seeking commentary and submissions on the existing model to publish within their Issues…

Read More CFA publishes submission to the Productivity Commission

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  The Productivity Commission has recently launched a study into the enforcement and administration arrangements underpinning the Australian Consumer Law. The study will focus on the effectiveness of the ‘single-law, multiple regulator’ model – a model where the national consumer law is jointly enforced and administered by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and…

Read More Productivity Commission launches ACL review: issues paper released

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CHOICE has introduced their new consumer assistance tool: Complane. Complane has been developed to minimize the number of difficulties that travelers have making complaints with airlines when their flights are delayed or canceled. CHOICE recently conducted a study into passenger travel, revealing that over the past year, over 23 per cent of travelers faced either…

Read More CHOICE launches Complane

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The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) is seeking Expressions of Interest from individuals to apply to be a member of the Consumer Challenge Panel (CCP). The CCP forms an invaluable part of the AER’s regulatory decision-making process by providing consumer insight and perspective into the AER’s decisions. Individuals with consumer experience and engagement, regulatory decision-making or knowledge of…

Read More Australian Energy Regulator seeking expressions of interest for Consumer Challenge Panel members

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The Queensland Consumers Association (QCA) and other consumer groups1 want all parties contesting the forthcoming federal election to do much more to help consumers experiencing cost of living pressures. QCA spokesperson, Ian Jarratt, says being able to easily and quickly get better value at the supermarket would help consumers to “ease the squeeze” on living…

Read More Consumers call for political parties to help ease the squeeze on living standards

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The Productivity Commission has published a press release, calling on people to provide valuable input into the Telecommunications Universal Service Obligation. The Commission seeks to change and meet the evolving demands for the future direction of telecommunications within the Australian market.   Commissioner Paul Lindwall states that ‘currently we have in place a Universal Service…

Read More The changing telecommunications market: have your say

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Robin Simpson, Consumers International’s Senior Policy Advisor discusses the recently revised OECD E-commerce guidelines and their implications for consumers. The OECD published its revised E-commerce guidelines at the end of March. They form a useful outline for any regulator that is developing work in this area and a good starting point for consumer groups that want to evaluate…

Read More OECD E-commerce guidelines – a step forward for consumers in the digital age