Report Archives - Consumers' Federation of Australia

26 October , 2024

Advocates Welcome Flood Inquiry Report, Urge Government to Act Now

Consumer groups have welcomed the release of the Final Report of the Standing Committee on Economics’ Inquiry into Insurer’s responses to 2022 Major Floods. The groups have called on the insurance sector and the Insurance Council of Australia to accept all the recommendations and implement changes to their internal processes and the Code of Practice…

25 September , 2024

Regulators Release Working Paper on an AI Generative Model

The Digital Platform Regulators Forum (DP-REG) has published a working paper on multimodal foundation models (MFMs) used in generative artificial intelligence (AI). The latest working paper “Examination of technology – Multimodal Foundation Models” examines MFMs – a type of generative AI that can process and output multiple data types, such as image, audio or video…

20 September , 2024

Calls Continue for Consumer Regulators to Release Data

The majority of Australia’s consumer regulators are missing the opportunity to act as an early warning system for dodgy businesses, according to new research from the Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC). The Am I The Only One? report, released today, finds that most Australian consumer regulators do not publish regular complaints data in an accessible…

12 September , 2024

CPRC Webinar: Untapped Power of Unpublished Data

The Consumer Policy Research Centre is hosting a webinar, Untapped power of unpublished data, to “unveil the findings of our latest research into the publication practices of consumer complaints data among Australian regulators”. The webinar is scheduled for September 24 from 4:00pm to 5:00pm AEST and you can register for the event here. Erin Turner,…

4 September , 2024

BCCC Releases 2023-2024 Annual Report, Deceased Estates a Focus of Investigation

From the Chair of the Banking Code Compliance Committee: This year we issued three sanctions to three banks for serious and systemic breaches of the Code [relating to deceased estates]. This action underscores our commitment to hold banks accountable for the promises they make under the Code and to respond firmly where we find serious…

30 August , 2024

ASIC Continues to Focus on Greenwashing

ASIC has made 47 regulatory interventions to address greenwashing misconduct during the 15-month period up to 30 June 2024, including the commencement of two Federal Court proceedings and over $123,000 in infringement notice payments. The range of interventions, outlined in Report 791 ASIC’s interventions on greenwashing misconduct: 2023–2024 (REP 791), are aimed at stamping out misleading and…

21 August , 2024

New Report on Subscription Traps in Australia and Best Practices Going Forward

The Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC) has just released a new research report Let me out – Subscription trap practices in Australia (published August 2024, written by Chandni Gupta, with thanks to CHOICE and Swetha Meenal Ananthapadmanaban) detailing harmful subscription trap practices in Australia and their affect on consumers. Additionally, the report explains best practices…

8 August , 2024

Over 70% of Consumers Experience Poor Customer Service

CHOICE survey of 6000 consumers reveals many businesses are giving consumers the run-around A new survey of 6000 CHOICE supporters has found that almost 3 in 4 (73%) have experienced poor customer service from a business they dealt with in the preceding year, and 85% believed that customer service provided by businesses is getting worse. …

31 July , 2024

First Nations-led Study on Lived Experience of Energy in Communities Launches

A new, first-of-its-kind First Nations-led research project has launched today, to improve energy security and consumer protections for customers accessing electricity services through pre-payment arrangements. Prepaid metering is mandated in many regional and remote Aboriginal communities and is associated with a high rate of disconnections and energy insecurity. Consumer protections for those customers vary across…

26 July , 2024

New Research Highlights Sorry State of Consumer Experience and Trust with Telcos

New research commissioned by the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) shows more than 75 percent of Australians have experienced some form of vulnerability in the last 12 months. The research, produced via a partnership between the Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC) and the TIO unearthed a suite of sobering assessments in relation to the vulnerability of the consumer…

25 July , 2024

Money Yarns, Stronger Futures – Highlighting Challenges and Bold Recommendations

The Consumer Action Law Centre has today released a groundbreaking report titled Money Yarns, Stronger Futures. The report amplifies the voices of First Nations people, sharing their personal experiences to shed light on the significant challenges they face in achieving financial prosperity. Money Yarns, Stronger Futures not only highlights these challenges but also offers bold recommendations for both…

16 July , 2024

Banks Victim Shaming Approach ‘immoral’ and Out of Touch with Community Expectations

Banks victim-shaming approach ‘immoral’- Tonkin New polling by Essential Media is unequivocal: the vast majority (75%) of Australians expect banks to keep their money safe from criminal scammers, and if they fail, to return it to their accounts. Australians lost a massive $2.74 billion to scammers in 2023, that’s hundreds of dollars for every household in our country…