Vulnerable Consumers Archives - Consumers' Federation of Australia

17 March , 2025

Time to scrap ‘consumer protection’ rules that don’t protect consumers

Australia’s peak communications consumer body, ACCAN, has today called for the weak and ineffective industry-drafted Telecommunications Consumer Protections (TCP) Code to be scrapped in favour of robust and enforceable industry standards that better protect Australian consumers. Communications are an essential service – yet the rules which exist to protect communications consumers are failing in their…

13 March , 2025

Scam losses fall, but the cost is still too high

Consumer Action Law Centre says a report released today from the National Anti-Scam Centre, Targeting scams, reveals a welcome fall in the value of reported scams losses for 2024 (down by 25.9% to $2.03 billion). Still, the huge sum lost by nearly half a million victims, in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, is deeply concerning. “While…

20 February , 2025

Beyond the Label: Misleading Marketing for Baby and Toddler Food

As part of their ‘Our Kids are Sweet Enough’ campaign the Food for Health Alliance has recently released a report, Beyond the label: seeing past marketing on baby and toddler foods in Australia. The Beyond the label report highlights the use of misleading marketing tactics on food packaging to lead parents and caregivers to believe…

31 January , 2025

Joint media release from Australian and Philippines authorities as over 5,000 Australians receive text warnings over a romance scam

This is a joint media release between the AFP, National Anti-Scam Centre, Philippines Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission and National Bureau of Investigation Editor’s note: Text message screenshot, images from investigation, and audio grabs from AFP Commander Graeme Marshall are available via Hightail Authorities have texted more than 5000 potential victims in Australia to warn they may…

3 December , 2024

New Centrepay Reform Bans Predatory Rent-to-Buy’s in Win for Consumers and Advocates

Consumer Action Law Centre CEO Stephanie Tonkin said she was absolutely delighted that Minister Bill Shorten has announced consumer protections and reforms to Centrepay that restore it to its original purpose; that it should only be used by consumers to make regular voluntary payments for essential bills and expenses. (link to media release) “We have…

25 November , 2024

Greenhouses Gases Continue to Rise – 2023 the Warmest Year on Record

Global average concentrations of all major long-lived greenhouse gases continue to rise in the atmosphere, driving further climate change says a new report by CSIRO: State of the Climate. This eighth biennial State of the Climate report is a synthesis of the science that underpins our understanding of Australia’s climate. It is intended to inform…

14 November , 2024

ACCC Warns NDIS Providers Against Misleading Advertising

The ACCC is putting businesses on notice that it is focusing in on problematic advertising practices which target participants in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The ACCC has been working with the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) and NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission to identify advertising which may be in breach of the Australian…

11 November , 2024

CFA Supports Call for Action to Protect Children from Unhealthy Food Marketing

In an open letter to Health Ministers, CFA and many other organisations have called for action to protect children from the marketing of unhealthy food by: A copy of the letter is available here

8 November , 2024

Optus Fined Over 2023 Outage Impacting Triple Zero

ACCAN has today welcomed the decisive action by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) in holding Optus to account and issuing a $12 million fine for risking the welfare of hundreds of consumers during the widespread outage of November 2023. This latest fine signals the need for the company and its new CEO, Steven…

22 October , 2024

Consultation Opens on ‘Phase Two’ of Online Safety Codes

Following the Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth.), industry associations have been tasked with developing codes of practice to protect Australians from a number of materials online. The draft codes for phase two, covering Classes 1C and 2 materials, have now been released and are available for public comment here. Consultation will be open from October…

21 October , 2024

People in Hardship Targeted in Criminal Financial Assistance Scams

The National Anti-Scam Centre is warning Australians that criminals are impersonating charities and offering fake financial assistance schemes to target people experiencing financial hardship. No Interest Loan Schemes are offered by trusted charities such as Good Shepherd and the Salvation Army and are intended to support low-income earners and people in hardship who are experiencing…

17 October , 2024

Children’s safety in the metaverse – Draft standard open for Public Comment

The metaverse is a collective virtual shared space, where you can socialise, collaborate, learn, and play with others across different digital worlds. The metaverse may offer new opportunities for creativity, education, entertainment, and commerce, but there are also new challenges where metaverse technologies can have a significant impact on young users’ mental health and well-being. Children…