Vulnerable Consumers Archives - Page 14 of 21 - Consumers' Federation of Australia

9 October , 2023

New Mandatory Safety Standards to Protect Children from Choking Hazards

The ACCC will enforce the new toy safety standard which will make it mandatory for all toys marketed at children under three to adhere to strict design and testing requirements ensuring toys do not contain small parts.

27 September , 2023

Scam Ads ‘Rife’ on Digital Platforms as Social Media Platforms Fail to Act

“Digital platforms have vast resources and technical capabilities to detect and prevent scams, but without mandatory rules backed by strong civil penalties, companies will continue to have little incentive to protect people.”

27 September , 2023

40% of Bassinets in Australia Fail Safety Test

“Unfortunately, there is currently no mandatory Australian safety standard for bassinets. This means that year after year we continue to see unsafe bassinets make it onto the shelves,” says Kim Gilmour, CHOICE baby product expert.

23 September , 2023

NASC Warns of Increasing Virtual Kidnapping Scams

Three months after the ABC ran a story about virtual kidnapping scams targeting Chinese international students in Sydney, the National Anti-Scam Centre (NASC) has warned that the scam, which aims to threaten, intimidate, and steal from Chinese students living in Australia (regardless of socio-economic status), has more than doubled in number since August 2023.

22 September , 2023

Single Parents Unfairly Priced Out of Health Insurance

Single parents who want to cover their children on their policy will be slugged with an increase of up to 60–70% in many cases. Sometimes they’ll even pay twice as much.

22 September , 2023

Improvements for Consumers But Concerns Linger Over Reporting Practices

The Customer Owned Banking Code Compliance Committee (COBCCC) has recently released its Annual Report for 2022-23 (available here). There was positive news in terms of the preparedness of customer-owned banks to adopt the new 2022 Customer Owned Banking Code of Practice (the Code) which has been characterised as clearer and stronger in its commitments, especially…

20 September , 2023

Cost-of-Living: Calls for Help and Families in Need

“We know that suicide is complex and often linked to many risk factors like personal debt, unemployment, family breakdown, social isolation, and mental health.
“Feeding the family and keeping a roof over our heads are two of the most basic human needs. While interest rates are a matter for the RBA Board, we must be prepared and proactive to prevent distress and suicide rates from continuing to rise,” said Ms Murray.

19 September , 2023

Accessibility Best Practice Guide

Access to information, goods, and services are fundamental to consumer education, protection, advocacy, and rights. The importance of access and how some people are left out is something that is crucial to discussions about metropolitan areas as compared to rural and remote areas, where access to many goods and services can be limited and potentially…

19 September , 2023

Almost a Third of Playpens Fail CHOICE Safety Test

Original media release from CHOICE (30/08/2023). “We gave several playpens a score of zero for performance simply because they had so many failures,” says Kim Gilmour, CHOICE’s team leader for household products. In fact, eight of the 25 models in our current review failed to pass CHOICE’s key safety requirements – that’s almost a third, a…

18 September , 2023

FCA on the Credit and Crypto Gambling Ban

“This legislation is terrific,” Ms Levin said. “We’re delighted that it covers not only credit cards, but also digital wallets and digital currencies.”
Ms Levin said the one area of disappointment was a carve-out for online lotteries.

12 September , 2023

“The sky didn’t fall in”

Lauren’s eye-opening presentation on gambling harm prevention demonstrates just how much Australian regulators and politicians can learn from their European counterparts.

8 September , 2023

Priced Out – House Insurance Affordability

One-and-a-quarter million Australian households face home insurance affordability stress