CHOICE August 2021

Depending on which research you read, anywhere up to 90% of Australians want to pay attention to ethical or sustainable factors when shopping. However, many of us are not so effective at putting those good intentions into practice. I suspect this is largely because it’s often difficult. There are lots of products that are marketed as ‘eco’ or ‘sustainable’, but it’s hard to find out what this means exactly. There are apparently more than 50 eco labelling schemes in Australia – some with robust certification requirements, others a little more sketchy. The one thing they all have in common is that they aren’t mandatory. A business can pretty much whack an eco label on a product without any requirement for anybody to check it. Even claims that come with a high price…

In early 2018, CHOICE ran a campaign calling for tighter pet food regulations. This was in response to hundreds of pets falling ill, or worse, over the preceding years after eating contaminated pet food. We called for mandatory quality standards, faster recalls and an independent pet food regulator. Later that year, in the wake of a Senate report on the issue, Minister of Agriculture David Littleproud established a working group to review the regulation and safety of pet food. In June 2021, the group released its recommendations, which we think fall short. The recommendation that the Australian Standard for the Manufacturing and Marketing of Pet Food become a mandatory standard under Australian Consumer Law was rejected, meaning the standard will remain voluntary and continue to be overseen by the pet food…

Millions of Australians will be left paying more for their mobile phone plans after price hikes at all of the big three telecommunications companies, analysis by the ACCC has found. Telstra, Optus and Vodafone hold more than 95% of the post-paid phone market and 87% of the total retail phone market. Since July 2020, all three have increased the price of several pre- and post-paid plans. “Our analysis shows that consumers will now be left paying significantly more for a range of mobile phone plans at Telstra, Optus and Vodafone,” ACCC chair Rod Sims says. “The behaviour of the three big telcos would suggest they are not concerned about losing customers to rivals.” Telstra, for example, increased the price of their post-paid mobile plan by between $5 and $15 over the last…

If you’re under 30 years old and not a high-income earner, and you don’t actually need hospital cover for the foreseeable future, then there’s no benefit to taking out health insurance. Loading: The Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) loading, a government initiative to encourage people to take out insurance early, only applies after you turn 31, so does not affect under 30s. Surcharge: The Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS) is applied by the government at tax-time to high-income earners who don’t have hospital cover. But if you’re a single person earning up to $90K (or couple or family earning up to $180K), you’re exempt from paying the MLS and there’s no tax benefit to having health insurance. Free cover: If you’re under 25 (soon to be raised to 31) and a full-time student, most health…

As more people spend time at home during the pandemic, there’s been an uptick in people using online marketplaces and buy, swap, sell sites like Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree and eBay to spruce up their home. These sites are a natural place to search if you’re looking to buy pre-loved goods that are cheaper, one-of-a-kind or available in your neighbourhood. While these online marketplaces have risen in popularity in recent years, the level of protection for consumers hasn’t. Your consumer guarantee rights under the Australian Consumer Law may not apply when buying items on such sites because the transactions are usually private transactions between individuals, not between a business and consumer. So, you may not be entitled to get a repair, replacement or refund if something goes wrong with the product. That’s why…

In June the Productivity Commission released its draft report on the Right to Repair. The report highlighted that while there is an existing right to repair under the Australian Consumer Law, there are currently barriers that stop people from accessing this important but complicated consumer right. It looked at issues including the requirement to use authorised repairers, the role that copyright law plays in stopping repairers’ access to manuals, and the availability of spare parts. The Commission has recommended that guidance is provided to shoppers on the durability of products. But we think this guidance should be backed up by information on durability at the point of sale. This information should be as easy to read as water and energy efficiency labels. The draft report also highlighted options for improving consumers’ access…