Know how to complain: stand up for your consumer rights
The ACCC commenced an ongoing translation project for one of its core publications Know how to complain: stand up for your consumer rights in May 2007. Somali and Amharic (Ethiopian) versions of the flyer were published in the second half of 2007. Translation into Arabic, Vietnamese and Traditional Chinese was completed in January 2008. Further languages will be identified and progressed later in 2008. Statistics from the 2006 census have been obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and this data is currently being analysed to assist with this project.
The ACCC released two new fact sheets in January. The first, Your consumer rights: mobile phone handsets, explain what consumers can do when they are having problems with their mobile phone handset. The second, Your consumer rights: environmental claims, provides a range of tips to help consumers understand and evaluate some common environmental claims in the context of the Trade Practices Act.
The fact sheets are part of a suite of fact sheets developed by the ACCC to inform consumers about their rights under the Trade Practices Act. Other titles in the series include:
Your consumer rights—consumer protection contains information on the general consumer protection provisions of the Trade Practices Act
Your consumer rights—broadband connection speeds provides information on issues that may affect the speed of a broadband connection and the advertising of broadband speed
Your consumer rights—rent bidding provides tenants with information on the practice of rent bidding and the Trade Practices Act
Your consumer rights: Indigenous art and craft includes handy hints for consumers thinking of purchasing Indigenous art and craft.
These fact sheets are available free of charge from the ACCC website or by calling the ACCC Infocentre on 1300 302 502.
The Trade Practices Act and carbon offset claims
Consumer concerns about understanding and verifying carbon offset claims have led the ACCC to consider trade practices issues associated with this emerging market.
An issues paper, The Trade Practices Act and carbon offset claims, has been distributed to key stakeholders such as consumer groups, accreditation agencies, offset providers and corporate participants in carbon offsets schemes as well as the general public more broadly (on the ACCC website) to enable interested parties to consider and comment on the preliminary issues identified by the ACCC.
The information gathered out of consultation and responses to the issues statement will then inform the ACCC’s development of guidance on carbon offset claims.
