Consumer advice

Court rules fish oil capsules not ‘Made in Australia'

The Federal Court has ruled that the encapsulation in Australia of imported fish oil and Vitamin D by Nature's Care Manufacture Pty Ltd (Nature’s Care) would not permit the capsules to be labelled ‘Made in Australia’ under the Australian Consumer Law’s (ACL) Country of Origin labelling provisions.

“The ACCC is pleased that the approach of the Federal Court is consistent with the guidance the ACCC has given industry about country of origin labelling,” ACCC Deputy Chair Mick Keogh said.

ACCC to monitor the removal of GST on feminine hygiene products

The Federal Government has directed the ACCC to monitor and report on the prices, costs and profits relating to the supply of menstrual products in the feminine hygiene products industry.

The Government has previously agreed with the states and territories that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be removed from menstrual products from 1 January 2019.

ACCC targets quad bike, button battery and furniture safety

Chairman Rod Sims today announced the ACCC’s product safety priorities for 2018 at the National Consumer Congress in Sydney, and reaffirmed support for a general safety provision to be introduced in Australian law to reduce the risk of unsafe goods entering the market.

“Today, I am proud to release a new policy which sets out how the ACCC prioritises and manages product safety risks, and the issues we will target in 2018. As an agency, it is essential that we prioritise our product safety resource allocation,” Mr Sims said.

Mortgage pricing not strongly competitive

The opaque pricing of discounts offered on residential mortgage rates makes it difficult for customers to make informed choices and disadvantages borrowers who do not regularly review their choice of lender, a report by the ACCC has found.

The ACCC’s Residential Mortgage Price Inquiry is monitoring the prices charged by the five banks affected by the Government’s Major Bank Levy: Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), Macquarie Bank Limited, National Australia Bank Limited (NAB), and Westpac Banking Corporation.

39 per cent increase in consumer guarantee reports in 2017

More than 29,000 people reported consumer guarantee issues to the ACCC in 2017, with half noting problems getting remedies for faulty automotive, whitegoods or electronics products.

The ACCC is concerned by this growing trend, which shows a 39 per cent increase in reports about consumer guarantee issues when compared to the 21,000 received in 2016.

“It’s disappointing to see that more and more people are having issues enforcing their consumer guarantee rights,” ACCC Acting Chair Dr Michael Schaper said.