Pre-Budget Submission to Treasury on the 2022-2023 Budget

January 2022

Erin Turner @ErinLTurner

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Every Australian is affected by consumer policy. From cost of living to consumer contracts, product safety to labelling - our daily lives are shaped by the Federal Government's investments in consumer issues. The Government has an opportunity to use the 2022-2023 Budget to help people with cost-of-living challenges and equip them to make informed consumer choices.

This submission includes budget-neutral ideas to make the Australian Consumer Law more effective. The recommendations to introduce a super complaints process and penalties for all breaches of the Australian Consumer Law will cost nothing in 2022-23 but will deliver savings through more effective regulatory action and penalties that contribute to consolidated revenue in future budgets.

We see an opportunity for the Federal Government to help Australians with major household purchases. In our labs at CHOICE, we regularly find that price and brand is no reliable indicator of the quality of a product. Australians want clearer information about what products will last longer and be easier to repair if something breaks. The Productivity Commission recently recommended that the Federal Government develop a durability and repairability label for key household goods. We argue that the Budget should commit funding to make this labelling scheme possible.

Download submission (PDF)