Need to know
- Many 2024 consumer wins were the culmination of years of campaigning and investigative work, with no shortage of setbacks along the way
- Highlights included relief for the victims of the Youpla collapse, the regulation of BNPL products, new anti-scams legislation, and new safety standards for baby products
- Our long-running airline and unfair trading investigations led to new government reforms announced in 2024
The struggle to establish and maintain a fair, just and safe consumer marketplace for all Australians remains a work in progress for CHOICE – with the help of our indispensable allies and supporters. But we have managed to achieve some important wins in 2024.
Many of these high points were the culmination of years of campaigning and investigative work, with no shortage of setbacks along the way. None would have been possible without the ongoing support of our members, nor without the collective belief that consumers acting together for the greater good can make Australia a better place to live.
CHOICE is dedicated to the cause of consumer rights, but in so many cases, consumer rights come down to human rights. We thank you for your support.
Relief for victims of the Youpla collapse
In February, we saw a long-awaited resolution to a matter affecting tens of thousands of mostly Indigenous Australians. The funeral insurance provider Youpla, previously known as the Aboriginal Community Benefit Fund, had long targeted First Nations communities with insurance products meant to ensure they had the funds on hand to pay for sorry business when the time came.
In all, the company, which represented itself as having Aboriginal ownership, raked in over $170 million from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander policyholders over three decades. The crooked scheme came undone in March 2022, leaving customers who had paid thousands of dollars in premiums with nothing.
The Save Sorry Business Coalition – a First Nations-led campaign supported by 130 organisations, including CHOICE – went to work to right this massive wrong. After years of gathering evidence and lobbying lawmakers, the government's Youpla Support Program, announced in February, came into effect in July 2024.
The scheme is expected to deliver about $97 million to Youpla's victims
The scheme was set up to provide over 13,000 people with the option of a government-backed bond, or a payment of 60% of the premiums paid (capped at the insurance benefit amount) and is accepting applications until 30 June 2026. Sixty cents on the dollar isn't the same as getting all your money back, but it is far better than nothing.
The offer is available to Youpla clients who were still paying for a funeral insurance policy on or after 1 August 2015 – the date the government at the time acted to prevent further payments to the dodgy scheme through Centrelink's payment system Centrepay. It is expected to deliver about $97 million to Youpla's victims.
Also in February, the Federal Court ruled that Youpla's marketing materials suggesting it had Aboriginal ownership were false.
CHOICE named 'designated complainant'
In March, the federal government passed legislation that enables consumer and small business groups to make 'designated complaints' to the ACCC about significant or systemic market issues. In July, the government appointed CHOICE as one of the first designated complainants.
It means we can bring the patterns of wrongdoing that we regularly unearth in our campaigns and investigations to the regulator's attention through a special pathway, and it's obligated to respond within 90 days. The ACCC doesn't investigate individual consumer complaints in the same way that a state fair trading agency does, but it does keep complaints on file with an eye to spotting repeat occurrences.
Ideally, this will mean speedier resolutions for the biggest issues facing Australian consumers
As a designated complainant, we can act on your behalf and bring systemic issues to the regulator's attention all at once. Ideally, this will mean speedier resolutions for the biggest issues facing Australian consumers. We already have a complaint in the works and are aiming to file it early next year.
Bloomex cops a $1 million penalty
In November 2022, we handed the online florist business Bloomex a Shonky for failures on many fronts. Chief among them was the businesses' failure to perform its basic task – delivering flowers as promised and paid for. In other cases, Bloomex delivered wilted bouquets well past the agreed delivery date that looked nothing like the images on its website.
The business appeared to have been putting all its resources into achieving high Google rankings rather than delivering fresh flowers. Yet, despite the many disaffected customers we heard from, the Bloomex website trumpeted rave reviews.
The Canada-based company, which had facilities across Australia, was taken to court by the ACCC in December 2022 for publishing misleading star ratings, promoting fake discounts and engaging in drip pricing. In March 2024, it copped a $1 million penalty.
New fuel efficiency standards
In May, the federal government passed new vehicle fuel efficiency standards following advocacy by CHOICE. The aim is to reduce vehicle running costs and increase vehicle choices, including electric vehicles. It means Australia will join most of the rest of the world on standards for fuel efficiency.
It's an important step toward developing a more robust electric vehicle market in Australia. It should ultimately result in paying less for fuel and having more choices on which cars to buy, including EVs.
New mandatory standards for infant sleep products
We've been testing products designed for infants, babies and toddlers in the CHOICE labs for decades. All too often the products fail our safety tests, falling short of both mandatory and voluntary standards. In our view, the unacceptable safety risks we've discovered over the years should have kept these products off the market.
In July 2024, new mandatory standards for infant sleep products were established at long last. They apply to household and portable cots, bassinets, cradles, bouncers and various other products. Manufacturers were given a transition period of 18 months and must comply with the new standards from 19 January 2026. Why didn't this happen earlier? Meeting the new standards is going to cost manufacturers some money. Enforceable standards for keeping children and babies safe in Australia have been a long time coming.
Following considerable advocacy and campaign work by CHOICE in recent years, the ACCC also introduced a new information standard for toppling furniture in 2024. It requires warnings and information on how to secure tall furniture to prevent terrible accidents, especially those involving children.
CHOICE weighs in on merger reforms
When companies merge and markets concentrate, consumers often end up on the losing end. Decreased competition invariably leads to worse consumer outcomes. In January, we put in a submission to the Government's consultation on merger reforms.
In general, we support giving more power to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to approve or deny mergers. It would help prevent two very large businesses, for instance, from becoming one huge one with little regulatory oversight.
Aviation Industry Ombudsman sorely needed
Our campaign for better travel rights for Australians has been a long-haul flight that never seems to end. Fittingly, it has focused mainly on the airline industry. Our investigations and campaign work led first to a 2021 Shonky for the industry-funded Airline Consumer Advocate. Then, in 2022, we handed Qantas a lemon for its improper handling of approximately $1.4 billion in flight credits and future bookings accumulated during the pandemic, among other things.
In August the federal government announced a series of reforms to airline consumer rights, including the establishment of an independent Aviation Industry Ombudsman with the power to act on behalf of consumers and redress airline customer service failures.
In October, Qantas was hit with $100 million in fines for selling tickets to flights it had already decided to cancel
The reforms include a Charter of Rights designed to make it clear what airlines can be held accountable for and when passengers are legally entitled to compensation. In October, Qantas was hit with
$100 million in finesfor selling tickets to flights it had already decided to cancel and for taking too long to tell ticket holders it wouldn't be running the services. The airline also agreed to pay $20 million in compensation to affected customers.
The comeuppance was a step forward in the ongoing journey to bring the Australian airline industry up to international standards.
CHOICE has received government funding for three years' of supermarket price comparisons.
Supermarket sector under the microscope
When we gave Coles and Woolworths a shared Shonky in 2023, a resounding cheer of approval went up across the land. During a cost-of-living crisis, grocery prices at Australia's market-dominant duopoly kept creeping up, as did its profits. Then there were the fake promos, the dodgy discounts and the ever-shrinking products.
Shortly after we gave the supermarkets the gong, the ACCC came calling. When the competition regulator released its interim report for its supermarkets inquiry in September 2024, we were pleased to see that the issues we outlined in our submission were on the ACCC's radar, including unclear specials, multi-buy deals, loyalty programs, unit pricing, shrinkflation and member-only pricing.
Following our investigations, CHOICE was chosen to receive three years of government funding to conduct quarterly supermarket price comparisons across Australia. The government also announced that it will strengthen the Unit Pricing Code so consumers can make accurate price comparisons. Crucially, the government says it will also impose substantial penalties on supermarkets that breach the code.
And earlier this year, the ACCC took Coles and Woolworths to court for promoting 'Prices Dropped' and 'Down Down' discounts on hundreds of products. The truth is that those prices were the same or higher than the previous regular prices.
While the jury is still out, we're cautiously optimistic that this government supermarket inquiry will lead to real and lasting reforms in the interest of Australian shoppers.
Unfair business practices can include creating a false sense of urgency to pressure you to buy, adding sneaky charges and being uncontactable after you've paid.
Unfair business practices slated for extinction
Unfair business practices, also known as unfair trading, come in so many forms these days that it's hard to keep track. It could be a case of finding it very difficult to unsubscribe from something; or seeing new charges sneakily added before you pay (drip pricing); or being pressured by a false sense of urgency to hurry to pay when you're shopping online; or finding it impossible to contact a business you've paid money to.
It could also include things like being forced to set up an online account just to make a single purchase, or being subject to dynamic pricing, where the price keeps changing when you're in the middle of trying to buy something.
In October, the federal government announced that it intends to make unfair trading illegal under Australian Consumer Law (ACL) and to make violations of the ACL as it currently stands something businesses can be penalised for.
The final version of this crucial update to consumer law is expected to be released in the first half of 2025.
Bunnings busted for unauthorised facial recognition technology
When CHOICE investigated the use of facial recognition technology (FRT) at major retailers in 2022, we were shocked to discover how widespread it was. Big names like Kmart, Bunnings and The Good Guys had quietly rolled it out, and there weren't specific laws against it.
Following our investigation, The Good Guys put their FRT on hold, and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) opened investigations into the personal information handling practices of Bunnings and Kmart, focusing on the companies' use of FRT. In November this year, OAIC found that Bunnings' use of FRT had breached the Privacy Act. The Kmart investigation is ongoing.
Meta commits to anti-scam measures following government announcement
Earlier this month, one third of the Big Tech triopoly, Meta (the others being Google and Amazon), finally committed to anti-scam measures to protect Australian users of Facebook, Instagram and other Meta platforms. Scammers who infiltrated social media platforms stole $95 million from Australians in 2023, up 249% since 2020. And it's worth noting that 76% of those 2023 losses happened because victims clicked on a scam ad on a Meta-owned platform.
When CHOICE went looking for scam ads on popular social media platforms last year, we didn't have to look far. Many were sponsored ads that appear first in search results. Meta has taken steps to stop scam ads in other countries, but was slow to introduce such measures in Australia.
Social media platforms and banks will be required to report scams as soon as they're aware of them or face steep fines. We think mandatory compensation should also be in order
Starting in February 2025, advertisers on Meta platforms targeting Australians with financial services offers will have to take several steps to demonstrate that they're not scammers, including providing their Australian financial services licence number and uploading business documents. Platform users will be able to review these materials before engaging with the ad. The measures only apply to financial-services related ads, but investment scams and the like are responsible for the vast majority of scam losses in Australia.
The timing of Meta's announcement was no accident. In September, the federal government announced new proposed laws that would hold banks and other businesses accountable for failing to protect their customers from scams. Social media platforms and banks will be required to report scams as soon as they're aware of them or face steep fines. We think mandatory compensation should also be in order.
2024 also saw a positive development toward stopping the endless flow of text impersonation scams. A government-mandated SMS registry managed by the Australian Communications and Media Authority will be set up, and telcos will be required to check whether messages being sent under a brand or official name – such as a bank or government agency – correspond with that entity's information on the registry. If not, ACMA will either block the SMS or let it go through with a warning.
Buy now, pay later to be regulated
CHOICE has long highlighted the downsides of the unregulated buy now, pay later (BNPL) market. While platforms such as Afterpay, Humm, Zip, Klarna and others may work for some, they can become debt traps for others. As the market has expanded, so too has the number of Australians who rely on the quick cash to pay for essential items such as food, utilities and medical care. The platforms were not designed for such purchases, but that hasn't stopped cash-strapped users from setting up multiple accounts and sometimes using one to pay off the other.
In December, the federal government announced new laws that will require all BNPL providers to hold an Australian Credit Licence and comply with the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009. Compliance includes an obligation for BNPL providers to be members of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, which provides an independent dispute resolution mechanism for financial complaints.
The reforms didn't go as far as advocates, including CHOICE, would have liked, but they're an important step toward protecting financially vulnerable Australians. BNPL providers will have to ask people about their expenses and income to assess whether they can afford the loan, for instance, but they won't be required to verify that information.
We're on your side
In more than 60 years of making a difference for Australian consumers, we've never taken ads or sponsorship.
Instead we're funded by members who value expert reviews and independent product testing.
With no self-interest behind our advice, you don't just buy smarter, you get the answers that you need.
You know without hesitation what's safe for you and your family.
And you'll never be alone when something goes wrong or a business treats you unfairly.
Learn more about CHOICE membership today
Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
