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Currently my 11-year-old son – a keen soccer player – is overseas on a trip to Spain for three weeks. He’s a lucky boy, playing against a few La Liga teams and doing training at Real Madrid. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime and I’m happy for him. But I’m also vibrating with jealousy. Mainly because I drew the short straw. I’m stuck at home in Australia. Some Shonky Award winners made me laugh, others made me shake my head in utter disbelief My wife, you see, drew the long straw. She’s accompanying my son overseas, leaving me home alone with son #2, an eight-year-old agent of chaos who lives exclusively to torture me (and our long-suffering dog) in a series of innovative ways. We’re three days in at time…
Ever get the feeling that some discounts at Coles and Woolies don’t appear to actually be, well, discounted? If you said yes, you might be onto something. The consumer regulator, the ACCC, is taking the major supermarkets to court for allegedly misleading consumers with ‘Prices Dropped’ and ‘Down Down’ discounts on hundreds of products that were the same or higher than the previous regular price. Our research shows consumers find these types of promotions confusing as they are, but it’s another thing entirely if those discounts turn out not to be discounts at all. It wouldn’t be the first time a major supermarket landed in hot water over its price tags – last year, we caught Coles red-handed raising the prices on a range of ‘Prices locked’ products well before…
The ACCC has released its interim report on the supermarkets inquiry, initiated by the government in January this year. Consumers shared their concerns with the ACCC about promotional practices and increasing grocery prices, with some respondents saying they are buying less food and skipping meals. The ACCC had 21,481 responses to their consumer survey, the most they’ve ever received for a survey. The results paint a stark picture: ● 76% of households earning under $499 per week are spending upwards of 20% of their income on groceries. ● 47% of respondents compare grocery prices always or most times before they shop, with people on lower incomes more likely to compare prices than those on higher incomes. ● A third of people living in remote areas say the primary factor in…
“The new code will help to ensure our supermarkets are as competitive as possible” The federal government has been getting feedback on its plan to include more significant penalties for major supermarkets and stronger protections for suppliers in a new national food and grocery code. The public consultation closed last month, with the government promising the changes will help support a “competitive and sustainable” grocery sector. “The new code will help to ensure our supermarkets are as competitive as they can be, so Australians get the best prices possible,” says Assistant Minister for Competition Andrew Leigh. The new code will see Aldi, Coles, Woolworths and IGA owner Metcash hit with multi‑million dollar fines for serious breaches. It will also create a way for suppliers and whistleblowers to make anonymous complaints…
Two Australian energy retailers have copped massive fines of millions of dollars for separate unrelated breaches of the law. EnergyAustralia has been ordered by the Federal Court to pay $14 million in penalties for making false, misleading or deceptive statements about prices and failing to provide mandatory information. Between June and September 2022, EnergyAustralia breached Australian Consumer Law and the Energy Retail Code in dealings with 500,000 customers. “Energy Australia breached laws which were designed to help consumers to compare electricity offers and identify the best deal by increasing transparency,” ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb says. Meanwhile, energy retailer Engie has been fined $1.7 million in Victoria for not protecting the account information of customers experiencing family violence. “The failure of an energy retailer to adhere to family violence provisions deprives…
Since making greenwashing in the financial services sector an enforcement priority, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has been busy. Over a 15-month period up to 30 June this year, the corporate regulator intervened in 47 cases where companies were claiming environmental, social and governance (ESG) credentials to bring in business, while secretly investing in prohibited areas such as fossil fuels. A recent Federal Court case brought by ASIC against Vanguard Investments resulted in a record $12.9 million penalty, a reflection of ASIC’s assessment of greenwashing as “a serious threat to the integrity of the Australian financial system”. It was the regulator’s second legal victory on the issue. In the case of the Vanguard Ethically Conscious Global Aggregate Bond Index Fund, around 74% of the securities by market value…
