Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Ombudsmen
If you experience problems in your dealings with a
government department you will need to contact the
ombudsman. The ombudsman is an independent official
who has been appointed to deal with complaints against
either government departments or private businesses. In
Australia, there is a Commonwealth ombudsman as well
as state and territory ombudsmen.
A number of ombudsmen have been established within
various industries to help settle disputes between
consumers and businesses. Industry ombudsmen
are common in areas of the economy that were
previously owned or regulated by governments, such as
telecommunications, banking, energy and insurance.
Independent organisations
Australian Consumers Association
The Australian Consumers Association (ACA) is a nonprofit organisation that aims to provide consumers
with information and guidance about goods, services,
health and personal finances. The ACA is completely
independent and does not receive money from political
sources, businesses, unions or advertisers. As part of its
role, the ACA conducts tests on products and publishes
the test results in a monthly magazine, CHOICE. It
also lobbies governments to make improvements to
consumer laws. Armed with the ACAs information
and assistance, individuals can make more informed
consumer decisions.
Other organisations
There are also other organisations that provide product
quality and safety information to particular groups of
consumers in Australia. Kidsafe (the Child Accident
Prevention Foundation of Australia), for example, is a
non-profit, non-government organisation that provides
information about the safety of products in order to
prevent the unintentional injury or death of children.
Community organisations
A number of community-based organisations provide
assistance to consumers. These services include citizens
advice bureaus, financial counsellors, information and
referral services as well as community legal centres.
Consumer choice
27