In the early 1960s the Australian Consumers Association unsuccessfully attempted to establish state and territory branches.
It soon became apparent that lack of coordinated action by these consumer lobby groups was obstructing political change.
In 1994, for ease of reference, AFCO was renamed the Consumers' Federation of Australia (CFA).
In recent years, CFA has delivered a mentoring program, to support the professional development of consumer advocates.
· Regulating digital platforms to promote competitive outcomes and consumer protection.
CFA provides an annual award for the most impactful consumer advocacy campaign on project.
Recent award winners have been: · 2023 – Save Sorry Business Campaign and Stop the Debt Trap Alliance (joint winners)[1] · 2022 – The Save Safe Lending Campaign · 2021 – Who is Making Australians Bankrupt?
and Junk Insurance in Super (joint winners)[2] · 2020 – Raphael Grzebieta from the Transport and Road Safety Research Centre for the Quad Bike Performance Project[3] · 2019 – Financial Counselling Australia for the National Online Gambling Consumer Protection Framework[4] · 2018 – Consumer Action Law Centre and Financial Rights Legal Centre for the Watch Your Nuts!
The committee meets every two months to advance the work of the association and is supported by a part-time communications and administration officer.