Consumer Rights

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS (14:36): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Consumer and Business Services a question about consumer rights.

Leave granted.

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS: Older South Australians can often find that they experience pressure tactics when being enticed to make purchases. They are often alone and do not always know where they can get help or information about what their rights are. Can the minister please update the chamber on what the government is doing to give our older people a hand to know about their consumer rights?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (14:37): I thank the honourable member for his most important question. No-one wants to think of their friends and family being taken advantage of. Unfortunately, as we get older, we become more and more susceptible and are often targeted by consumer scams.

Consumer and Business Services has recently refreshed its Savvy Seniors guide. The guide outlines consumers' rights and is aimed at giving seniors the knowledge and confidence to protect themselves and their loved ones against scams. It is a most unfortunate and sad reality that older people are often seen as easy targets for scams by those trying to hoodwink them out of their money or stealing identity information. These are also often people who can least afford the financial hit that being scammed can sometimes bring.

The Savvy Seniors guide includes advice on consumer rights under the Australian Consumer Law, specifically in relation to issues that impact on older people such as things like refund rights, door-to-door sales and cooling-off periods, telemarketing, how to identify dodgy tradespeople, what to look out for with new trends like prepaid funeral contracts, and things like smart spending. Savvy Seniors helps consumers to understand acceptable conduct from salespeople and educates them to make informed choices when purchasing products and services.

The Commissioner for Consumer Affairs and I were fortunate enough to meet with a group of residents at the Lifestyle SA retirement village in Mount Barker, where we launched the new edition of the Savvy Seniors booklet. The residents I met there were an incredibly engaging and lively group. It was lovely to be able to be there and chat with them, and also to listen to their personal experiences with some of these shady characters.

They described to me what some of their experiences had been with salespeople contacting them after telemarketing hours and suchlike. There was also some information that a particular company had given them about refunds. Through our meeting, the commissioner and I were able to assist residents with knowledge that they needed to help them negotiate for their rights in the marketplace. That is something that is obviously quite integral to a person's ongoing independence.

In one instance the commissioner undertook to investigate a matter to ensure a trader who was referenced by one of the residents was aware of their Australian Consumer Law responsibilities. At the end of the visit, the residents at Lifestyle SA Mount Barker proudly took me on a tour of their fabulous facility. It was great to meet with such a wonderful group of people, who indicated to me that they thought the guide would be very useful for them, their families and their friends. We want South Australian seniors to be confident in all aspects of their life, including when they are buying goods and services.

We want to ensure they have adequate knowledge to protect themselves from current and common scams. For example, last year so-called 'romance scams' were identified as causing the most financial harm. Older South Australians who are feeling lonely are often particularly targeted and fall victim to these scams, and Savvy Seniors provides information on how to identify and avoid this kind of scam. With the increase in older people who are now active online, the guide also features tips on how to be tech savvy, including information on using mobile phones, the internet and online shopping. CBS is working with local seniors organisations to promote the Savvy Seniors message.