Indholdsfortegnelse for July 2025 i CHOICE

We’re pleased to let you know that starting this issue, your CHOICE magazine will be sent in a certified home-compostable wrap. Until now, the magazine was wrapped in plastic made from post-consumer recycled materials – a step in the right direction, but one we’ve been keen to improve upon since the REDcycle soft plastic recycling scheme ended. This new wrap is part of our ongoing commitment to reducing environmental impact. It means less soft plastic going to landfill, and reflects what many of you have asked for over the years. HOW TO DISPOSE OF THE WRAP Shred or cut the plastic wrap into smaller pieces and place in your home compost or FOGO bin (FOGO, which stands for food organics and garden organics, is the free home composting program run…

Refining company Viva Energy has announced it has successfully processed more than 9.5 tonnes of oil made from plastic waste in what it says is a “major step forward” in efforts to recycle Australia’s glut of the material. Experts say turning polymers into oil and then refining it for use in new plastic products or as an energy source could be the most effective way to reuse Australia’s stockpiled soft plastics. Viva has processed smaller amounts of plastic pyrolysis oil at its Geelong refinery in the past, but says this latest exercise was in part designed to inform the best way to design plastics so they can be recycled using this process. Viva’s trial comes as supermarkets and councils launch their own initiatives to collect soft plastics for recycling following…

Separation anxiety I am a very long-time CHOICE subscriber and I have been married for many years, with more to come. Regarding your article, Economic injustices (CHOICE Apr 25), many separating couples are blaming the courts, the systems, solicitors etc. for delayed court hearings, exorbitant costs or lack of government funding or legal aid. The government needs to get smart and introduce efficient, alternate solutions because they can’t keep throwing money at issues like these and bogging down the courts. Thousands of people go before the courts for divorce or separation agreements when often, they just need a fair, quick, low-cost, commonsense agreement with minimal interference from the legal profession. It shouldn’t be too hard to develop a program based on past separation case studies to provide fair guidelines and recommended…

Shelves lined with colourful specials tags are a common sight greeting shoppers at major Australian chemist chains. But new data suggests these labels are confusing consumers and leading them to overestimate the savings they offer. CHOICE has been getting feedback from Australians on the specials labels Chemist Warehouse, Terry White and Priceline put on their shelves. A sizeable portion of consumers we surveyed could not easily tell if these tags represented a discount. Those who did believe the tags signalled savings tended to overestimate the discounts on offer Those who did believe they signalled savings tended to overestimate the discounts on offer, because some pharmacies were promising reprieve from prices they never charged in the first place. Promotional tags not so special “We regularly hear from consumers who are frustrated…

It’s a Thursday morning outside the office of CatholicCare Northern Territory in Tennant Creek, an unassuming building just off the main highway that splits the town in two. For many of the financial assistance charity’s clients, it’s payday. That means there is a steady stream of people coming in to ask for help to access their online banking or reset their pin numbers so they can go to one of the only remaining ATMs in town and withdraw cash. The town is the main regional hub for the wider Barkly region – an area bigger than New Zealand When asked what they are coming in to get help with, everyone gives the same one-word answer, “Westpac”. It has been over two years since Australia’s second-largest bank closed its branch and…

Loved for its ability to deliver hearty, warming, home-cooked meals with minimal fuss, the slow cooker is a true hero of the winter kitchen. With many of us trying to cut back on costs, it’s also a handy helper when it comes to creating cheaper dinners that go further and make the most of great-value ingredients. But are you getting the best out of this clever kitchen appliance, or is your slow-cooker game falling flat? CHOICE home economist and serious slow-cooker fan Fiona Mair knows all the common slow-cooking mistakes that people sometimes make. We take you through them so you can follow her advice to ensure you turn out delicious meals with minimal effort, every time. Searing and caramelising your meat allows those vibrant slow-cooked flavours to develop 1.…

Humidity in your home is a Goldilocks situation. Too little, and dry skin and irritated airways might be on the cards; too much, and your home could be a breeding ground for mould and dust mites, which can trigger asthma and other health problems. And if your home is rife with condensation or has suffered a leak or water damage, it can eventually lead to mould, flaking paintwork and further damage to your property. If the humidity in your home tends to the high side, it’s important to take steps to achieve the right levels. To help you find that ‘just right’ balance, here’s everything you need to know about dehumidifiers. What does a dehumidifier do? Dehumidifiers remove moisture from the air, helping prevent mould. They mostly work by drawing…

If you (or your neighbours) have deciduous trees, your yard, driveway and outdoor spaces are probably becoming steadily covered in a thick blanket of leaves around this time of year. While all those golden leaves look pretty for a while, they soon become a pile of decomposing plant matter cluttering up your property. If you’re looking to clear the leaf clutter from your life, you may be considering buying a leaf blower or a blower vac with a built-in vacuum that mulches the leaves for you. But how do you know which model will do the best job? That’s what our reviews are for – and here’s how we get our results. Step 1: Choosing which models to test Leaf blowers come in electric, petrol and battery-powered cordless varieties. Some…

Australia’s major supermarkets have been engaged in something akin to a price war in the last few months. In May, Woolworths dropped prices on almost 400 products, including chicken schnitzels, frozen berries and soft drinks. The supermarket claimed the items were cheaper by an average of 10% and that the new prices would stay in place until at least 2026. Within days, Coles was trumpeting its own discounts on over 600 items. Aldi shrugged off any pressure these moves put on its claims of always having lower prices, stating in a press release that it “wouldn’t be beaten on the cost of [a] weekly shop”. The retailer also hit out at the “flash sales” and “temporary discounts” of its rivals. CHOICE has consistently found Aldi to be the cheapest supermarket…

For 65 years, CHOICE has tested household products to help Australians make informed decisions and protect people from unsafe products. Throughout this period, we’ve started and stopped testing products for a range of reasons, however, we are always guided by our vision: fair, safe and just markets that meet the needs of Australian consumers. This vision prompted our decision to stop testing gas appliances, with the exception of barbecues. Australia is in the midst of an energy transition and many households are making the shift from gas to electric – not only for environmental reasons, but because modern electric appliances are safer, more efficient and cheaper to run over time. Modelling by Energy Consumers Australia estimates that going all-electric could cut the average household’s energy bills by $2250. Gas cooktops…

Readers may remember that we recently wrote about whether Uber’s market dominance in Australia was good for consumers or stifling competition (CHOICE May 25). In that story, we highlighted cases like Melbourne Airport, wherea secret commercial arrangement between Uber and the airport created Uber-exclusive passenger pick-up ranks outside the major terminals. This left customers wanting to take a taxi, or another rideshare company like Didi, walking hundreds of metres in search of a pick-up. But it seems Melbourne Airport has changed its tune. As of May, they’ve introduced new “split ranks” that allow Ubers, taxis and other rideshares to share access to the main terminal pick-up zones. “We are making it easier for you to find a taxi or Uber when you arrive at Melbourne Airport. Extra taxi and Uber…

There comes a time in your life when the highlight of a sunny day isn’t the beach or a picnic – it’s finally getting the chance to conquer that mountain of laundry. While the Bureau of Meteorology tipped this winter to be one of Australia’s warmest on record, the rainfall outlook is less predictable, and many regions are in for their fair share of soggy days. Not ideal if your laundry basket seems to refill itself overnight. So, what’s the best wet weather plan when it’s bucketing outside? Drying laundry indoors can invite mould and moisture into your home and leave a musty pong on your clothes. From smarter washing habits to clever drying strategies, here are our top tips for turbocharging your laundry routine and saving your sanity through…

Winter is the perfect time to bust out the food processor – along with the myriad attachments it may come with. Slicing blades will make short work of cutting up ingredients for soups and stews; you can use the chipper blade for tasty and healthy chips from seasonal root vegies, and you could even make fresh orange juice or prepare dough for crusty hot bread. “Food processors are a great appliance to own if you want to make things from scratch,” says CHOICE home economist Fiona Mair. “They can chop, dice, slice, shred, grate and mix doughs – they can be used in so many ways.” “Food processors are a great appliance to own if you want to make things from scratch” But a food processor can be a significant…

When it comes to headphones, you tend to get what you pay for, up to a point. Factors like sound quality, ease of use and battery life typically reflect the cost of the product when you’re looking at entry-level and mid-range models. But that doesn’t mean good quality audio is reserved for consumers with deep pockets. There are plenty of affordable options that earned very good results in our tests, and you can even score a good deal on mid-range and high-end headphones with a little research. You don’t need to break the bank when shopping for a pair of standard or noise-cancelling headphones. Most of the top-rated models in our review are priced in the mid-range Why buy expensive headphones? Expensive headphones don’t always deliver the high performance results…

Owning a car gives you plenty of freedom, but it can also put a dampener on your budget. Insurance, servicing and rego payments seem to roll around before you know it, and often at inopportune times. (Why do they always arrive exactly when you have a big vet bill or unexpected medical expense?) It’s not just about the money though: cars can cramp your style in other ways. There’s the hassle of finding parking, sitting in peak hour traffic and, for some people, concerns about the environmental impact of their car. Parking is a cinch, running costs are cheaper, and your carbon footprint much smaller An electric bike can free you from these woes: you can sail straight past banked-up traffic, parking is a cinch, running costs are significantly cheaper,…

The Essential Services Commission in Victoria is proposing new rules that would force energy retailers to move customers in financial hardship and those who have been with the same retailer for over four years onto cheaper plans. The rules would save the average consumer around $225 on electricity and $182 on gas each year. The proposed changes to the Energy Retail Code of Practice are designed to help combat the so-called ‘loyalty tax’ and also prohibit retailers from disconnecting customers for debts under $500 (up from $300 currently). Commission chairperson Gerard Brody says there are barriers that stop people shopping around the complex energy market, something these changes hope to reduce. “If an energy retailer is supporting someone in financial hardship, moving them onto the cheapest plan is a simple,…

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) reported in 2023 that 57% of the businesses it surveyed were making environmental claims that were either unclear, inaccurate, or simply not true. It seems fair to say that a repeat of this exercise today would yield similar results. In May, EnergyAustralia agreed to settle a legal case brought by Parents for Climate, who alleged the company’s Go Neutral carbon offset product was a form of greenwashing, since the energy the retailer was selling was still being generated by fossil fuels. EnergyAustralia admitted that it “could have been made clearer to customers” that carbon offsets do not prevent or undo the damage caused by fossil fuels. The company put an end to its Go Neutral program, which had been running since 2016, and…

Telco Circles.Life has been fined over $400,000 for not carrying out proper ID checks and allowing scammers to transfer stolen phone numbers to its service. The transfers gave criminals control of the numbers, allowing them to steal at least $45,000 from victims. It’s the second time in three years that Circles has broken rules designed to protect consumers from phone porting scams. In this latest case, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) found the telco had failed to comply with customer identity verification rules 26 times between January and February last year. Since 2020, telcos have been required to verify the identity of anyone asking for their phone number to be moved to a new service. These rules are designed to combat phone porting scams, where criminals impersonate a…

Rogue tradespeople have been running amok in South Australia in recent months, to the extent that the state government has launched a new campaign to warn potential victims of excessive charges for unnecessary work. SA’s Consumer and Business Services agency is investigating a significant number of these cases for potential breaches of Australian Consumer Law. Meanwhile, consumers are warned to watch for red flags, especially tradespeople hawking their services door-to-door or offering suspiciously cheap callout fees. There havebeen many reports in SA in recent years of door-to-door traders taking their pay upfront, doing shoddy work, then vanishing without a trace. The government recommends consumers check for independent online reviews about tradespeople and ask for recommendations from people they know and trust. Consumers should also know that every builder and tradesperson…

What could be more important than making sure you’re properly insured when you’re travelling while pregnant? Pregnancy is covered by all the travel insurance policies we analyse, but the coverage varies. Most policies only provide cover up to 23 to 26 weeks gestation, and only a few cover childbirth – and usually only when labour has been brought about by an accident. We rate policies for both the cover they provide and value for money. Tick Travel insurance, (both their Standard and Top policies), and InsureandGo Gold are the top-rated policies that cover pregnancies into the third trimester. They cover pregnancy up to the end of the 30th week for single pregnancies and earn a CHOICE Expert Rating of 66 or 67%. The comprehensive policies from Southern Cross Travel Insurance…

CHOICE staffer Amanda’s coffee machine experienced a major failure and stopped working after just two years. The product was outside its warranty period, but Amanda felt that it should still be covered by her rights under Australia Consumer Law (ACL). So, she got in touch with the retailer and explained that she was seeking a remedy under the ACL on the basis that the coffee machine was not of ‘acceptable quality’ due to its lack of durability, evidenced by its total failure after just two years. The retailer involved the manufacturer and what followed was about 20 back-and-forth emails over the course of four weeks, with Amanda constantly having to follow up. During this process, both the manufacturer and the retailer repeatedly referred to the product being “out of warranty”,…

Imagine you’ve just found out you’re being scammed. Someone is moving money out of your bank account and you’ve lost access to your email and other vital online services. You pick up your phone, but realise you’ve suddenly lost signal and, with it, any easy way of quickly shutting down the pilfering happening right in front of you. This is what it’s like to encounter a SIM swap or phone porting scam and find yourself unnervingly disconnected in your hour of need. Older scam finding new life SIM swap and phone porting scams have been around for several years. They’ve been the target of crackdowns by the federal police and by Australia’s communications regulator, which, since 2020, has introduced requirements for telcos that aim to make these scams harder to…

Surviving the winter chill in Australia is no joke – many of our homes simply aren’t well-suited for withstanding the cold due to their draughty design or lack of insulation. But aside from the obvious (a heater or reverse-cycle air con), there are a few simple products that can keep you feeling warm and cozy throughout the cooler months. You might already be across these essentials, but maybe you’ll find something that’s missing from your winter arsenal. Electric blankets are cheaper to run than an electric heater 1 The electric blanket We’re lucky in Australia that most of us enjoy relatively mild winters, but the nights can still get seriously cold in many parts of the country. Apart from adding an extra blanket or heavier doona to the bed, one…

Accidental damage insurance provides cover for sudden and unforeseen damage to your property that wasn’t caused on purpose. It’s designed for accidents and mishaps like red wine spills on the carpet, scorching a benchtop with a too-hot pot, or accidentally knocking a hole in the wall when moving furniture. You might consider adding accidental damage cover to your home insurance policy if you have accident-prone children or boisterous pets, and furniture or electronics that are costly to repair or replace. But if you’re after cover for specific items or events, make sure you read the PDS to confirm you’ll be covered for what you need. How does accidental damage cover work? Accidental damage cover is not included as standard in basic home insurance policies. It’s usually an optional extra that…

When temperatures drop, thoughts turn to hot drinks, woollen socks, and a heated throw to keep you warm on the lounge or an electric blanket to ready your bed for a warm and cosy night’s sleep. Heated throws are a fairly new item that we’ve only recently tested for the first time. You might be wondering how they differ from an electric blanket – and if it’s worth getting one of each. An electric blanket is used on your bed and typically placed under the bottom sheet. The blanket uses electricity to heat up and keep your bed feeling cosy and warm. A heated throw also uses electricity for warming, but is more portable, so it’s useful throughout the day. Whether you’re working from home or relaxing on the couch,…