The Minister for Financial Services & Regulation, Joe Hockey, today launched an Internet site that provides Australians with a one-stop shop of consumer information.
The website, Consumers Online www.consumersonline.gov.au , provides information on product safety, product recalls, consumer laws and new areas such as electronic commerce.
There is information about how to make a complaint and who to complain to, and a comprehensive A-Z directory of online consumer resources, both in Australia and overseas.
"Consumers Online is a Commonwealth Government initiative which gives Australians the information they are looking for at one easy-to-locate address," the Minister said.
Consumers Online has links to Australian and overseas consumer websites.
The site has been designed to make it accessible and useable to a range of users. There is a text version of the site which is easier to use with older computers and Internet browsers and to make the site accessible for people with a visual impairment who use voice activated screen readers.
"I am very proud to say this is one of the first Commonwealth Government sites to comply with the W3C accessibility standards set by the World Wide Web Consortium."