Read this news report on Australia from Mandara R.

In-the-News: Australia
Mandara R.

NSW to help renters avoid added app fees and make it easier to keep a pet

Links to an external site.The Australian state of New South Wales is planning to introduce legislation to update the state’s rental regulation into parliament in October. The new rules would require landlords to provide a convenient, fee-free alternative to “rent tech” platforms that charge a fee on top of rent. The law already requires landlords to provide an alternative, but critics argue that offering only an inconvenient alternative to pay effectively forces renters to pay the fees on an agent’s rental app. The new law would also make it harder for a landlord to refuse an application from a renter with a pet or charge applicants for background checks. Owners will no longer be able to refuse pets without giving a good reason, and they will have to submit refusals to the NSW civil and administrative tribunal. Finally, the new law will ban no-grounds evictions, and will hopefully take some stress off renters. 

Australian demand for overdose drug naloxone more than doubles after spike in synthetic opioid deaths

inks to an external site.Naloxone (better known as Narcan) demand has doubled in one year due to a recent spike in overdose deaths. Naloxone restores breathing after an overdose has slowed respiration, and health authorities have urged all drug users to have naloxone on hand. Over one million Australians report using cocaine in the last year, and 400,000 report using ecstasy, and it’s recommended that everyone carries Naloxone because even if you are not a drug user, it could save someone’s life because anybody could witness an overdose. After health authorities urged all drug users to carry naloxone, Luke Kelly, the president of the New South Wales branch of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia said that “this whole new cohort” created “a new area of need”. 

Australia supermarkets sued over fake discount claims

to an external siteThe Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is suing two grocery chains, Coles and Woolworths, for falsely claiming to have permanently dropped the prices of hundreds of items. The ACCC claims that they broke consumer law by temporarily raising prices before lowering them to a value either the same as or higher than the original cost, then claiming that the new prices were 'Prices Dropped' or 'Down Down' promotions. The products included everything from pet food, Band-Aid bandages and mouthwash, to Australian classics like Arnott's Tim Tam biscuits and Bega Cheese. The ACCC estimated that the two companies “sold tens of millions" of the affected products and "derived significant revenue from those sales". Coles said it would defend itself against the allegations, while Woolworths said it would review the claims. 

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