CHOICE has three core values: Truth, Help and Impact. They’re at the heart of everything we do, and they guide and inform every single test, article, investigation, research and campaign we run.
Our work influences the consumer landscape, shining a spotlight on dodgy practices, keeping consumers safe and informed, and holding companies to account.
Here’s a round-up of the stories that revealed the Truth, delivered Help to consumers, and made the biggest Impact in 2024, including some stories that on-the-ball CHOICE supporters tipped us off about.
This information could be shared with third parties like insurance companies and debt collection agencies.
We received an avalanche of correspondence from CHOICE readers wanting to know if their cars were collecting their data too.
So we dug deeper into the story, and in October 2024 we revealed which car brands track and monitor drivers – and what they do with your data once they have it.
Hyundai, Kia and Tesla ranked the worst for data privacy – but they’re not the only ones.
The award was well deserved: just one month later, Coles announced it would refund thousands of customers for failing to keep its promises about “locked” prices on 20 products, a move prompted by a CHOICE complaint to the ACCC, after keen-eyed CHOICE readers noticed the underhanded practice.
Mounting pressure around this topic ultimately led to the government announcing a supermarket pricing inquiry, which is currently ongoing.
And in January 2024, CHOICE was given a boost to continue our work of holding supermarkets accountable: the federal government announced a partnership with us to provide transparency around supermarket prices.
Every quarter for three years, we’ll publish grocery prices from around the country to track prices over time, and to tell consumers which supermarket has the cheapest groceries.
CHOICE health insurance expert Mark Blades says the system should be fairer.
Insurers behaving badly
We’ve broken several stories about poor behaviour from insurance companies this year – unfortunately for consumers they just keep giving us more to write about.
Insurers putting up prices is nothing new, but in November 2024, CHOICE research uncovered a particularly mean-spirited health insurance tactic: charging single parents up to twice as much for health insurance than two-parent families who add children to their insurance policy.
If you’re a single parent with NIB’s Gold Top Hospital, your premiums will double if you add a child to your policy
One of the worst offenders was NIB: if you’re a single parent who has NIB’s Gold Top Hospital ($750 excess) with Basic Extras, your premiums will double if you want to add a child to your policy – and you’ll actually pay more than a couple would for the same policy for two people.
Lindt chocolate packs are smaller, but their prices aren’t.
That shrinking feeling
We’re all too used to grocery prices going up, but have you noticed pack sizes going down?
As if it’s not bad enough that we’re paying more for the same products than previously, some companies are sneakily making products smaller while leaving prices the same, or even increasing them – a practice called “shrinkflation”.
CHOICE has been keeping a close eye on the supermarkets, and in March this year we revealed 10 grocery items hit by shrinkflation, including breakfast cereals, hot cross buns, biscuits and more.
And sadly some supermarkets are bringing big Scrooge energy to the festive season this year: we found five festive foods affected by shrinkflation, including chocolates, Christmas tarts and Christmas cake.
Temu has become wildly popular thanks to its super-low prices and seemingly endless variety of products you never knew you needed.
But if you’re thinking of shopping up a storm buying toys for the little people in your life, CHOICE testing has some sobering news for you: a number of the toys just aren’t safe.
Alice Richard is a Content creator and marketer. Alice writes on a range of topics, from health insurance to heaters and BBQs to bargain-hunting, always with the aim to help consumers find the best products to buy, and which to avoid.
Alice can take vast amounts of data from CHOICE product tests and turn it into content that is easily digestible and fun for readers.
Alice has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland. LinkedIn
Alice Richard is a Content creator and marketer. Alice writes on a range of topics, from health insurance to heaters and BBQs to bargain-hunting, always with the aim to help consumers find the best products to buy, and which to avoid.
Alice can take vast amounts of data from CHOICE product tests and turn it into content that is easily digestible and fun for readers.
Alice has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland. LinkedIn
For more than 60 years, we've been making a difference for Australian consumers. In that time, we've never taken ads or sponsorship.
Instead we're funded by members who value expert reviews and independent product testing.
With no self-interest behind our advice, you don't just buy smarter, you get the answers that you need.
You know without hesitation what's safe for you and your family. And our recent sunscreens test showed just how important it is to keep business claims in check.
So you'll never be alone when something goes wrong or a business treats you unfairly.
