OCBA - Office of Consumer and Business Affairs

Resolving Rental Disputes: A guide for tenants and landlords
OCBA has produced a DVD called "Resolving Rental Disputes: A guide for tenants and landlords". It's designed to help all parties understand where to get help when things go wrong and explains the steps to take to secure the best possible resolution. You can view the DVD via YouTube by clicking here.

Introduction of a Tribunal application fee
The Office of Consumer and Business Affairs in SA wishes to advise that from 1 July 2010 all Form 7 and 8 applications to the Residential Tenancies Tribunal will cost $35. Full time students, concession card holders, government agencies and those able to prove hardship, will be exempt from the requirement to pay the fee.

National consumer credit regulation
From 1 July 2010 responsibility for credit regulation was referred to the Commonwealth, with administration now undertaken by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC). Read more about national consumer credit regulation on the ASIC website.

Home Insulation
OCBA is concerned at various reports about home insulation that has been incorrectly installed, leading to fires in the roof space. There are risk factors that you should know about, and there are public registers where you can check on the credentials of installers. Read about the warnings here. You also need to think about your duty of disclosure to your insurance company. Read further here.

Top Twenty Names of 2009
You can search on the Baby Names database to view the most popular names chosen in any year from 1997 to 2009.

New exemption affecting installers of floating floors
From 1 April 2010 those who install, maintain, repair and/or remove floating floors will be exempt from the requirements of the Building Work Contractors Act 1995. In terms of impact on consumers, any issues regarding workmanship will be covered by the Fair Trading Act 1987 or Consumer Transactions Act 1972.

Real estate industry reforms
The Statutes Amendment (Real Estate Industry Reform) Act 2007 commenced on 28 July 2008. The Act is designed to increase the transparency and accountability of agents and generally to increase the level of consumer protection. If you are buying or selling a property you should be clear about the process and consider all relevant information. Click here to read all about it.

Licensing public register
Check if a person or company is licensed in South Australia. Find a licensed person in your local area. Search now.

Assurances register
We keep a list of traders who have agreed to refrain from specified conduct. These traders have given formal guarantees as a result of complaints made against them. Check out the register.

Copyright
Information on copyright for the Office of Consumer and Business Affairs website is provided on behalf of South Australia Central http://www.sacentral.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=60

Disclaimer
Information on the disclaimer for the Office of Consumer and Business Affairs website is provided on behalf of South Australia Central http://www.sacentral.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=61

Privacy
The South Australian Office of Consumer and Business Affairs (OCBA) is committed to protecting your privacy and the confidentiality of your personal information, consistent with the South Australian Government's Information Privacy Principles. If you would like to view the full privacy statement please visit: http://www.ocba.sa.gov.au/privacy.html

Webmaster
If you wish to provide feedback on the Office of Consumer and Business Affairs website please contact the Webmaster via email mailto:webmaster@agd.sa.gov.au

Accessibility
Information on accessibility for the Office of Consumer and Business Affairs website can be viewed at: http://www.ocba.sa.gov.au/accessibility.html