Friday, 10th September 2010
There are many publications about the Trade Practices Act available on the ACCC web site. The easiest way to find them is to look through their Publications by Topic page.
You also have obligations under State Laws as well - e.g. product safety, packaging, warranties etc. General information on Unfair Contracts and Warranties and Product Safety from Consumer Affairs Victoria.
Consumer Affairs Victoria is a web site with a lot of good information for the community.
Law Handbook S.A.suggest the steps that you should take before initiating legal proceedings to recover payment of a debt.
Once you reach the point where you decide to issue legal proceedings then you should look at Victorian web sites for information as the law is different in every State.
Consumer Affairs Victoria has a lot of information about consumer rights. See also Legal Aid's Fact Sheets about Credit about borrowing money.
If you are in financial difficulty, then it is often helpful to see a financial counsellor. They can help you devise an action strategy to get your finances back on track and advise you on your options if you simply cannot afford to pay all your debts.
You can find a free counselling service near you using the Community Services Directory.
For information on bankruptcy go to Insolvency and Trustee Service Australia (ITSA). They also have information on some other choices other than bankruptcy for people who cannot pay their debts.
Disputes about many consumer claims and disputes, including issues involving residences and leases, are dealt with in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).
For more information on the Tribunal, Suing or being sued and Small Claims go to the Foolkit State Courts page.
Please give us feedback about your experiences using Foolkit and ideas for improvements.
A number of industries have established independent offices to assist the public to resolve disputes with their members. Examples include banking, insurance and telecommunications.
Their sites often have useful information and links. They explain how they can help to resolve a dispute and what you need to do. Usually there are limits on the size of the dispute that they can resolve.
Consumer Affairs Victoria has information on many aspects of Shopping, Trading and Pricing.
Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has a lot of information for consumers on topics including:
ACCC For Business has a small business Helpline 1300 302 021 and information on a range of topics including:
How Much Can I Borrow? Calculator How Much Can I Borrow? Calculator
This calculator provides an estimate of the maximum you can borrow, taking into account your monthly income and expenditure and current interest rates. This calculator also builds in a buffer for interest rate rises.
Income and Expenditure Worksheet
Use the income and expenditure worksheet to calculate how much you can afford to borrow.
Basic Repayment Calculator
Enter the interest rate, the term of the loan and the amount you are borrowing to get the minimum monthly repayment and the amount of interest paid.
Fixed vs Variable Interest Rate Calculator
This simulator allows you to analyse the choice of a fixed or variable rate by modeling changes in the variable interest rate and comparing the amount repaid during the period and the outstanding loan balance at the end of the period.
Mortgage Broker Checklist If you're planning to use a mortgage broker to help you find the perfect home loan, there is some information you should find out from your broker before you start.
Loan Repayment Calculator - Work out what your minimum weekly, fortnightly or monthly loan repayments would be for any borrowed amount.
Extra Repayments Calculator - Find out how much you can save in interest and shorten your loan term by making additional repayments over and above your current monthly repayment.
Lump Sum Repayments Calculator - Find out how much you can save in interest and shorten your loan term by making a one-off lump sum repayment on top of your current monthly repayment.
Split Loan Calculator - Splitting your home loan into fixed and variable rate portions can provide insurance against future changes in interest rates that we can't predict. Use this tool to calculate your repayments and total interest under different fixed and variable rate scenarios.
Loan Comparison Calculator - Select any two home loans on the market for a direct cost comparison. Determine which is the cheapest in total fees and interest over the life of the loan.
Stamp Duty Calculator - Work out how much stamp duty will be payable on the purchase of your new home.
Principal & Interest Calculator - Work out what portion of each monthly repayment is principal and what portion is interest.
Lenders Mortgage Insurance Estimator
In nearly all cases, if you borrow more than 80 per cent of what the lender considers to be the value of the property they will ask you to pay their mortgage insurance. This handy estimator determines how much this is likely to cost you.
Home Cost Estimator
This calculator allows you to estimate the total cost of purchasing a property including all those nasty hidden costs.
Rent vs Buy
This tool allows you to compare your estimated financial position after seven years of renting with your estimated financial position after seven years of home loan repayments.
Buy Then Sell or Sell Then Buy
This estimator provides an indication of the costs you will face depending on the order in which you sell your old home and buy your new one.
Relocation Timeline
This calculator takes your specific moving details and produces a customized timeline. This can then be printed out in the form of a checklist to tick off tasks as they are completed.
Can I Afford An Investment Property?
This tool provides an estimate of how much an investment property will cost. It combines the cash operating revenue and the cash operating expenses with the change in the amount of income tax paid to measure the net change in the investors income due to the investment property.
Search & Compare Savings Accounts and Term Deposits
Small Business Loans
Small Business Calculator
Compare credit cards - The small business calculator that lets you enter set-up costs and running costs to establish a comprehensive business financial summary.
Debentures comparison page
Compare Homeloans
Transaction Accounts
Personal Loans
Small Business Loans
Business At Call Accounts
Business Credit Cards
Business Term Deposits
Margin Lending Calculator - Gearing Simulator
Margin Lending Calculator - Stock Lookup
Find and compare brokers
Budget Planner - Try our Budget Planner. Enter your annual income and expenses to assess your financial position.
Statement of financial position. Check your financial position and overall financial capacity.
Retirement planner
Could your super and the age pension be enough to give you the income you would like to have when you retire? Ask the FIDO retirement planner to crunch the numbers and show you.
Account-based pension calculatorAccount-based pension calculator
An account-based pension or annuity is one of the products you can buy with your super when you retire. Account based pensions are also known as allocated pensions.
Term allocated pension calculatorTerm allocated pension calculator
What pension could you get from this retirement income product? Includes options for investments, term and amount of pension, fees, compare products.
Reverse mortgage calculator Reverse mortgage calculator
See how your reverse mortgage debt builds up and may affect how much of your home you still own as time goes by.
Rates
Income tax
Individual income tax rates - Shows the percentage of tax payable for each income bracket, for individual Australian taxpayers, for the financial year 2006-07 and 2007-08.
Individual income tax rates for prior years - Shows the percentage of tax payable for each income bracket, for individual Australian taxpayers, for prior financial years.
PAYG withholding
Students and graduates
Calculators
Income tax
International
Families
Medical
PAYG withholding
Payments
Seniors
Students and graduates
Superannuation
Work related expenses
Other calculators
Other tools
Business Victoria has a great web site with a lot of information for businesses large and small. Topics include starting or buying a business, specific businesses, employing people, expanding and promoting your business and the permits you may need.
It has a lot of information that can be downloaded and is a good entry point to finding the business services that are available and how to make contact with them.
How-to-guides from the excellent business.gov.au site.
Business Plans & Checklists is an online library which brings together a wide range of business tools from a variety of sources.
Other sites to obtain general information on running a business are:
Busines Enterprise Centres (BECs) are independent, community-based organisations, which provide advice and assistance to existing and potential small business owners and operators. They have offices located in city and country areas throughout Australia.
Environment Protection Authority (Victoria).
Keep an eye on what is required of your business on the environmental front. Perhaps check Victoria's Greenhouse Gas emissions from energy use.
The greenhouse gas indicator provides real time information on the weekly level of greenhouse gases produced each week in Victoria from energy use.
The EPA site partners with The Climate Group to display the Greenhouse Gas Indicator which monitors the weekly emissions in Victoria.
Should you set up your business as a sole trader, partnership, trust, company or something else.
Each is quite different from a tax, risk and management point of view.
With the tax, you need to consider not only income tax on your profits, but also Capital Gains for when you finally dispose of your business. Some structures expose you to more tax, and others give you the opportunity to spread your income amongst the family.
Risk needs to be considered in the context of what other assets the family owns and whose name they are in and any risks that are involved there. it is not just about the risks in your business and that you may put the family home at risk.
It is important to make the right decision as early as possible. It can be very difficult and expensive to change later on.
You should seek the advice of your solicitor and accountant before deciding on a structure.
Choosing a name that won't get you into trouble with anyone can be difficult. It is not enough just that you registered a business name or domain name. Even a Registered Trademark can be challenged later on.
For discussions about this see Business names, company names and domain names. Places you check should include these:
Alarm bells should ring if you are choosing a name because it is sort of like somebody else's name.
