Finding your way around the MCA Website

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs website is designed to support its vision: Creating confident consumers.

What’s on our website

The different website sections allow visitors to choose what type of information they want:

• About us – information about the Ministry and how to contact us

• Consumer Information – advice and information on a wide range of topics

• Business Information – advice and information on a wide range of topics for retailers, manufacturers, importers and service providers, to help achieve a fair and informed marketplace

• Policy, Law and Research - a section on policy and law, including discussion papers that give guidance and recommendations to lawmakers, and the research the Ministry does to find out about knowledge gaps

• Measurement – information about weights and measures and New Zealand requirements

• Product Safety - information for consumers on how to use products safely and how to make sure that the products you buy are safe; and information that businesses need to be aware of when manufacturing, importing and selling products

• Scamwatch - online service to warn New Zealand consumers about specific types of financial scams from overseas sources

• Publications - the range of different printed publications for both consumers and business

• Education – our ACE Consumer resource, designed for Social Studies teachers and students to help them learn how to become Active, Critical and Enquiring consumers.

We also have extra functions in our “navigation” bar at the very top of each page:

• Site map – an area that sorts the information on the website in a different way than presented on the home page

• News – links to the latest site updates, press releases, columns, and newsletters

• Media Centre – media releases, our fortnightly column (A Word of Advice), newsletters, and contact details for Ministry media contacts

• Search – when you are looking for something specific that you can’t find elsewhere.

You can find most of the information you will need to research and complete ACE Consumer activities work in the Consumer Information section of the website.

Sometimes you will also go to Business Information, Measurement and to Product Safety.

Specific links that relate to the research inquiries are provided in the Research Tasks.

You can use the website’s Search function to find information, or you can ask your teacher to identify the right section of the website to answer your questions and find information.