As a nonprofit organisation, CHOICE exists to help consumers like you, not shareholders. So any money we make goes straight back into our mission.
On this page:
Our mission
Our mission is simple: we work for fair, just and safe markets that meet the needs of Australian consumers. We do that through our independent testing, advocacy and journalism.
When we talk about what's good or bad about products or services, it's based on:
- scientific testing in our accredited labs
- genuine expert opinion (the expert's actual opinion, free from influence)
- verified data analysis (fact-checked before we publish)
- products and services as you would buy them (wherever possible, we buy the products we test from retailers or via mystery shoppers)
- independent surveys, and/or
- fun (like when we ask kids to test Easter eggs)
If we see something shonky, we call it out.
How we're funded
When we see something that's shonky, we're not afraid to call it out. That involves taking on some of the biggest businesses in the world – including big banks, global tech companies and multinational corporations. And this takes money.
Funded by our members
Our 200,000-plus members make our work possible. We wouldn't be here without them. If you like what we do, consider becoming a member to help us do even more.
Other funding sources
Membership fees provide most of our income, but we also make money from these other sources, where consistent with our mission and values.
Donations
Making a one-off donation to CHOICE is another way to support our consumer advocacy and lab testing. From time to time we'll also ask for donations to support our work on topical or urgent issues. To keep ourselves accountable, we abide by four key guardrails in the way we receive and use your donation.
CHOICE Recommended
If a product or a brand performs well in our independent tests or reviews, they can display a 'CHOICE Recommended' logo on their products and in ads, for a fee.
They're strictly prohibited from being involved in our testing process in any way. We decide which products we test and we buy them ourselves, wherever possible.
We like to see businesses compete to be recommended by CHOICE, because it means they're trying to make products that work better for you.
CHOICE Test Research
Through our CHOICE Test Research program, companies can ask us to test their product or service for feedback on how to make it better, safer or fairer. We've seen the products that you can buy improve as a result of our testing, so we know this works.
And while we provide this service for a charge, we don't tell the brands what score the product would get in our independent testing for consumers. CHOICE Test Research never influences the rankings or recommendations in our independent tests.
We also test for government departments and regulators, so they know whether products are safe and reliable.
'Buy now' links
On some of our product reviews, we give you the option to click through to a retailer and see more details or buy the product. We receive a small fee for some of these links, which is always made clear on the page.
Unlike commercial comparison sites, we never let these links influence our rankings or recommendations. And we refuse to provide 'buy now' links where there's evidence that they push up prices.
Other partnerships
From time to time we may have other business partnerships, but only if they benefit consumers, and meet our guidelines.
Our guidelines
In any business partnership:
1. We're driven by our values
Our values of TRUTH, HELP and IMPACT guide every decision. We're happy to turn down money, hand it back or give a Shonky Award to a business that we've previously recommended where it's the right thing to do.
2. We decide what to test and investigate
We decide which products and services to investigate, test, research or campaign on, based on the best available data about where consumers need our help. No business can influence what we choose to test or investigate.
3. We're always transparent
We disclose the names of all of our current CHOICE Recommended and Test Research clients and 'buy now' partners on choice.com.au.
Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
