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The article discusses the increasing popularity of the self-managed super fund (SMSF) sector in Australia. A survey has found that many consumers are shifting to SMSF because they want to control their own investment decisions. The other benefits of SMSF are lower costs and better returns. Although anyone can manage their own superannuation fund, people who are best suited for SMSF are small business owners, retired or part-retired people, and those working in the accounting and finance fields.

The article explores the effects of the decreasing cost of wine in Australia, which according to the author makes the competition harder for independent players. Metcash chief executive officer Andrew Reitzer said that the decision of retailers Woolworths' and Coles to reduce the cost of their wines for consumers have murdered the price competition. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has previously found the Liqourland brand of Coles and Woolworths' breaching the anti-competitive liquor law in 2005 and 2006.

The article focuses on the accounts available in various banks which have no monthly fee, certain transactions fees, and penalty fees. It mentions that the NAB Classic Banking account from National Australia Bank Ltd. does not have penalty, monthly, and transaction fees. Customers can use the ING Direct Orange Everyday account from ING Group by using other banks' automated teller machines (ATMs) and Australia Post for deposits and withdrawals. It talks on Bankwest Inc.'s accounts Hero and Zero.

The article investigates the significance of options trading in Australia. It further questions the safeness of options trading in terms of get-rich-quick scheme or a low-risk strategy to profit from volatile markets in the region. According to the article, options trading is introduced as a high profit and low risk marketing strategy in order for businessmen to make money in rising and falling share market. Further information regarding option trading is discussed.

The article explores the findings of a diary survey on credit card surcharges in Australia conducted by the New South Wales Fair Trading and the magazine "Choice." Results show more than half of respondents paid a surcharge between one and five times. Among the top companies that add surcharges are Telstra, Aldi and Qantas. Participants complained about inadequate surcharge disclosure.

The article offers information on commission rebate companies. These companies help recover the hidden commissions unwittingly paid by many as part of superannuation and insurance policies. They generally offer a no-advice service as they simply request details about a person and their investments or policies and contact the product providers to request entry fees reduced and future trail commissions be paid to them instead of the client's present adviser, then shares it with varying degrees.

The article discusses the financial benefits of using solar panel systems. Developments in New South Wales show that more households are applying for electricity buy-back rates that will shorten the payback period for solar photovoltaic (PV) panels to about five years. The government's Solar Credits Scheme offers financial incentives to eligible households for renewable energy certificates (REC) from approved PV systems.

Several letters to the editor are presented in response to articles in previous issues including “The 6 most important numbers in the universe" in the June 2012 issue, "What are we doing in space?," by Brian May in the February 2012 issue, and “Will we go back to the Moon?,” by Robert Zimmerman in the February 2012 issue.

The article reports that banks in Australia are increasing charges on personal loans and credit cards to offset income lost as a result of the reductions in bank penalty fees, according to figures from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).

The article reports on the increase in the National Australia Bank's (NAB) customer satisfaction level by 4.1 percent despite a 22 percent decline in personal banking cash earnings in the 12 months to April 2010, according to a survey by Roy Morgan Research. The NAB has made improvements in response to consumer complaints such as the removal of penalties. Data also shows a 71 percent customer satisfaction level for NAB which is the lowest compared with other major banks including ING, Bankwest and Bendigo Bank.

The article focuses on the decision of Woolworths' to stop accepting Debit MasterCard or Visa Debit payments in order to reduce the expenses of the store and encourage its customers to use a cheaper way of paying. The retailer has instead chosen the EFTPOS system in favor of the Scheme Debit way of processing MasterCard and Visa payment as the latter is known to be a more expensive way of transacting with card payments. The author says that while Woolworths' do have the right to chose the best system, it should gone with the Scheme Debit.

The article offers information on the changes recommended by the Productivity Commission to the 600,000 charities and not-for-profit organisations in Australia to prevent loss of public trust and confidence including single registrar for the Commonwealth regulation consolidation and consistency of rules for the fundraisers.

The article reports on the additional credit card fees by major airlines. It mentions Qantas Airlines which charges credit card service fees of 7.70 dollars including goods and services tax (GST), per passenger bookings and 25 dollars per passenger for overseas trips. Visa general manager Chris Clark says that there is no justification for merchants to impose surcharges that exceed their cost of accepting cards. But Qantas claims that its fees do not recover its transaction processing costs.