Choice
CHOICE is Australia's largest independent consumer advocacy nonprofit, founded in 1959. The organization conducts in-house product testing, publishes expert reviews and a monthly magazine, and runs consumer decision-support tools, funded primarily by member subscriptions and donations serving Australian consumers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1959
- HeadquartersMarrickville, Australia
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Choice does
CHOICE is Australia's largest independent consumer advocacy nonprofit, founded in 1959 by WA politician Ruby Hutchison as the country's first national consumer group and headquartered in Marrickville. The organization employs 51-100 staff and serves Australian consumers through independent product testing, expert reviews, investigative journalism, and consumer-rights advocacy across categories including home appliances, electronics, food, insurance, and energy products. CHOICE operates on an explicitly ad-free, advertiser-independent model that positions its testing and recommendations as influence-free.
The organization runs in-house product testing laboratories using standardized methodologies and a proprietary CHOICE Expert Rating System, with specialized protocols for categories such as TV picture quality (SD/HD/4K upscaling panel testing) and button/coin battery safety compliance. Beyond reviews, CHOICE publishes a monthly consumer magazine, maintains an online community forum, and offers consumer decision-support tools including a Solar Estimator, Health Insurance Comparison Tool, and Home Energy Saver. Its commercial subsidiary, Test Research, sells paid testing services to industry and government clients.
CHOICE's revenue model rests on three streams: individual membership subscriptions (annual billing), member and supporter donations, and commercial testing fees from Test Research. The organization uses a multi-channel GTM approach — its website, email newsletters, social media (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X), the choice.community forum, and high-profile annual earned media via the Shonky Awards — to acquire and engage members. CHOICE has a documented record of regulatory influence, with its investigations linked to sunscreen recalls, the Takata airbag recall, the mortgage exit fee ban, and ongoing ACCC action against major retailers and energy companies.
Choice firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Choice
- Legal name
- CHOICE
- Website
- https://choice.com.au
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1959
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- CHOICE is Australia's largest independent consumer advocacy nonprofit, founded in 1959. The organization conducts in-house product testing, publishes expert reviews and a monthly magazine, and runs consumer decision-support tools, funded primarily by member subscriptions and donations serving Australian consumers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Choice industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Consumer Advocacy Services
- NAICS
- Testing Laboratories and Services (541380)
- SIC
- Services-Testing Laboratories (8734), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Food Testing Laboratories (Microbiological, Chemical, Allergen) (AFALAAAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Labeling, Nutrition Facts & Allergen Verification Services (AFALAAAH)
Keywords
Where Choice is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Marrickville
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
Choice business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Membership Subscriptions: CHOICE operates as a nonprofit membership organization where consumers pay for membership to access expert reviews, testing results, and independent advice. Members fund the organization's independent product testing, journalism and campaigns.
- Donations: The organization accepts donations from supporters who want to contribute to consumer advocacy efforts.
- Testing Services (Commercial): Through their commercial arm Test Research, CHOICE offers testing services to industry and government.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Standard Membership |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels6 records
Choice product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CHOICE operates world-class independent testing laboratories that buy and lab-test consumer products across home appliances, electronics, food, and other categories, publishing expert reviews and ratings on choice.com.au. The organization also runs consumer comparison tools (solar, health insurance, energy), publishes a monthly magazine, and conducts advocacy campaigns on consumer rights issues, funded primarily through member subscriptions and donations.
Product overview
CHOICE is Australia's leading nonprofit consumer advocacy organization, founded in 1959, that provides independent, ad-free product testing and expert reviews to help consumers make informed decisions. The organization operates as a membership-funded nonprofit offering lab-tested ratings across various product categories (kitchen, electronics, insurance, travel, food, and more), along with consumer tools such as the Solar Estimator, Health Insurance Comparison Tool, and Home Energy Saver. CHOICE also publishes the CHOICE Magazine and runs The Shonky Awards program to call out poor products and services. The organization conducts advocacy campaigns on consumer rights issues and provides a complaints and petitions platform for collective consumer action.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Shonky Awards: Annual awards recognizing the worst products and services, launched in 2006 to call out dodgy products and practices.
Products and services
- CHOICE Product Testing and Reviews
Quantifiable outcome
- 99% of over 7,200 respondents want country-of-origin labeling on timber products
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Choice
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Choice technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Choice partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- RACGP, AMA, ACNP, CPMC, Choice Chemist, Choice Aged Care, and Wellness Partners FoundationcoreCoalition of Australian healthcare organizations that submitted a joint open letter to Federal and State health ministers and the Pharmacy Board of Australia, opposing proposed changes to expand pharmacist prescribing autonomy over safety concerns. The coalition warns that proposals extend beyond available evidence and could result in fragmented care.
- TGA (Therapeutic Goods Administration)coreFollowing CHOICE sunscreen testing that found 16 of 20 products failed to meet SPF claims, TGA confirmed ongoing investigation and proposed regulatory overhauls including new SPF testing methods and potential removal of SPF numbers from labels.
- ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission)coreCHOICE filed a complaint with ACCC urging action against major online retailers Amazon, Temu, AliExpress, and eBay for selling banned and dangerous children's products. ACCC is suing Amazon and investigating other dangerous products.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Choice competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Which?: UK consumer advocacy organization with comparable member-funded structure, independent product testing, expert reviews, and policy campaigns. Closest international analog to CHOICE in mission, governance (charitable/nonprofit), and operating model.
- Consumer Reports: US-based independent nonprofit consumer product testing organization, founded in 1936. Direct peer because it operates labs, runs an ad-free member-funded model, and offers product reviews across categories like appliances, electronics, food, and finance, mirroring CHOICE's model in a different market.
- ProductReview.com.au: Australia's largest consumer product review platform. Closest domestic peer because it aggregates consumer opinions and competes for the same Australian consumer mindshare across the same categories CHOICE tests.
- Canstar: Australian financial product and comparison research firm. Direct peer in the Australian market where overlap on insurance, energy, and financial comparison intersects with CHOICE's Health Insurance Comparison Tool and energy content.
Broad incumbents
- Bureau Veritas: French-listed global testing, inspection, and certification (TIC) player. Operates commercial testing laboratories in consumer goods categories that overlap with CHOICE's in-house testing scope.
- Intertek: Global testing, inspection, and certification (TIC) company with worldwide labs. Broad incumbent in the same testing services space where CHOICE's Test Research operates, though at vastly different scale and customer mix (B2B vs consumer).
- SGS: Swiss-based global testing and certification giant. Comparable as a broad incumbent operating commercial test labs across product categories CHOICE tests (food, cosmetics, electronics, consumer goods).
- Underwriters Laboratories (UL): Global product safety testing and certification organization. Broad incumbent in testing/certification space; CHOICE's Test Research commercial arm competes for similar safety-testing mandates though UL is much larger and enterprise/government B2B.
Emerging players
- Finder: Australian comparison and affiliate platform competing with CHOICE's comparison tools on energy, insurance, and consumer finance. Emerging player using a different (ad-supported/affiliate) commercial model that targets the same buying-decision moments.
- Labdoor: US-based independent supplement and product testing company. Emerging player in the consumer-facing testing space that pioneered a tech-enabled lab testing model targeting the same trust/verification gap that CHOICE solves, but with a narrower initial vertical focus.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Choice social profiles
Digital presenceChoice financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Choice leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Choice funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Choice M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Choice
What does Choice do?
CHOICE operates world-class independent testing laboratories that buy and lab-test consumer products across home appliances, electronics, food, and other categories, publishing expert reviews and ratings on choice.com.au. The organization also runs consumer comparison tools (solar, health insurance, energy), publishes a monthly magazine, and conducts advocacy campaigns on consumer rights issues, funded primarily through member subscriptions and donations.
Is Choice a public or private company?
Choice is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Choice founded?
Choice was founded in 1959. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Choice based?
Choice is headquartered in Marrickville, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Choice make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Membership Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are donations and testing Services (Commercial).
Who are Choice's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Which?, Consumer Reports, ProductReview.com.au and Canstar. Broad incumbents are Bureau Veritas, Intertek, SGS and Underwriters Laboratories (UL). Emerging players are Finder and Labdoor.
Does Choice have an API?
No public API is recorded for Choice.
What industry is Choice in?
Choice's product category is Consumer Advocacy Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFALAAAA, Food Testing Laboratories (Microbiological, Chemical, Allergen), with a secondary code of AFALAAAH, Labeling, Nutrition Facts & Allergen Verification Services. Its NAICS code is 541380 and its SIC code is 8734.