Between 22 and 30 November 2000, National Australia Bank (NAB) placed full page advertisments in the following newspapers: The Land (NSW), The Stock & Land (Vic), The Weekly Times (Vic), The Farm Weekly (WA) and The Countryman (WA) promoting its Wheat Advance Product. In the advertisments NAB made certain representations offering wheat farmers a better deal with a key feature including underwriting costs around 17.5% lower than options available at that time. Of concern to the Commission was that NAB was aware for at least 7 days prior to publication of the first advertisment on 22 November that the representations contained therein were factually incorrect and NAB failed to take any action either to correct the representations or have the advertisment withdrawn from publication.
Over the Christmas/New Year period, NAB notified all customers who applied for the Wheat Advance Product of the inaccuracies contained in the published advertisments. Additionally, corrective advertisments were also published over this period.
NAB has provided the Commission with a section 87B undertaking in the following terms:
acknowledge that the advertisments were in breach of sections 52 and 53 (aa) of the Trade Practices Act;
implement a Compliance program to meet Australian Standard AS3806 and provide for an independent audit of its application and effectiveness to be conducted annually for a period of 3 years and a report sent to the Commission; and
to not make similar false or misleading comparative advertising claims.
