In late 2003 the ACCC conducted a survey of the top 1000 Australian consumer websites. The survey focused on sites offering goods and services online (transactional sites) and the terms and conditions of sale they offered to consumers. The survey identified and examined 334 transactional sites, and the results raised several issues of concern to the ACCC. Of particular concern was the level of disclosure of statutory warranties and conditions implied by the Trade Practices Act 1974 into consumer contracts.
In response to this the ACCC is undertaking a consumer education and business awareness campaign to increase awareness of rights and obligations when trading over the internet. As part of this campaign the ACCC has recently released a consumer flyer, Your online rights and will soon release a paper titled, Shopping online—rights and obligations when trading over the internet which provide information on the project and its findings. The paper will be available on the ACCC website.
