Activities that are not considered to be in 'trade or commerce' and therefore are not subject to the law against misleading or deceptive conduct include:

  • political statements
  • private sales (such as at a garage sale)
  • private statements not in connection with any business activity, for example personal comments on your Facebook page.

Section 18 of the ACL also does not apply to conduct relating to the provision of financial services (for example, representations made by financial advisors, banks or insurance companies). Representations made by financial service providers are covered in identical terms by section 12DA of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (ASIC Act).

There is also a limited exception for the media, created by section 19 of the ACL, in relation to the publication and broadcasting of news items.