Businesses should put a compliance program in place to help them comply with their obligations under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.
The court may require a business to implement a compliance program if they breach the Act.
The ACCC’s templates show what a good compliance program can look like.
What the ACCC does
We provide resources to help businesses develop competition and consumer law compliance programs that can be tailored to their circumstances.
We review a business’s compliance program when it offers us a court-enforceable undertaking as a way of resolving a matter.
What the ACCC can't do
We don’t provide legal advice on compliance programs.
We don’t review individual compliance programs unless they are part of a court-enforceable undertaking offered to us under section 87B of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 as a way of resolving a matter.
On this page
About compliance programs
A compliance program is a business’s internal system or process designed to:
identify and reduce the risk of breaching the Competition and Consumer Act 2010
fix any breach that occurs
create a culture of competition and consumer law compliance within the business.
The ACCC recommends that every business implement a compliance program as part of good governance. What the compliance program should contain depends on the size, operations, and risk profile of the business.
Developing a compliance program
The ACCC has developed a range of templates that outline what we believe a good compliance program should contain.
These templates have been specifically developed to be used as an annexure to a section 87B undertaking, but also provide a helpful framework to develop a compliance program outside of this context. We encourage businesses to consider them in developing their own compliance program.
The templates can be adapted to develop a compliance program that suits your business. There are 4 templates available. Templates have been scaled to suit businesses of varying sizes and risk levels.
You should also consider the specific circumstances of your business. For example, elements from the templates designed for larger businesses may be needed for businesses that are small but face high compliance risks.
For more help with a compliance program, seek legal advice.
Compliance programs as part of an undertaking or enforcement
If the conduct of a business raises concerns under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, the business can offer to sign a legal document, called an undertaking. Through the undertaking, the business commits to take steps to resolve the issue.
The ACCC may accept or refuse the undertaking.
Most enforcement-related undertakings include a commitment to implement a program to help with future competition and consumer law compliance.
There can be legal penalties if a business doesn’t comply with the terms of an undertaking accepted by the ACCC as a way of resolving the matter.
Where we take court proceedings against a business for a potential breach of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, the court may also order the business to implement a compliance program.
