Undertaking date

Undertaking type

s.87B undertaking

Reference number

D00/14491

Section

ss. 52 & 53(e)

Company or individual details

  • Name

    Total Aqua Pty Ltd

    ACN

    064 357 884

Undertaking

Total Aqua Pty Ltd, ("Total Aqua") is incorporated in the State of Western Australia and operates from one outlet located in Perth. Total Aqua supplies the CCI undersink water purifier system. In the Good living section of The Sunday Times on 2 April 2000, Total Aqua caused to be published an advertising feature (the "advertorial") promoting its CCI undersink water purifier system.

Appearing under the heading 'Health needs good water' the feature article claimed that: 'Alternatives are spring and bottled waters, but they are about to be hit hard when GST comes in'. On 5 April 2000, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (the "Commission") received a complaint alleging that the representations made by Total Aqua about the application and effect of the GST on spring and bottled waters were false and misleading as these goods will not, in fact, be subject to the GST. On 11 April 2000, the Commission wrote to Total Aqua and advised that it considered the representations made in the advertorial to be false and misleading and in possible breach of sections 52 & 53(e) of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (the "Act").

Total Aqua acknowledges that by representing in the advertorial that spring and bottled waters will be 'hit hard when GST comes in' it has breached sections 52 & 53(e) of the Act. The Commission considered the conduct breached sections 52 & 53(e) of the Trade Practices Act 1974. Total Aqua acknowledged that it may have contravened the Act and gives the following undertakings to the Commission for the purpose of section 87B of the Act: -

Total Aqua undertakes:

  • not to engage in the conduct in the future, offer refunds, or where appropriate, some other compensation, agreed to between the parties, to any consumer who was misled by the representation, into purchasing a Total aqua CCI undersink water purifier in reliance on the belief that spring and bottled waters will be subject to the GST;
  • to cause a corrective advertisement of the approximate size 11cm by 2 columns, to be published within the same Good Living section, or equivalent, as the initial advertorial of The Sunday Times; and
  • to implement a trade practices compliance program (''program') including having its external solicitors or accountants, and which are acceptable to the Commission, report to the Commission on the program's implementation and its effectiveness for a period of two years, the first such report to be provided on a date no later than fifteen months following acceptance of the undertaking by the Commission and the final report by no later than twenty seven months following acceptance of the undertaking by the Commission.