Summary of performance
Protecting the interests and safety of consumers and supporting fair trading in markets affecting consumers and small business
Role and functions
The Australian Consumer Law (ACL) governs a range of conduct that can have a negative impact on both consumers and small business. The law is designed to enable all businesses to compete on their merits in a fair and open market, while ensuring consumers are also treated fairly.
The ACCC supports consumers and small business by:
- addressing harm done by non-compliance with the ACL
- ensuring that consumers and small businesses know what their rights and responsibilities are under the ACL.
We also work to ensure unsafe products do not harm Australian consumers, taking a range of actions to prevent unsafe products from being sold, removing them from the market if they are, and taking action against traders and suppliers where warranted.
We use educational campaigns to ensure that consumers and small businesses are fully aware of their rights and responsibilities under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (the Act) and to encourage businesses to comply with the Act.
We also work closely with state and territory counterparts to educate, monitor and enforce compliance with the ACL under a one-law, multi-regulator model.
Our deliverables in this area are:
|
Deliverable 2.1 |
Deliver outcomes to address harm to consumers and small businesses resulting from non-compliance with the Australian Consumer Law |
|
Deliverable 2.2 |
Enhance the effectiveness of the ACCC’s compliance and enforcement initiatives through partnerships |
|
Deliverable 2.3 |
Identify and address the risk of serious injury and death from safety hazards in consumer products |
|
Deliverable 2.4 |
Support a vibrant small business sector |
|
Deliverable 2.5 |
Empower consumers by increasing their awareness of their rights under the Australian Consumer Law |
Priorities
While we carefully consider all reported matters, we rarely get involved in individual disputes and complaints; rather, we dedicate our resources and litigation funding to matters that provide the greatest overall benefit for competition and consumers. This includes pursuing matters that can influence broader industry behaviour.
The ACCC’s Compliance and Enforcement Policy sets out our priorities for the year and the factors we take into account when deciding whether to pursue matters.
There are some forms of conduct that are so detrimental to consumer welfare and the competitive process that we will always regard them as a priority. Our enduring priorities are:
- product safety issues which have the potential to cause serious harm to consumers
- conduct that impacts vulnerable and disadvantaged consumers (including elderly consumers and consumers who are newly arrived in Australia)
- protecting consumer rights of Indigenous consumers living in remote areas.
In addition to our enduring priorities, the ACCC’s Compliance and Enforcement Policy prioritised the following areas in 2016 and 2017:
- consumer guarantees and representations made by large companies about express and extended warranties, including in the airline industry
- consumer issues in new car retailing, including responses by retailers and manufacturers to consumer guarantee claims
- consumer and competition issues in the health and medical sectors, including in private health insurance
- small business protection: industry codes of conduct, Franchising Code of Conduct, Food and Grocery Code of Conduct, revised Horticulture Code of Conduct
- disruption of scams, particularly those that rely on building deceptive relationships and cause severe and widespread consumer or small business detriment
- consumer and competition issues in the agriculture sector
- consumer issues arising from commission-based sales business models
- issues arising from the ACCC’s monitoring of broadband speed and performance claims
- the effectiveness of recalls for unsafe consumer productions and supply of unsafe products in Australia by internet platform providers.
Powers
Under the consumer protection provisions of the Act, we have powers to take court action, seek court enforceable undertakings, seek corrective advertising or consumer refunds and other forms of redress, issue infringement notices and public warning notices or resolve matters administratively. A description of these powers and our approach to using them is in our Compliance and Enforcement Policy on our website and in appendix 6.
We also have certain powers under industry codes and schemes.
Performance indicators
Deliverable 2.1: Deliver outcomes to address harm to consumers and small businesses resulting from non-compliance with the Australian Consumer Law
This deliverable is about court or other actions we take, such as non-enforceable initiatives to enhance compliance, which protect consumers and small businesses from conduct that harms them. With finite resources, we direct our efforts to those areas with the greatest harm, determining our priorities for action each year. As a strategic regulator with finite resources we look to intervention that can influence behaviour across industry and the economy.
These performance indicators are from the ACCC and AER Corporate Plan 2016–17, page 13.
Table 3.14: Performance indicators for Deliverable 2.1
|
Performance indicators |
Annual target |
Result |
|
Number of in-depth ACL investigations completed |
80 |
98 |
|
Percentage of in-depth ACL investigations that are in the priority areas outlined in the Compliance and Enforcement Policy |
60% |
70.1% |
|
Percentage of initial ACL investigations completed within 3 months |
80% |
88.1% |
|
Percentage of in-depth ACL investigations completed within 12 months |
80% |
80.6% |
|
Number of ACL enforcement interventions or market studies (court proceedings commenced, s. 87B undertakings accepted, infringement notices paid, publication of studies relating to consumer or small business issues in markets) |
40 |
48 |
|
Percentage of ACL enforcement interventions in the priority areas outlined in the Compliance and Enforcement Policy |
60% |
64.6% |
|
Percentage of ACL enforcement interventions in the priority areas, or demonstrating the priority factors, outlined in the Compliance and Enforcement Policy |
100% |
100% |
|
Number of emerging CCA market issues affecting consumers and small business that are identified, considered and advice developed |
2 |
2 |
|
Number of new or revised business compliance resources (published guidance) |
10 |
26 |
|
Number of times online business education resources have been accessed |
600 000 |
1 388 770 |
|
Number of surveys and audits for CCA compliance, including in relation to product safety regulations |
20 |
54 |
|
Percentage of business compliance projects that are in priority areas identified in the Compliance and Enforcement Policy |
60% |
100% |
Deliverable 2.2: Enhance the effectiveness of the ACCC’s compliance and enforcement initiatives through partnerships
This deliverable is about the partnerships we make to assist us in taking proactive, timely and effective compliance and enforcement action—for example, with Treasury, ASIC and state and territory consumer protection agencies, businesses, industry associations and consumer groups.
These performance indicators are from the ACCC and AER Corporate Plan 2016–17, page 14.
Table 3.15: Performance indicators for Deliverable 2.2
|
Performance indicators |
Annual target |
Result |
|
Percentage of business compliance resources developed or updated in consultation with business, stakeholder groups and peak bodies |
80% |
81% |
|
Number of business compliance projects that are delivered jointly with ACL regulators (Business compliance projects may include one or more of the following to address an identified sector-based compliance risk: monitoring, surveillance, audits, research, stakeholder engagement, business compliance resources, consumer education resources) |
5 |
10 |
|
Number of business compliance and consumer education projects that involve partnership or joint delivery with businesses, peak bodies, industry or consumer groups |
5 |
6 |
Deliverable 2.3: Identify and address the risk of serious injury and death from safety hazards in consumer products
This deliverable is about the methods we use to identify product safety issues and the kinds of actions we take where it is warranted.
These performance indicators are from the ACCC and AER Corporate Plan 2016–17, page 14–15.
Table 3.16: Performance indicators for Deliverable 2.3
|
Performance indicators |
Annual target |
Result |
|
Percentage of product safety mandatory reports made by businesses of serious injury or death preliminary assessed by the ACCC within seven days |
100% |
86.6% |
|
Percentage of recall notifications by businesses to the ACCC that, after assessment and engagement, can be published within 48 hours |
80% |
Note |
|
Number of detailed assessments of emerging product safety hazards |
40 |
82 |
|
Number of reviews of mandatory product safety standards completed |
6 |
6 |
|
Number of new or updated published business compliance resources about responsible sourcing of consumer products |
2 |
3 |
Note: This KPI cannot be reported using the new workflow system introduced on 1 August 2016. From 1 July 2017 the target will be revised to be 80 per cent of notified voluntary recalls to be published within seven calendar days of receipt, including assessment and any engagement with the supplier.
Deliverable 2.4: Support a vibrant small business sector
This deliverable is about how we help to ensure that small businesses understand and comply with their obligations and encourage them to exercise their rights as the customers of larger suppliers.
These performance indicators are from the ACCC and AER Corporate Plan 2016–17, page 15.
Table 3.17: Performance indicators for Deliverable 2.4
|
Performance indicators |
Annual target |
Result |
|
Number of small business Infocentre contacts served (Small business contacts are contacts through separate small business phone line and web forms) |
12 000 |
13 372 |
|
Number of new or revised business compliance resources (published guidance) to empower small business |
5 |
26 |
|
Number of CCA and ACL enforcement interventions with substantial benefits to small business sector |
10 |
12 |
Deliverable 2.5: Empower consumers by increasing their awareness of their rights under the Australian Consumer Law
This deliverable is about how we educate consumers about their consumer rights and empower them to take action when those rights are not respected.
These performance indicators are from the ACCC and AER Corporate Plan 2016–17, page 15.
Table 3.18: Performance indicators for Deliverable 2.5
|
Performance indicators |
Annual target |
Result |
|
Number of new or revised consumer education resources (published guidance) |
10 |
45 |
|
Number of times online consumer education resources have been accessed |
1.5 million |
3.5 million |
|
Number of Infocentre contacts served |
150 000 |
264 462 |
|
Number of unique visits to the Scamwatch website |
1.5 million |
2 310 735* |
* Due to a change in the analytics tool used for the new Scamwatch website launched in July 2015, the annual figures reflect visits rather than unique visits.
Factors affecting performance
The ACCC exceed all of the annual targets set for ACL enforcement investigations in 2016–17.
The ACCC completed 98 in-depth ACL investigations in the period and completed initial investigations and in-depth investigations within the target timeframes of three months and 12 months respectively. The ACCC achieved 48 new ACL enforcement interventions in 2016–17 (target of 40). All the interventions were within the priority areas and/or demonstrating the priority factors as outlined in the Compliance and Enforcement policy.
In 2016–17 we developed 81 per cent of business compliance resources in consultation with business, stakeholder groups and peak bodies, just above the target of 80 per cent. We consulted with these groups for major projects such as country of origin labelling, business to business unfair contract terms and the Horticulture Code of Conduct; however, it is not feasible to consult during the development of all resources. Some resources, such as webinars, are presented in a format on which it is impractical to consult; however, the content used in webinars has often been drawn from sources such as published guidance that has already been developed in consultation with stakeholders.
We assessed 86.6 per cent of product safety mandatory reports made by businesses of serious injury or death with preliminary assessment within seven days, which was above the target. The allocation of additional resources to this work offset the staff time that was taken up by implementing a new recording and reporting system.
The Infocentre made a significant change to operations in October 2016 and ceased using the word ‘complaint’ to describe the information collected from telephone calls to the ACCC or provided in writing. This was in response to increasing difficulty meeting demand, particularly when a complaint handling service was expected. Consumers and small business are now encouraged to ‘report’ information that may represent a breach, and we may not provide a response. This has resulted in more reports received, and fewer requiring a response. The Infocentre is also starting a transition away from providing a telephone service for Scamwatch, which has reduced call volumes by 40 per cent compared to the same period last year.