Consumers

Guidelines on section 95ZN claims in price inquiries

These Guidelines provide information about the approach taken by the ACCC in assessing whether to disclose information under section 95ZN of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), where that information has been provided to the ACCC under section 95ZK of the CCA, or made available to the ACCC in written submissions to a price inquiry or given in private at a formal price inquiry hearing.

Honeysuckle Health, nib buying group authorised with condition

The ACCC has authorised Honeysuckle Health and nib Health Funds (ASX: NHF) to form and operate a health services buying group.

The authorisation has been granted with a condition that major insurers Medibank, Bupa, HCF and HBF in Western Australia not be allowed to join the buying group.  The ACCC has also only granted authorisation for five years, rather than the 10 years sought by Honeysuckle Health and nib, to facilitate a review of the effects of the authorisation at an earlier time, if reauthorisation is sought.

Court declares former migration company director Radovan Laski bankrupt

A former director of migration company Clinica Internationale Pty Ltd (Clinica), Radovan Montague Laski (aka Rod or Rodney Laski), has been declared bankrupt by the Federal Circuit Court after an ACCC application for a sequestration order.    

The Court made the order following Mr Laski’s failure to pay more than $380,000 in legal costs after action by the ACCC led to a Federal Court judgment against him.

Decathlon pays $1.5 million for selling sporting goods that did not comply with safety standards

The Federal Court has ordered Decathlon (Australia) Pty Ltd (Decathlon) to pay penalties of $1.5 million for selling sports and recreation goods that did not comply with applicable mandatory safety standards, in breach of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL).

Decathlon admitted that, between January 2016 and December 2019, it supplied 432 basketball rings and backboards and 307 portable swimming pools which did not comply with the relevant Australian mandatory safety standards.

ACCC alleges Mercedes-Benz minimised risk of defective Takata airbags during compulsory recall

The ACCC has instituted Federal Court proceedings against Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific Pty Ltd (Mercedes-Benz) for allegedly failing to comply with their obligations under a compulsory recall of defective, and potentially deadly, Takata airbags.

The recall notice required suppliers to communicate with consumers in a way that emphasised the danger of the Takata airbags, particularly the risk of serious injury or death from misdeployment of the airbag inflator. It also required suppliers to draw attention to the urgency of having airbags replaced.

Views sought to help prevent deaths and injuries from toppling furniture and televisions

The ACCC is seeking submissions from stakeholders, including consumers, consumer safety advocates, the furniture and television industries, and medical professionals about the safety hazards posed by toppling furniture, such as bookshelves, drawers and televisions.

There have been at least 27 deaths in Australia from toppling furniture and televisions since 2000. Most deaths involved the toppling of storage furniture such as chests of drawers, televisions and the furniture that televisions are placed on.