The ACCC has conducted an in-depth investigation into the contracts of Carlton United Breweries (CUB) and Lion Pty Limited (Lion) after allegations from some craft brewers that the major brewers were locking them out of beer taps in pubs, clubs and live venues through the use of exclusivity provisions and volume requirements.
The ACCC is urging small business owners to start preparing now for the ban on excessive payment surcharges that will apply to all businesses across Australia from 1 September 2017.
The new law limits the amount that a business can charge customers for use of payment methods such as EFTPOS (debit and prepaid), MasterCard (credit, debit and prepaid), Visa (credit, debit and prepaid) and American Express cards issued by Australian banks. It came into effect for large businesses last year.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is urging businesses to review their country of origin labels now to ensure they comply with the Australian Consumer Law.
“In particular, businesses should review any claims on their product labelling or advertising which suggests that the product was ‘Made in’ a particular country,” ACCC Deputy Chair Dr Michael Schaper said.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has instituted proceedings in the Federal Court against Apple Pty Limited and its US-based parent company, Apple Inc., (together, Apple) alleging that Apple made false, misleading, or deceptive representations about consumers’ rights under the Australian Consumer Law.
Traders and growers need to keep a written record of any other grower or trader they deal with for at least six years. In addition there are specific record keeping obligations for both traders and growers.
We have a range of enforcement options available to us, including issuing warnings, investigating the conduct, issuing infringement notices or commencing legal proceeding.
Under the Horticulture Code growers and traders can use any procedures they choose to resolve a dispute. However, the Code has a dispute resolution process that must be followed if it is initiated by one of the parties.
The Horticulture Code requires growers and traders to have a written contract, called a Horticulture produce Agreement (HPA) before they can trade with each other..
Under the Horticulture Code, traders and growers must deal with each other in good faith. Failure to deal in good faith can lead to penalties for breaching the Code.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has a number of in-depth investigations underway across a range of industries following the introduction of the new business-to-business (B2B) unfair contract terms laws in November 2016.
Delivering the keynote address at a UNSW forum on recent developments in competition and consumer law, ACCC Deputy Chair Dr Michael Schaper said the regulator would be taking enforcement action in relation to a number of companies over B2B unfair contract terms this year.