Competition and Consumer Act 2010

New digital platform rules crucial next step in consumer law reform

The development of new upfront rules that force dominant digital platforms to treat their users fairly is the important next step in reforming Australia’s consumer protection laws, ACCC Chair Rod Sims said today.

Delivering the 2022 Ruby Hutchison Memorial Lecture, Mr Sims applauded the progress on stronger consumer laws in Australia, starting with the introduction of the Australian Consumer Law in 2011, which included penalties for breaches, and then a significant hike in penalties in 2018.

Speedway Australia undertakes to address competition concerns involving sprintcar tracks

The ACCC has accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from N.A.S.R. Incorporated, trading as Speedway Australia, after the ACCC raised competition concerns relating to speedway racing in Victoria.

The ACCC investigated reports that Speedway Australia’s affiliated speedway track operators were being restricted in their choice of the speedway racing classes or divisions they could program to race at their tracks, due to an agreement between Speedway Australia and the Sprintcar Control Council of Australia (SCCA). 

Compliance and enforcement priorities for 2022/23

The ACCC’s 2022/23 compliance and enforcement priorities include manipulative or deceptive advertising in the digital economy, environmental claims and sustainability, and disruptions to global and domestic supply chains.

In the annual Committee for Economic Development Australia (CEDA) address in Sydney today, ACCC Chair Rod Sims said the ACCC’s 2022/23 priorities reflected current and emerging issues relating to consumer and fair trading, competition, infrastructure and product safety.

Former Get Qualified Australia CEO Adam Wadi declared bankrupt

The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia has granted an order sought by the ACCC, declaring Mr Adam Wadi, formerly Get Qualified Australia Pty Ltd’s (GQA) sole director and CEO, bankrupt.

The declaration follows ACCC court action in 2016 which resulted in a ruling from the Federal Court in 2017 that GQA made false or misleading representations, engaged in unconscionable conduct, imposed an unfair contract term in its consumer contracts and entered into unsolicited consumer agreements.

CovaU pays penalties for allegedly failing to publish comparison pricing on electricity plans

Energy retailer CovaU Pty Ltd has paid $33,300 in penalties after the ACCC issued it with three infringement notices for alleged contraventions of the Electricity Retail Code.

The ACCC has reasonable grounds to believe that CovaU contravened the requirements of the Code by advertising the prices of three residential electricity plans on its website without stating a percentage difference to the comparison price set by the government, between 27 June and 19 July 2021.

Bowra & O'Dea amends contracts and pays penalty over funeral pricing

The ACCC has accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from Western Australian funeral services provider Bowra & O’Dea Pty Ltd, in which Bowra & O’Dea admitted that it advertised prices for its funeral and cremation services which did not include all unavoidable costs and acknowledged that it entered into contracts containing alleged unfair contract terms.