Competition and Consumer Act 2010

Bare Cremation pays penalty for allegedly misleading consumers on pricing

Funeral services provider Bare Funeral Group Pty Ltd, trading as Bare Cremation, has paid a penalty of $13,320 after the ACCC issued it with an infringement notice for allegedly making a false and misleading representation about the price of its cremation services.

In April 2021, Bare Cremation represented on its website that the price for a ‘Cremation Only Service’ was ‘from $1,299’ and the price for a ‘Bare Memorial Service’ was ‘from $2,199’.

Agrison to pay penalty and compensation for misleading tractor buyers

The Federal Court has ordered AA Machinery Pty Ltd (trading as Agrison) to pay a penalty of $220,000 after it admitted making false or misleading representations to customers about the warranties and after-sales services, in breach of the Australian Consumer Law.

The Court also ordered Agrison to pay redress to four consumers that bought tractors or wheel loaders, which will amount to approximately $64,000.

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.

Phoenix Institute acted unconscionably and misled students

The Federal Court has found that former training college Phoenix Institute of Australia Pty Ltd (Phoenix) and its marketing arm, Community Training Initiatives Pty Ltd (CTI), made false or misleading representations and implemented systems of unconscionable conduct in relation to online diploma courses.

Phoenix and CTI were found to have misled consumers and acted unconscionably when marketing to students and enrolling them into online diploma courses in 2015 under the VET FEE-HELP loan program.