#Accc
Energy crisis: ACCC to investigate power companies’ profits
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has confirmed it is monitoring for price gauging and anti-competitive conduct.
Telstra faces $50m fine for engaging in unconscionable conduct
The Federal Court has ordered Telstra to pay a $50 million penalty for engaging in unconscionable conduct against Indigenous consumers.
Federal Court rules Google misled Australian Android users about location data use
The Federal Court has ruled that Google misled some of its Australian customers about how it collected personal location data between 2017 and 2018.
‘World first’ news media bargaining code introduced in Australia
The final version of Australia’s “world first” news media bargaining code, which requires Google and Facebook to pay for news content, was introduced into Parliament on Wednesday. “This is a huge reform. This is a world first, and the world is watching what happens here in Australia. But our legislation will help ensure that the […]
Auto services franchise fined $2.6 million
Australian auto services franchise, Ultra Tune, has been fined $2.6 million for breaching both the Franchising Code of Conduct and the Australian Consumer Law. The Federal Court found that Ultra Tune had made misleading representations to a prospective franchisee about the price of the franchise, ongoing rent of the premises and the age of the […]
Penalties of Competition law, is your business at risk?
Australia’s legal system has transformed significantly in recent times, and with increasingly regulated working environments it’s essential that business owners are aware of potential legal risks. Competition law is defined as “a law that is intended to make sure there is fair competition between businesses, for example by making rules to control monopolies”. One of […]
Fitness First pays penalty after alleged payment breach
Fitness chain pays penalty fee.
ACCC targets misleading organic claims
FMCG company allegedly ‘misleads’ consumers.
MYOB’s acquisition of Reckon: ACCC concerned about possible accounting software monopoly
The ACCC has expressed concern about the potential for an accounting software monopoly arising from MYOB’s proposed acquisition of Reckon’s Accountants Group. [Related: MYOB to buy a slice of Reckon for $180m] “If MYOB acquired Reckon’s Accountants Group, it would likely be the only supplier of practice software suitable for medium to large accounting firms,” […]
Australia’s Competition law penalties may be too low to sufficiently deter breaches: report
The OECD has found that penalties for competition law breaches are ‘significantly lower’ in Australia than in comparable OECD jurisdictions, prompting the nation’s competition regulator to announce it will rethink its approach to competition law enforcement. The OECD report, Pecuniary Penalties for Competition Law Infringements in Australia(link is external) compared the penalties for companies which breach […]
Equifax accused of breaching consumer law
The ACCC has initiated proceedings in the Federal Court against Equifax (formerly Veda), alleging the credit reporting bureau made false or misleading representations to consumers between June 2013 and March 2017, in breach of consumer laws. Allegations include that Equifax claimed that its paid credit reports were more comprehensive than free reports, when they were not. […]
ACCC seeking public feedback as part of probe into the effects of digital platforms on media
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has released an issues paper for public comment, signalling the launch of its inquiry into the effect digital platforms such as Facebook and Google are having on competition in media and advertising services markets. As part of the inquiry, which was announced in December, the ACCC is seeking feedback […]
Consumer complaints and enquiries from small businesses on the rise, ACCC reveals
Small businesses contacted the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) nearly 5000 times in the second half of 2017, up from 3700 in the preceding six months, according to a new report. The ACCC’s latest Small business in focus report, covering July to December 2017, shows small businesses made 2365 enquiries to the Commission along […]
ACCC to launch probe into Facebook, Google to understand impact on journalism, advertisers
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) will conduct an inquiry into the effect digital platforms such as Facebook and Google are having on competition in media and advertising services markets. ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said the commission will examine whether digital search engines, social media platforms and other digital content aggregation platforms are exercising […]
One in two small businesses relying on new protections against unfair contract terms
A survey of 1280 SME operators has found that nearly half (49.6%) had relied on unfair contract terms legislation, implemented last year, to negotiate fairer terms with big businesses during the past six months. Conducted by East & Partners, the SME Transaction Banking survey also showed that nearly four in five respondents (78.2%) were aware […]
ACCC has improved ‘tens of thousands’ of contracts for SMES since November 2016
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) says its only at the ‘tip of the iceberg’ in terms of its efforts to ensure small businesses are not subject to unfair contract terms. Since 12 November last year, when unfair contract terms laws were extended to small business contracts, the ACCC has taken successful court action […]
Meriton manipulated their TripAdvisor rating by preventing guests from posting bad reviews
The Federal Court has found that accommodation provider Meriton engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct by implementing a strategy to minimise the number of negative reviews its guests posted on the TripAdvisor website. In November 2016, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) instituted proceedings against Meriton in the Federal Court, alleging that between November […]
ACCC flags ‘industry wide problem’ around advertised NBN speeds following Telstra probe
Telstra will compensate around 42,000 customers after advising the ACCC that the maximum speeds promised by some of its National Broadband Network (NBN) plans could not be achieved in real-world conditions. Between September 2015 and November 2017, Telstra advertising a range of NBN speed plans including one that offered maximum download speeds of up to […]
Competition law reforms now in effect will level the playing field for small businesses
Reforms to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, which took effect this week, will level the playing field between small and big businesses while providing consumers with increased choice and better services in the market place, according to Small Business Michael McCormack. Commenting on the commencement of the Competition and Consumer Amendment (Competition Policy Review) […]
Federal Court finds waste management giant’s contracts with small businesses were unfair
Eight terms in the standard form contract used by JJ Richards & Sons to engage small businesses have been deemed unfair, and therefore void under Australian Consumer Law (ACL), by the Federal Court, this week. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) instituted Federal Court proceedings against waste management giant, last month. It alleged […]
Soaring electricity costs putting SMEs under ‘unacceptable pressure’, ACCC inquiry finds
Rising electricity costs over the past decade are a “drain on business productivity,” according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s inquiry into the national electricity market. The commission’s preliminary report into retail electricity pricing highlights concerns about the operation of the National Electricity Market, which pose an “electricity affordability problem” for consumers and businesses. […]
Excessive payment surcharge ban now in effect; consumer advocate encourages no surcharges
All businesses across Australia are now banned from hitting customers with excessive surcharges for using certain types of EFTPOS, Mastercard, Visa and American Express cards to make payments. The excessive surcharging ban has applied to large businesses since September last year and now extends to all businesses that are either based in Australia or use […]
Progress made towards a fairer distribution of power between small and big businesses
When small businesses engage with large enterprises, standard form contracts often leave them with no room to negotiate. Small businesses are left with the choice of either accepting terms heavily weighted against them, or terminating a deal that would be valuable for their business. To protect small businesses from backing into a corner, the unfair […]
New interchange fee regs: is your business credit card still rewarding your spending?
There has been a lot of talk about changes to credit card rewards programs in 2017. You might even have received a notification from your bank recently about how your rewards program is about to change. This is because of new interchange fee regulations that rolled out from 1 July 2017. In 2016, the Reserve […]