The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has accused Google of releasing “misinformation” about the Federal Government’s plan to make them bargain with Australian news companies over payments for news content. Last month the ACCC delivered a draft code of conduct (the draft News Media Bargaining Code) governing bargaining between Google, Facebook and news media […]
Small businesses will be safeguarded against unfair contract terms under Labor’s proposed legislation to make them illegal. Large businesses could face hefty fines of up to $10 million for contracts that contain unfair terms such as, unreasonable ability to end an agreement and allowing the contract provider to solely vary all terms. A joint statement […]
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 […]
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 […]
The ACCC is warning investors to be wary of scammers after its 9thannual ‘Targeting scams report’ revealed that Investment scams had increased by more than 8 per cent, costing Australians $64 million in 2017. This week marks Scams Awareness Week 2018 and ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard warns that ‘some scams are becoming very sophisticated […]
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,” […]
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 […]
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. […]
