First ever review of Australian Consumer Law

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is about to do a review of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL).

This is the first time a review of this intensity has been done.

So why write about this on a food safety related website?

Consumer Law impacts on many aspects of food law, as an example; food labelling is heavily influenced.

Food businesses must also operate under Consumer Law, regardless of the size. What they say must be what they do and sell.

ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said; “Just as the introduction of the ACL built on previous laws and regimes, we are confident that the 2016 review will confirm this new and improved base while taking steps to advance consumer protection. We have often commented that the introduction of AUD$1.1 million pecuniary penalties has been a game changer for regulators in terms of deterrence. But is it enough to deter larger companies? We also think there is a strong case to examine the merits of extending the reach of penalties to cover breaches of the general prohibitions against misleading and deceptive conduct.”

It is expected the review will look at the following amongst other areas; including the sharing economy, dealing with phoenix companies, and the reach and size of penalties under the ACL.

“Penalties and other remedies already apply to false or misleading representations and there is often overlap between the two,” Mr Sims said.