On Consumer Protection …

Communique – Consumer Ministers Network, 27 November 2023

Consumer Affairs Ministers committed to protecting consumers

Commonwealth, State and Territory Consumer Affairs Ministers met on Friday 24 November 2023 with a renewed commitment to collaboration across borders and to strengthen consumer protections.

Ministers attending the meeting, chaired by New South Wales Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading, the Hon Anoulack Chanthivong, discussed and agreed on priorities for future work, which include:

• consumer guarantees and supplier indemnification provisions
• protecting consumers and small business from unfair trading practices across the economy
• improved collaboration to combat scams and online fraud
• establishing a designated complaints mechanism within the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for consumer and small business advocacy groups to raise systemic issues under consumer law
• implementation of the unfair contract terms reforms and Australian Consumer Law penalties harmonisation.

“Ministers are committed to ensuring that consumers will benefit from improvements to protections, at a state, territory and national level, as part of a nationally coordinated approach,” Minister Chanthivong said.

“It is important that we remain focused on progressing reforms to the Australian Consumer Law to strengthen protections for consumers and small business and improve consumer confidence.”

“The agreed priorities for 2024 build on the important enhancements to consumer protections that have been delivered in 2023, such as strengthening Unfair Contract Term Protections, increasing penalties for breaches of the competition and consumer laws, and establishing the National Anti-Scam Centre.”

Ministers heard from the Consumers’ Federation Australia, the peak body for consumer organisations in Australia, about key issues impacting consumers and possible areas for policy and law reform.

Ministers welcomed the impending release of the 2023 Australian Consumer Survey, which contains insights from consumers and businesses into existing consumer issues, including lessons to be learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. Results from the survey will be published on the Australian Consumer Law website (https://consumerlaw.gov.au/) in coming weeks.

Ministers further welcomed work to develop industry codes outlining the responsibilities of the private sector in relation to scams.

Australian Ministers also committed to improving transparency for consumers by supporting the introduction of country-of-origin labelling requirements for seafood in hospitality settings.

Australian Ministers further agreed to allow tobacco legislation currently administered under the Australian Consumer Law to be consolidated under a more streamlined national tobacco control legislation.

Ministers look forward to continuing to work together closely on progressing these issues.

Attendees to the meeting included:

• Commonwealth Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, Stephen Jones
• Queensland Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Yvette D’Ath
• South Australian Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs, Andrea Michaels
• Tasmanian Minister for Workplace Safety and Consumer Affairs, Madeleine Ogilvie
• Victorian Minister for Consumer Affairs, Gabrielle Williams
• Western Australian Minister for Commerce, Sue Ellery.

Senior departmental officials from the Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory were also in attendance.

Media release – Choice, 29 November 2023

7 in 10 people mistakenly believe businesses are already required to treat consumers fairly

Consumer groups call for strong new fairness laws to close gaps in Australian Consumer Law

New nationally representative research from Choice has found 7 in 10 (72%) people believe Australian businesses are required to act fairly towards consumers, even though there is no law that requires this. Consumer laws have not kept up with community expectations, allowing many harmful and unfair practices, such as subscription traps and unfair pricing, to continue.

Choice’s research also found:

• 69% of people mistakenly believe Australian businesses face penalties if they’ve been found to have acted unfairly
• 89% said businesses charging you higher prices for a product or service based on the personal information they collected about you online is unfair
• 90% said businesses that make it difficult for you to cancel your online subscription to a product or service you no longer want is unfair
• 84% said businesses selling extended warranties that don’t cover you for anything in addition to what is available under the law is unfair

The research comes as the Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC), Choice and other consumer advocates make a submission to the government’s unfair trading consultation process and call for a new ban on unfair business practices.

Quotes attributable to CPRC CEO, Erin Turner:
“Australians are missing out on protections that consumers in other countries have benefited from for decades – we need laws to effectively call-out and restrict unfair practices. This law will mean businesses have to treat you with respect and care.”

“This law will protect Australians and give certainty to businesses, fostering a healthier marketplace that doesn’t reward or give competitive advantage to those businesses who exploit or manipulate consumers.”

Quotes attributable to Choice Senior Policy and Campaigns Adviser, Alex Soderlund:

“There are a number of gaps in the consumer law when it comes to protecting people from unfair business practices. These gaps leave consumers in Australia vulnerable to all kinds of unfair treatment, ranging from businesses making it nearly impossible to cancel a subscription online, to charging you higher prices based on personal information they collect about you online.”

“It’s time for the law to catch up to community expectations. 7 in 10 people believe businesses are already required to act fairly towards consumers. Making unfair business practices illegal is a necessary step to update Australia’s consumer law, protect consumers from harm and promote healthy competition. New fairness laws must also have strong penalties for businesses who do the wrong thing, to ensure they’re held to account for their bad behaviour.”

The joint consumer submission to the government also recommends that:

• An unfair trading practices prohibition should incorporate a general ban with a ‘blacklist’ of specified unfair trade practices, which is specified and managed by the regulator, and subject to public consultation.
• An unfair trade practices prohibition should be economy-wide, and there should not be a carve-out for financial services.
• The full range of penalties and remedies, including civil penalties and actions for damages and compensation, should be available for breach of an unfair trade practices prohibition.

Read the full story here: www.choice.com.au/unfairtrading

See the submission and survey responses here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fsgynw2aBr3eRfPtCkukUXZjMocdYZ08?usp=drive_link

Sign the petiton to make unfair business practices illegal here: www.choice.com.au/MakeUnfairIllegal.