Here’s an inside scoop straight from the ACCC all about the changes to consumer law legislation that have significantly increased the penalties for infringement up to $1.1 million per contravention, or up to 10% of annual turnover. It’s now getting serious! Listen in to hear all about how these recent changes apply and what you need to look out for.
Episode Highlights:
- An outline of the changes to the Australian Consumer Law
- The rationale behind these tougher penalties
- Large companies can expect the ACCC to come on hard
- Benefits to small and medium businesses
- Factors considered in setting the amount of penalty imposed
- Enforcement priorities of the Commission
- How the ACCC deals with consumer complaints
- A comparison of penalties before and after the changes
- The case of We Buy Houses Pty Ltd
- What to expect under the new regime
Businesses found in breach of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) now face significantly higher penalties under changes passed by the Federal Parliament last year. For some time, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has been advocating for these amendments so as to enable courts to impose more substantial pecuniary penalties for ACL breaches, particularly in cases involving large companies and widespread conduct. To give us the ACCC’s perspective in relation to these changes, we brought on board Emma Gordon and Verity Quinn, Deputy General Counsel of the Competition & Consumer Law Unit at the ACCC.
Emma and Verity talk to us about the intended impact of tighter laws, why there was a need for change, what the catalyst was and some insights into what penalties look like for businesses in this new environment. This episode is valuable listening for small business owners and directors of large businesses alike, and their advisors too.
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