On 9 July 2020, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Acquisition as Consumer—Financial Thresholds) Regulations 2020 were approved, meaning that from 1 July 2021 the current consumer price threshold of $40,000 under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) will be increased to $100,000. The result of this change is that many businesses whose goods and services were previously [...]
Businesses offering goods and services for sale to the public often have the best of intentions in dealing with product warranty claims, however, their efforts can at times be let down by poorly written warranties, a lack of coherent customer claim processes or poor staff training in relation the organisation’s obligations under the law. In [...]
Are you a manufacturer? Do you communicate with consumers of your products? If you are a manufacturer, it is important that the representations made to consumers align with the Australian Consumer Law. Communications, and sometimes even a response of silence; can potentially be a breach of the law if found by a court to be misleading or [...]
The November 2016 amendments to the Australian Consumer Law (which extended the prohibition on ‘unfair terms' to contracts with small businesses) are starting to bite. Enforcement action by the ACCC since the amendments were introduced have demonstrated the Commission’s strong desire to get tough on onerous standard terms contracts. Under the amended legislation, some contracts [...]
