The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has unveiled its latest set of priorities for 2023-24 which includes ‘sustainability’, transport and logistics and cartel conduct.
ACCC Chair, Gina Cass-Gottlieb, said the ACCC’s priorities must reflect the issues impacting the Australian economy.
Businesses using broad claims like ‘environmentally friendly’, ‘green’, or ‘sustainable’, according to Cass-Gottlieb, are obliged to back up these claims through reliable scientific reports, transparent supply chain information, reputable third-party certification or other forms of evidence.
“Businesses must be able to provide robust evidence for their claims and if unable to do so, then these claims should not be made,” she said – adding that the ACCC has established a new internal taskforce focused on sustainability. “In particular the taskforce will examine and seek to influence a range of issues where environmental and sustainability issues intersect with the application of competition and consumer law, including product safety.”
Cass-Gottlieb said the ACCC would again focus on the energy and telecommunication sectors in its work addressing consumer and competition issues in essential services and noted the ACCC had secured significant outcomes in this area during the past year.
“Misleading sales representations in relation to the price, features or benefits of essential services prevent consumers making informed purchasing decisions,” said Cass-Gottlieb.
“It’s particularly important that consumers and businesses can make informed decisions about what services are right for them in relation to price and the quality of the services when they are struggling with shrinking household budgets.”
Cass-Gottlieb said the ACCC’s work in the energy sector would account for a substantial share of the agency’s compliance and enforcement efforts in the year ahead.
“We will be working to ensure that consumers and small businesses, including franchisees, enjoy the full benefit of these strengthened laws.”
Cass-Gottlieb said that scams continued to wreak tremendous personal and financial damage on consumers and the Australian economy.
“Our Scamwatch service will continue to support government agencies and industry participants in the disruption of scams,” said Cass-Gottlieb.
“We are also lending our expertise and support to prepare the establishment of the Government’s National Anti-Scams Centre.”
To achieve its compliance and enforcement strategy, the ACCC uses four flexible and integrated strategies:
Encouraging compliance with the law, particularly by educating and informing consumers and traders about their rights and responsibilities under the Act.
Enforcement of the law, including resolution of possible contraventions both administratively and by litigation and other formal enforcement outcomes.
Undertaking market studies, or reporting on emerging competition or consumer issues with a view to identifying any market failures and how to address them, and to support and inform our compliance and enforcement measures and identify possible areas for policy consideration.
Working with other agencies to implement these strategies, including through coordinated approaches.
The ACCC’s compliance and enforcement priorities for 2023-24 are:
Consumer, product safety, fair trading and competition concerns in relation to environmental claims and sustainability.
Scam detection and disruption, supporting the implementation of the National Anti-Scam Centre.
Consumer and fair trading issues relating to manipulative or deceptive advertising and marketing practices in the digital economy.
Unfair contract terms in consumer and small business contracts.
Consumer and fair trading issues arising from the pricing and selling of essential services, with a focus on energy and telecommunications.
Competition and pricing issues in gas markets, including compliance with the price cap order and other legal obligations for wholesale gas markets.
Empowering consumers and improving industry compliance with consumer guarantees, with a focus on high value goods including motor vehicles and caravans.
Competition and consumer issues in global and domestic supply chains, with a focus on transport and logistics.
Competition and consumer issues relating to digital platforms.
Promoting competition and investigating allegations of anti-competitive conduct in the financial services sector, with a focus on payment services.
Exclusive arrangements by firms with market power that impact competition.
Ensuring that small businesses receive the protections of the competition and consumer
laws and small business industry codes of conduct, including in agriculture and franchising.
Consumer product safety issues for young children, with a focus on compliance,
enforcement and education initiatives
The ACCC’s enduring priorities are:
Cartel conduct – the ACCC will always prioritise cartel conduct causing detriment in Australia. When dealing with international cartels, the ACCC will focus on pursuing cartels that have a connection to, or cause detriment in Australia; that is, cartels that involve Australians, Australian businesses or entities carrying on business in Australia.
Anti-competitive conduct – the ACCC will always prioritise anti-competitive agreements and practices, and the misuse of market power.
Product safety – the ACCC will always prioritise product safety issues which have the potential to cause serious harm to consumers.
Consumers experiencing vulnerability or disadvantage – the ACCC recognises that consumers experiencing vulnerability or disadvantage can be disproportionately impacted by conduct in breach of the Act. The ACCC therefore prioritises conduct that impacts these consumers.
Conduct impacting First Nations Australians – the ACCC acknowledges that certain conduct in breach of the Act has the potential to specifically impact on the welfare of First Nations Australians. The ACCC also recognises that First Nations consumers living in remote areas face particular challenges in relation to asserting their consumer rights. The ACCC will always prioritise its work in these areas while these challenges remain.
“The ACCC is charged with enhancing the welfare of Australians through promotion of competition and fair trading and the protection of consumers,” said Cass-Gottlieb.
“These objectives are intertwined – effective competition benefits consumers in better products and services at more competitive pricing and consumer protection and fair trading enhances the conditions for competitive markets.
“Our compliance and enforcement priorities focus our work to promote these objectives.”
The post Issues in essential services a priority for ACCC appeared first on Trailer Magazine.