Australian Consumer Law
An overview of the new national Australian Consumer Law.
On this page:
What is the Australian Consumer Law?
The Australian Consumer Law is a new nationally uniform consumer law, replacing a wide range of existing national and State and Territory consumer laws.
This means all consumers and businesses will have the same rights and responsibilities across the country, making the law easier to understand for everyone.
When will it be introduced?
The Australian Consumer Law was implemented on 1 January 2011. Up until the Australian Consumer Law commences, existing Commonwealth, State and Territory consumer laws will continue to apply.
Unfair contract terms laws, which form part of the Australian Consumer Law, came into effect under the Trade Practices Act 1974 on 1 July 2010, and from that date unfair contract terms laws have applied to standard form contracts used by corporations.
How it will affect consumers
The Australian Consumer Law for Consumers pages cover detailed information about your rights when shopping under:
- consumer guarantees including guarantees, warranties and refunds; and
- sales practices such as unsolicited goods, lay-bys and terminating agreements.
How it will affect businesses
The Australian Consumer Law for Businesses pages cover detailed information about your rights and responsibilities under:
- consumer guarantees including guarantees, warranties and refunds; and;
- sales practices such as unsolicited goods, lay-bys and terminating agreements; and
- avoiding unfair business practices for instance misleading conduct and information standards .
In a nutshell:
The Australian Consumer Law:
-
replaces a wide range of existing national and State and Territory consumer laws and will clarify understanding of the law for both Australian consumers and businesses;
-
is a schedule to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, which will be the new name of the Trade Practices Act 1974 as from 1 January 2011;
-
is applied as a law of the Commonwealth. Each State and Territory will also make the Australian Consumer Law a law of its jurisdiction so that the same provisions will apply across Australia;
-
will be administered by the ACCC and each State and Territory’s consumer law agency; and
-
is generally reflected in similar provisions in the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (ASIC Act), so that financial products and services are treated in the same way as other goods and services.
Who will administer and enforce the law?
The Australian Consumer Law will be administered and enforced jointly by the ACCC and the State and Territory consumer protection agencies, with the involvement of ASIC on relevant financial matters.
In Western Australia the Department of Commerce (Consumer Protection Division) will remain the State regulator.
How does it affect WA laws?
In Western Australia the Australian Consumer Law is being implemented by way of the Fair Trading Act 2010. The Fair Trading Act 2010 will implement the Australian Consumer Law and will also replace the:
-
Consumer Affairs Act 1971,
-
Fair Trading Act 1987 and
-
Door to Door Trading Act 1987.
The Commonwealth’s version of the Australian Consumer Law, implemented under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, will apply to incorporated businesses in Western Australia. The Western Australian version of the Australian Consumer Law, implemented by the Fair Trading Act 2010, will apply to individual traders and incorporated businesses in Western Australia.
There are a number of significant changes for Western Australia detailed in the Significant changes to consumer law in Western Australia.
Purchases before Australian Consumer Law Commences
Transactions for goods and services made before the Australian Consumer Law commences will continue to be covered by the existing law. For example, goods sold on 24 December will be covered by the implied conditions and warranties of the Fair Trading Act 1987, not the new consumer guarantees.
More Information
- ACL for businesses
- ACL for consumers
- Significant changes to consumer law in Western Australia
- Australian Consumer Law website.
Consumer Protection will also report on developments via the free newsletter Better Trading, subscribe today.