AUSTRALIAN consumer law (ACL) may not be front and centre’s of most people’s attention but we are glad it’s there when something goes wrong with something we buy.
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The ACL began in 2011 as a single, national, consumer protection and fair trading law, and it governs the way business operates and what their obligations are to consumers.
The law is now under review and Queensland Office of Fair Trade executive director Brian Bauer and his team were in Mount Isa on Thursday to talk to businesses and the public as part of a consultation phase of the review.
Mr Bauer said the ACL had to be reviewed within seven years of implementation and the review had three aspects.
“The first aspect is to assess the effectiveness of the ACL provisions, find out whether these provisions are operating as intended, and address consumer and business risk at an appropriate level of regulatory burden,” Mr Bauer said.
“The second is to consider the extent to which the national consumer policy framework has met the objectives of the law.
“The third is to assess the flexibility of the ACL to respond to new and emerging issues to ensure that it remains relevant into the future as the overarching consumer policy framework in Australia.”
The review began on March 31 with a public consultation process.
There will also be a consumer survey, an independent assessment of the state-federal regulator model and an examination of the guidance on the application and enforcement of the laws.
Mr Bauer said there was an issues paper which outlines areas of the ACL under review.
“We’re looking for feedback on the issues by Friday, May 27 and people can make formal submissions or just provide shorter comments,” he said.
Mr Bauer said the issues paper looked at consumer policy in Australia, the legal framework, administration and enforcement, and emerging consumer policy issues.
“These include pop-up stores, telemarketing, and online shopping,” he said.
