Competition, Trade Practices & Regulatory
FocusPapers in the area of Competition, Trade Practices and Regulatory
ACCC issues surprising statistics about the first six months of the new mandatory reporting requirements under the product safety provisions of the Australian Consumer Law
17 October 2011
Author: Laura Hartley, Partner
Practice area: Competition, Trade Practices & Regulatory
Mandatory reporting statistics out - The ACCC issued interesting statistics on how many reports have been lodged with it under the new mandatory provisions of the Australian Consumer Law and how many product recalls have resulted.
Knock, Knock. Who's there? - ACCC imposes infringement notices and accepts undertaking from door-to-door sales company in respect of misleading representations made during in-home presentations
17 October 2011
Author: Jamie Nettleton, Partner and Cate Sendall, Senior Associate
Practice area: Competition, Trade Practices & Regulatory
The ACCC has issued infringement notices usting its post January 2011 powers in the door-to-door sales industry sounding a warning for other door-to-door sales companies.
Slimming spray sales representations stopped overseas
17 October 2011
Author: Laura Hartley, Partner
Practice area: Competition, Trade Practices & Regulatory
The Australian Consumer Law operates overseas - the ACCC has reminded us that the Australian Consumer Law can extend overseas by preventing Australian Companies from engaging in misleading and deceptive conduct in its case against Sensaslim and its directors.
Federal Court decision on search engine marketing: sponsored links may be misleading but advertisers only have themselves to blame
17 October 2011
Author: Justine Munsie, Partner
Practice area: Competition, Trade Practices & Regulatory
Sponsored links on Google: The ACCC won against the Trading Post but lost against Google in a case revolving around responsibility for sponsored links for the Trading Post displayed on Google's search engine.
Food Industry Beware - ACCC drawn to misleading and deceptive conduct like a bee to honey
17 October 2011
Author: Laura Hartley, Partner
Practice area: Competition, Trade Practices & Regulatory
Food Glorious Food - The ACCC has kept the food industry well within its sights in actions involving Aldi's Just Organic honey, meat allegedly from King Island and chickens which the ACCC alleges are packed into barns at the rate of 20 per square merer and yet are claimed to be "free to roam".
Competition Quarterly - August 2011
19 August 2011
Author: Laura Hartley, Partner (Editor)
Practice area: Competition, Trade Practices & Regulatory
In this edition: * A new era in Australian competition regulation: Rod Sims now at the helm of the ACCC. * Are your advertising disclaimers really effective? Optus learns a $5.26 million lesson on the topic. * A Pyrrhic victory or the ACCC testing the boundaries? A$2.7 million penalty but on paper only. * The creeping tale of creeping acquisitions ...
Australia - Direct Selling Companies & Consumer Goods Suppliers - Liability for Content posted by Customers on Social Media - Federal Court - Publication - Contempt - Breach of Undertakings - Penalties - Corrective Advertising
10 March 2011
Author: Jamie Nettleton, Partner
Practice areas: Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions, Competition, Trade Practices & Regulatory and Marketing & Advertising
Competition and Trade Practices Update
9 March 2011
Author: Laura Hartley, Partner
Practice area: Competition, Trade Practices & Regulatory
In this edition: " Goodbye Trade Practices Act - Hello Competition and Consumer Act " Warranty misrepresentations - part of the ACCC's current focus " Fruit juice manufacturers take note yet again - now National Foods done for misleading claims on Berri Australian Fresh packs. " "Australian made" claims by online retailer, the ACCC takes court action " Having a company Facebook page - savvy marketing or a breeding ground for misleading conduct
Direct Selling/Multi-Level Marketing Australian Consumer Law - Application to Consumer Arrangements
23 December 2010
Author: Jamie Nettleton, Partner
Practice areas: Marketing & Advertising and Competition, Trade Practices & Regulatory
On 18 November 2010, the Australian Government released the Trade Practices (Australian Consumer Law) Amendment Regulations 2010 (No. 1) (ACL Regulations). This forms part of the legal regime applying to the direct selling industry that will be implemented under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). This comes into effect on various dates on and after 1 January 2011.
Australia- Claims relating to allergy treatments - further action by the ACCC
14 October 2010
Author: Laura Hartley, Partner and Jamie Nettleton, Partner
Practice area: Competition, Trade Practices & Regulatory
Food producers, alternative therapy providers and multi-level marketing companies that make claims about the potential for their products to address allergies, risk ACCC action if these claims are found to be misleading or deceptive.
The ACCC's Tough New Stance on Merger Clearance
7 June 2010
Author: Laura Hartley, Partner
Practice area: Competition, Trade Practices & Regulatory
The ACCC is increasingly identifying concerns with mergers or acquisitions which have a substantial impact on competition in a local or regional market. A recent example is the ACCC's consideration of Murray Goulburn's (MG) proposed acquisition of Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Factory Company (Warrnambool), which resulted in MG's withdrawal of its request for merger clearance on 2 June 2010. This paper summarises the key competition concerns raised by the ACCC in its consideration of MG's proposed acquisition of Warrnambool and identifies recent amendments to the mergers provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) (TPA) that may increase the ACCC's scrutiny of acquisitions that impact on competition in local and regional markets in the future.
Direct Selling/Multi-Level Marketing - How will Phase 2 of the Proposed Australian Consumer Law Reforms Affect Your Business?
17 May 2010
Author: Jamie Nettleton, Partner, Laura Hartley, Partner and Andrew Dawson, Special Counsel
Practice areas: Competition, Trade Practices & Regulatory and Marketing & Advertising
Australian direct selling organisations (DSOs) are likely to be impacted significantly if the changes proposed by the Trade Practices Amendment (Australian Consumer Law) Bill (No. 2) 2010 (ACL) become law. Of particular concern are the provisions targeting door-to-door selling, telephone sales and other forms of direct selling which do not take place in a retail context.
Phase 1 of the Australian Consumer Law reform process begins!
16 April 2010
Author: Laura Hartley, Partner and Jamie Nettleton, Partner
Practice areas: Competition, Trade Practices & Regulatory and Marketing & Advertising
* New civil penalties and enforcement powers for the ACCC and ASIC significantly change the regulatory environment for Australian businesses as phase 1 of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) reform process began 15 April 2010. * Unfair consumer contract provisions to take effect from 1 July 2010. * Phase 2 of the Australian Consumer Law reform process is expected to commence on 1 January 2011.
Proposed Section 7 Declaration: Products in Capsule, Tablet or Pill Form are Therapeutic Goods (Medicines) - Deadline for submissions: Monday 30 November 2009
10 November 2009
Author: Jamie Nettleton, Partner
Practice area: Competition, Trade Practices & Regulatory
The Therapeutic Goods Administration ("TGA") is proposing changes to the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 ("Act") that would result in the form of a product being a key factor in determining whether it constitutes a medicine or a food.
Horticulture Code of Conduct -Potential Changes- The Horticulture Code Committee is seeking submissions from affected industry sectors (including processors, exporters and retailers) in respect of recommendations made by ACCC to amend and improve the Code
28 January 2009
Author: Jamie Nettleton, Partner and Robin King, Senior Associate
Practice area: Competition, Trade Practices & Regulatory
The Horticulture Code Committee is seeking submissions from affected industry sectors (including processors, exporters and retailers to whom the Code may soon apply) in respect of recommendations made by ACCC to amend and improve the Code. Submissions from industry should be submitted by 6 February 2009.