Australian Trade Practices Commission

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The Australian Trade Practices Commission was the agency responsible for monitoring and enforcement activities under the Trade Practices Act 1974. It was replaced by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in 1995. [1]

A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an intelligence agency. There is a notable variety of agency types. Although usage differs, a government agency is normally distinct both from a department or ministry, and other types of public body established by government. The functions of an agency are normally executive in character, since different types of organizations are most often constituted in an advisory role—this distinction is often blurred in practice however.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is an independent authority of the Australian government. It was established in 1995 with the amalgamation of the Australian Trade Practices Commission (TPC) and the Prices Surveillance Authority to administer the Trade Practices Act 1974 (TPA) (Cth). Its mandate is to protect consumer rights, business rights and obligations, perform industry regulation and price monitoring and prevent illegal anti-competitive behaviour.

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Allan Herbert Miller Fels is an Australian economist, lawyer and public servant. He was most widely known in his role as chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) from its inception in 1995 until 30 June 2003. Upon his retirement from the ACCC, he became foundation dean of the Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) until January 2013. He continues to be a fellow of that school, which provides training programs for very senior officials in the Australian and New Zealand Government and also for officials in other governments in the region, such as China and India.

False advertising is the use of false, misleading, or unproven information to advertise products to consumers. The advertising frequently does not disclose its source. One form of false advertising is to claim that a product has a health benefit or contains vitamins or minerals that it in fact does not. Many governments use regulations to control false advertising. A false advertisement can further be classified as deceptive if the advertiser deliberately misleads the consumer, as opposed to making an honest mistake.

The Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia. Prior to 1 January 2011, it was known as the Trade Practices Act 1974 (TPA). The Act is the legislative vehicle for competition law in Australia, and seeks to promote competition, fair trading as well as providing protection for consumers. It is administered by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and also gives some rights for private action. Schedule 2 of the CCA sets out the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). The Australian Federal Court has the jurisdiction to determine private and public complaints made in regard to contraventions of the Act.

Misleading or deceptive conduct is a doctrine of Australian law.

Two-price advertising is the sales and marketing practice of showing customers two prices, a supposed normal price and a lower price, which is claimed to be a special offer or discount, but in fact, the stated normal price is a fiction.

Though in general, each business may decide with whom they wish to deal, there are some situations when a refusal to deal may be considered an unlawful anti-competitive practice, if it prevents or reduces competition in a market. The unlawful behaviour may involve two or more companies refusing to use, buy from or otherwise deal with a person or business, such as a competitor, for the purpose inflicting some economic loss on the target or otherwise force them out of the market. A refusal to deal is forbidden in some countries which have restricted market economies, though the actual acts or situations which may constitute such unacceptable behaviour may vary significantly between jurisdictions.

This is a partial list of notable price fixing and bid rigging cases.

Esanda Finance Corporation Limited is an Australian finance company. It deals in car and boat finance as well as insurance. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Macquarie Group.

Smorgon Steel was an Australian steel manufacturing company.

Third line forcing is a form of exclusive dealing involving the supply of goods or services on the condition that the purchaser buys goods or services from a particular third party, or a refusal to supply because the purchaser will not agree to that condition.

In regulatory jurisdictions that provide for it, consumer protection is a group of laws and organizations designed to ensure the rights of consumers as well as fair trade, competition and accurate information in the marketplace. The laws are designed to prevent the businesses that engage in fraud or specified unfair practices from gaining an advantage over competitors. They may also provide additional protection for those most vulnerable in society. Consumer protection laws are a form of government regulation that aim to protect the rights of consumers. For example, a government may require businesses to disclose detailed information about products—particularly in areas where safety or public health is an issue, such as food.

The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) is the regulator of the wholesale electricity and gas markets in Australia. It is part of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and enforces the rules established by the Australian Energy Market Commission.

<i>Telstra Corporation Ltd v Commonwealth</i> High Court of Australia case decided on 6 March 2008

Telstra Corporation Limited v The Commonwealth was an important case decided in the High Court of Australia on 6 March 2008.

<i>Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Baxter Healthcare Pty Ltd</i>

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Baxter Healthcare Pty Ltd, (Baxter) was a decision of the High Court of Australia, which ruled on 29 August 2007 that Baxter Healthcare Proprietary Limited, a tenderer for various government contracts, was bound by the Trade Practices Act 1974 in its trade and commerce in tendering for government contracts. More generally, the case concerned the principles of derivative governmental immunity: whether the immunity of a government from a statute extends to third parties that conduct business with the government.

The Australian Consumer Laws (ACL), being Schedule 2 to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, is uniform legislation for consumer protection, applying as a law of the Commonwealth of Australia and is incorporated into the law of each of Australia's states and territories. The law commenced on 1 January 2011, replacing 20 different consumer laws across the Commonwealth and the states and territories, although certain other Acts continue to be in force.

Rodney Graham "Rod" Sims is an Australian economist and public servant. He is the current Chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission effective August 2011.

Prouds

Prouds The Jewellers is an Australian jewellery business founded by William James Proud on Pitt Street, Sydney in 1903.

Homeopathy Plus!

Homeopathy Plus! is an Australian company run by homeopath Fran Sheffield in Tuggerah, New South Wales. It is known for the claim that homeopathy is an effective, and safer, alternative to vaccination for conditions including whooping cough, along with claims that homeopathy is superior to chemotherapy for cancer. The claims for "homeoprophylaxis" were assessed as misleading by the Complaints Resolution Panel of the Therapeutic Goods Administration and a retraction demanded; this was ignored. The prophylaxis claims were referred to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), and although this was stated to have resulted in their removal, legal proceedings continued, culminating in a ruling by Justice Perry of the Federal Court of Australia in December 2014 that:

Drip pricing is a technique used by online retailers of goods and services whereby a headline price is advertised at the beginning of the purchase process, following which additional fees, taxes or charges, which may be unavoidable, are then incrementally disclosed or "dripped". The objective of drip pricing is to gain a consumer's interest in a misleadingly low headline price without the true final price being disclosed until the consumer has invested time and effort in the purchase process and made a decision to purchase. Naïve consumers will purchase based on headline price and sophisticated consumers will consider total cost when comparing offers. Drip pricing can distort competition because it can make it difficult for businesses with more transparent pricing practices to compete on a level playing field.

References

  1. "ACCC Milestones". accc.gov.au. Australian Competition & Consumer Commission. Retrieved 11 June 2018.