Guaranteeing that every one Australians get the advantage of competitors within the monetary companies sector might be among the many Australian Competitors and Client Fee’s compliance and enforcement priorities throughout 2023-24.
ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb (pictured above) mentioned one concern that may play an important function in ACCC’s enforcement priorities is the introduction of recent legal guidelines prohibiting unfair contract phrases, together with a brand new penalty regime later this 12 months.
“Companies want to grasp their tasks beneath these new legal guidelines, or they might discover themselves topic to extreme penalties,” Cass-Gottlieb mentioned. “We might be working to make sure that customers and small companies, together with franchisees, benefit from the full profit of those strengthened legal guidelines.”
ACCC additionally has its eyes on scams, which continued to trigger great private and monetary injury to customers and the Australian financial system.
“Our Scamwatch service will proceed to assist authorities companies and business individuals within the disruption of scams,” Cass-Gottlieb mentioned. “We’re additionally lending our experience and assist to arrange the institution of the federal government’s Nationwide Anti-Scams Centre.”
As a part of ACCC’s concentrate on monetary companies, the fee has additionally commenced its inquiry into retail deposit markets, how banks set rates of interest for deposit merchandise.
Different key points that ACCC will concentrate on embody cost-of-living pressures, the worth of important companies together with vitality and telecommunications, the integrity of environmental and sustainability claims, client, and fair-trading harms from manipulative advertising and marketing practices within the digital financial system and the at all times excessive threat to markets, enterprise rivals, and customers from anti-competitive conduct, Cass-Gottlieb mentioned.
The ACCC chair additionally confirmed the fee’s dedication to take care of its enduring compliance and enforcement priorities which goal conduct, to guard client welfare and the aggressive course of, together with those who affect First Nations customers, cartel conduct, and anti-competitive conduct extra broadly.
“Our concentrate on points impacting First Nations customers has now change into integral to the bigger remit of the ACCC’s work as we determine the disproportionate affect of conduct akin to scams and deceptive promoting and gross sales practices on their communities,” Cass-Gottlieb mentioned.
“Our inquiries into the insurance coverage sector, childcare, and cell regional infrastructure enable us to have a look at the challenges confronted by First Nations folks in accessing and buying key companies.”
The ACCC will announce its annual product security priorities on the Nationwide Client Congress later within the 12 months.
The complete listing of the ACCC’s 2023-24 enforcement priorities may be discovered right here. A abstract can be accessible right here.
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