On Wednesday, October 16, the Federal government announced that they would aim to ban unfair trading practices under Australian Consumer law.
In a public media release and announcement the government revealed plans to ban a number of “unfair trading practices” which include things such as: ‘subscription traps’, hidden fees, confusing or deceptive online practices, dynamic pricing and requiring unnecessary information from customers.
“We’re taking important steps to ban unfair trading practices and ease the cost of living for Australians,” said Treasurer Jim Chalmers.
The Prime Minister Antony Albanese said the goal of these changes to the Australian Consumer Law was to ease cost of living for consumers.
“Hidden fees and traps are putting even more pressure on the cost of living and it needs to stop,” said Mr Albanese.
These hidden fees would include debit card surcharges applied upon card purchase, which could save Australians billions of dollars in the future.
This proposed change could also see smaller businesses that may still be recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic picking up the bill for the debit surcharges.
In addition to announcing these changes the Federal government also released a consultation paper on reforms to strengthen protections for consumers and small businesses, and welcomed stakeholders to provide feedback on proposed reform, potentially allowing vulnerable businesses to avoid any additional fees.
“Most businesses do the right thing by Australians and they’ve got nothing to worry about,” said Mr Chalmers.
The reform would be made to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which is the main body of Australian Consumer law, as well as state and territory consumer protection agencies, and would allow for the issuing of infringements and penalties for breaches.
The government aims to settle on a final reform proposal in the first half of 2025.