11 December 2020Average petrol prices rose in the September quarter 2020 after a record low earlier in the year, but still remain well below the 15-year real average of 151.6 cents per litre (cpl).
The ACCC’s latest petrol monitoring report shows the average retail price for petrol in the September quarter across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth was 122.1 cpl, an increase of 13.1 cpl from the June quarter 2020.
Average petrol prices (seven-day rolling average) in the five largest cities have been very volatile over the last 12 months, ranging from a high of 159.1 cpl in December 2019 to a low of 92.4 cpl in April 2020. However, prices were steadier during the September quarter 2020 and stayed mostly between 129.0 cpl and 118.0 cpl.
“We saw some major fluctuations during the first six months of the pandemic but petrol prices stabilised in the September quarter,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.
“Australia’s retail petrol prices are largely determined by international refined petrol prices, and between July and September we saw very steady international prices keeping our prices here within a narrower band.”
Petrol sales volumes partially recovered in the September quarter 2020, although the increase in sales volumes was not uniform across all states and territories.
In the month of September, petrol sales volumes across Australia were 19 per cent lower than monthly average sales in 2019, influenced by a 44 per cent drop in Victoria because of the state’s COVID-19 restrictions.
Darwin continues to have cheaper fuel
Darwin had the lowest average retail petrol prices of the eight capital cities in the September quarter 2020 at 118.0 cpl, which is 4.1 cpl lower than average prices across the five largest cities.
Darwin’s relatively low prices in recent years may have been influenced by the opening of new retail sites that are vigorous competitors, and the introduction of the Northern Territory Government’s fuel price transparency scheme, MyFuel NT.
“Increased competition between petrol retailers brings down prices, and fuel price data apps and websites empower consumers. Darwin motorists are currently enjoying the benefits of both these factors,” Mr Sims said.
“Motorists in New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, and now Tasmania, which introduced FuelCeck TAS in the September quarter, can also access real-time petrol prices through transparency schemes.”
Components of retail petrol price
September was the second successive quarter in which taxes (44 per cent) accounted for a larger proportion of the total price of petrol than the refined petrol itself (34 per cent).
Mogas 95, which is the benchmark for refined regular unleaded petrol in the Asia-Pacific region, and taxes together accounted for 78 per cent of the average price of petrol in the September quarter. These components are largely outside the control of petrol retailers.
“The increase in the average retail price of petrol in our five largest cities was driven mainly by an increase in the price of Mogas 95, but it must be noted that petrol retailers’ gross margins are at record highs,” Mr Sims said.
“Petrol retailing is a high-volume low-margin business with fixed costs, so we understand that some businesses have had to increase their margins to offset sales volumes that were 17 per cent lower in the September quarter compared to last year’s average.”
“As economic activity in Australia picks up again and sales volumes return to normal, the ACCC expects to see gross retail margins fall,” Mr Sims said.
Regional locations
In the September quarter 2020, average petrol prices in regional locations were lower than average prices in the five largest cities for the first time since the ACCC began quarterly reporting in 2015.
Average prices across the 190 regional locations the ACCC monitors were 120.0 cpl in the September quarter, 2.1 cpl lower than average prices in the five largest cities. In the previous June quarter, average regional prices were 7.5 cpl higher than average prices in the five largest cities.
“Petrol prices are slower to come down in regional locations but fortunately they are also slower to go back up, so drivers in regional locations on average paid less than their big city counterparts in the September quarter,” Mr Sims said.
Australia’s refining capacity
On 30 October 2020, BP announced that it would convert its Kwinana refinery in Western Australia to an import terminal because regional oversupply and sustained low refining margins had made it economically unviable.
In 2019, Kwinana was the largest refinery in Australia with a refining capacity of 8,830 million litres per year. This represented 32 per cent of total Australian refining capacity.
“As retail petrol prices in Australia are set according to international prices, and refineries in the Asia-pacific region are not operating to capacity, the conversion of Kwinana is unlikely to have an impact on petrol prices in Australia,” Mr Sims said.
Seven-day rolling average retail petrol prices in the five largest cities: 1 October 2019 to 30 September 2020

Source:  ACCC calculations based on data from FUELtrac.
Note:  The area to the right of the dotted vertical line in this chart represents the September quarter 2020.
 
Breakdown of the average petrol price in the quarter across the five largest cities

 
Background
On 16 December 2019, the Treasurer issued a new direction to the ACCC to monitor the prices, costs and profits relating to the supply of petroleum products in the petroleum industry in Australia and produce a report every quarter. This is the fourth quarterly report under the new direction. 
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Consumers
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Fuel

11 December 2020Mobile consumers received much better value over 2019-20, as reported in the ACCC’s just released annual Communications Market Report.
The report also shows that communications networks successfully met the significant challenges posed by COVID-19 in 2020 and details significant trends and market developments in fixed broadband and mobile markets.
Mobile prices fell by 17 per cent during 2019-20 entirely due to a reduction in the price of entry level plans and particularly significant growth in data allowances and other inclusions. NBN broadband prices fell overall by a more modest 2 percent over the same period, with an increase in the price of entry level plans moderating the positive effect of higher plan inclusions.
“The growth in data allowances for mobile services means consumers received better value from their mobile plans,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.
“Whether this trend continues into 2021 will depend on how strongly mobile operators compete for new customers.”
While the total volume of data carried over broadband networks continues to grow strongly, fixed broadband still accounts for around 90 per cent of total downloads.
“More competitive wholesale pricing on the NBN will give consumers a broader range of affordable retail offers and keep the price of higher speed plans at levels that represent fair value,” Mr Sims said.
“It is encouraging to see broadband services in regional areas improved as a result of additional network investment as NBN Co is reporting that less than one per cent of fixed wireless cells are now subject to congestion.”
Australians continue to favour their mobile phones for voice services, with fixed line call minutes down by 15 per cent from 2018-19. Since 2015-16 fixed line voice call minutes have decreased by 50 per cent, while mobile voice call minutes have risen by 18 per cent.
Although the 5G footprint is limited, mobile network operators continue to invest in 5G roll out plans to bring faster speeds, lower latency, and the prospect of greater competition with fixed line broadband services.
“The impact in the mobile market is likely to depend on the willingness of consumers and businesses to upgrade to more expensive devices,” Mr Sims said.
There is also heightened competition in enterprise and business markets as Telstra responds to new entrants in the wholesale market.
NBN Co’s September announcement that it had concluded its initial build underlined the importance of its commercial access arrangements for encouraging more competitive retail broadband markets that benefit broadband users.  
“There are promising signs of further consumer benefit as RSPs take up improved offers strengthened via commercial negotiation undertaken over the course of our public inquiries,” Mr Sims said.
“The importance of maximising use of the NBN through improved affordability and strong retail competition cannot be overstated if we are to realise the full economic and social benefits of this significant investment.”
“Greater certainty over NBN product and pricing offers and stronger rebate arrangements, and better operational support for consumers, are all likely to emerge,” Mr Sims said.
NBN Co’s temporary supply of 40 per cent more network capacity to RSPs at no additional charge was crucial during the pandemic, as were the increases to data allowances on Sky Muster plans.
“The initiatives that NBN Co took over COVID demonstrate the direct role that wholesale access arrangements play in maintaining service quality and supporting greater use of the NBN by business and residential customers,” Mr Sims said.
However, some consumers and small businesses were unable to have problems resolved, as a number of service providers were not contactable due to reductions in international call centre availability.
“Consumers must be able to contact their service provider when a problem arises. While customer service issues pre-date COVID-19, the pandemic has served to highlight these problems,” Mr Sims said.
The ACCC’s report is available at Communications Market Report 2019-20. 
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Internet, phone & TV

10 December 2020Increased broadband speeds have improved performances of popular streaming services such as Netflix and YouTube during mid-September and October when compared to a pre-COVID baseline of February 2020.
The ACCC’s second Critical Services Report released today, tracks the performance of the NBN fixed-line broadband connections that support popular streaming and video conferencing services.
“These improvements are welcomed given the sustained increase in the use of video streaming services due to the pandemic,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said. 
In the first two weeks of October, Netflix’s daily download speed improved to be between 6 to 7 per cent higher than its February 2020 baseline. Over the same period, YouTube’s daily download speed was between 1 to 4 per cent higher than its February 2020 baseline.
Results also show that streaming services, Netflix and YouTube had typically faster download speeds than in the first Critical Services Report, which showed performance during May 2020.
“The free network capacity boost offered by NBN Co at the outset of the pandemic has been key to the continual uplift in access quality to online applications,” Mr Sims said.
NBN Co and service providers introduced mitigation measures to alleviate congestion on broadband networks due to COVID-19. These included reductions in the bitrates or the picture quality of their services. Most video streaming services returned to full bitrates by October 2020 with the relaxation of pandemic restrictions.
“The MBA program data has allowed us to see how the mitigations and network boosts have improved streaming quality, and benefitted consumers, since the last report,” Mr Sims said.
The report shows broadly consistent results to the first Critical Services Report, which monitored performance during May 2020. In October 2020, NBN consumers continued to have very good access to video conferencing applications, with low round trip latency on all domestic hosted conferences for those on a NBN25, NBN50 or NBN100 and regardless of NBN technology or choice of conference host.
Higher latency was seen for consumers in Western Australia accessing conferences that are hosted on servers on the East Coast, and for all consumers where international server locations were used to host a conference.
Video conferencing applications hosted in Australia connected with a low latency of around 25 milliseconds or less in October 2020, while internationally hosted video conferencing applications had latency of over 100 milliseconds. This indicates that users of the applications with domestically hosted servers would have had less lag or delay compared with video conferencing applications hosted overseas.
It is more likely that a video conference will be hosted overseas if consumers are using a free account, however there are some situations where even a paid video conference application could be hosted overseas.
Notes to editors
The Critical Services Report is produced as part of the Measuring Broadband Australia (MBA) program. Testing infrastructure for the regular MBA reporting has been used to collect additional data during early October 2020 on the performance of nominated applications in the context of the COVID-19 environment. This is the second Critical Services Report, building on the observations from the July 2020 report.
Latency refers to the delay in receiving and responding to data and is driven by, for example, the distance to servers where applications are hosted. When in a video call, longer delays are likely to lead to disjointed conversations.
Broadband customers can apply to be a volunteer at measuringbroadbandaustralia.com.au.
More information
Critical Services Report Part 1
Broadband speed information for consumers
Home broadband consumer guidance
Fixed-line broadband customers can apply to be a volunteer by signing up at: measuringbroadbandaustralia.com.au
Background
The Federal Government funded the ACCC to run a national broadband performance monitoring and reporting program from 2017-21.
Data for Measuring Broadband Australia is provided by UK-based firm SamKnows using methodology based on established speed testing programs in the UK, US and Canada.
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Industry
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Internet, phone & TV

8 December 2020The High Court of Australia has today dismissed the ACCC’s application for special leave to appeal from the Full Federal Court’s decision that Pacific National’s acquisition of the Acacia Ridge terminal from Aurizon (ASX: AZJ) would not be likely to substantially lessen competition. 
The dismissal of the ACCC’s application for special leave means that the decision of the Full Federal Court stands, and Pacific National can proceed with its acquisition of the Acacia Ridge Terminal.
“The ACCC sought special leave to appeal to the High Court because we considered that this case raised important issues about the application of Australia’s merger laws,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.
“This case also involved important markets. We considered that Pacific National’s acquisition of the Acacia Ridge terminal would likely have a significant impact on competition in intermodel rail, with flow-on effects for consumers and the wider economy.”
“The ACCC’s case centred around the proposed acquisition of the Acacia Ridge intermodal terminal in Brisbane. With the acquisition set to proceed, Australia will be left in the position where the dominant intermodal rail linehaul services provider will also own the critical infrastructure that potential competitors need to access in order to compete,” Mr Sims said.
“The ACCC faces challenges in contested merger cases where a forward looking merger test is applied. The nature of the test, and the inherent uncertainties in predicting the future, make it difficult to prove that a change in the market structure after the merger will substantially lessen competition in the future.”
“This task is further complicated by the need to prove that competition is likely to be substantially lessened compared to a hypothetical future in which the acquisition did not occur,” Mr Sims said.
“These challenges raise important issues for the consideration of whether Australia’s current merger laws are fit for purpose.”
Notes to editors
Pacific National is by far the largest provider of intermodal rail freight services in Australia. 
The term ‘intermodal’ freight is used to describe the carriage of general freight usually in a container using two or more modes of transportation, such as truck and rail. ‘Intermodal rail linehaul’ refers to the rail leg of the movement of intermodal freight.
An intermodal terminal, such as the Acacia Ridge Terminal, is a piece of infrastructure with a connection to a rail line where containers can be transferred between transportation modes.
Background
The ACCC commenced proceedings on 18 July 2018 alleging that Pacific National’s acquisition of the Acacia Ridge Terminal from Aurizon would have the likely effect of substantially lessening competition in contravention of section 50 of the CCA.
The ACCC was concerned that the proposed acquisition of the Acacia Ridge Terminal would deter a new entrant from providing interstate rail linehaul services in competition with Pacific National.
The ACCC commenced a public investigation of Aurizon’s proposed exit plans, including the proposed acquisitions by Pacific National of the Acacia Ridge Terminal and Queensland intermodal business on 27 October 2017. The ACCC issued a statement of issues on 15 March 2018.
The ACCC succeeded in obtaining an interlocutory injunction from the Federal Court restraining Aurizon from the announced closure of its Queensland intermodal business. That business was subsequently purchased by Linfox.
Following a lengthy hearing, the Federal Court dismissed the ACCC’s proceedings on 15 May 2019, finding that, given Pacific National’s access undertaking accepted by the Court, the acquisition of the Acacia Ridge Terminal by Pacific National would not be likely to substantially lessen competition.
The ACCC lodged an appeal on 27 June 2019. On 6 May 2020, the Full Court dismissed the ACCC’s appeal.
The ACCC applied for special leave to appeal to the High Court on 26 June 2020.
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Mergers

8 December 2020Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ), Citigroup Global Markets Australia Pty Limited (Citigroup), Deutsche Bank AG (Deutsche Bank) and six senior banking executives have today all been committed to the Federal Court of Australia for trial on criminal cartel charges.
The banks and the executives, John McLean, Rick Moscati, Michael Ormaechea, Michael Richardson, Stephen Roberts and Itay Tuchman, were committed from the NSW Local Court in Sydney today following committal proceedings.
Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, ANZ and the executives were charged in June 2018 following an ACCC investigation. The prosecution is being conducted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP).
The charges involve alleged cartel arrangements in 2015 relating to trading in ANZ shares held by Deutsche Bank and Citigroup. ANZ and each of the executives charged are alleged to have been knowingly concerned in some or all of the alleged conduct.
“As this matter involves criminal charges, we will not be commenting further at this time,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.
The matter will be heard in the Federal Court at a later date.
Note to editors
The ACCC investigates cartel conduct, manages the immunity process and, in respect of civil cartel contraventions, takes civil proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia.
The CDPP is responsible for prosecuting criminal cartel offences in accordance with the Prosecution Policy of the Commonwealth. The ACCC refers serious cartel conduct to the CDPP for consideration of prosecution in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding between the CDPP and the ACCC regarding Serious Cartel Conduct.
For corporations, the maximum fine for each criminal cartel offence is the greater of:

$10 million
three times the total benefits that have been obtained and are reasonably attributable to the commission of the offence, or
if the total value of the benefits cannot be determined, 10 per cent of the corporation’s annual turnover connected with Australia.

An individual convicted of a criminal cartel offence may be sentenced to up to 10 years’ imprisonment or fined up to $420,000, or both.
Anyone with information about cartel conduct is urged to call the ACCC Cartel Hotline on (02) 9230 3894.
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Media

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Cartels

8 December 2020Insurers have paid out $500 million less in hospital and extras benefits in 2019-20 compared to the previous year, the latest ACCC annual report into the private health insurance industry has found.
The reduced benefit payout was the result of government-imposed restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which limited non-urgent elective surgery and non-urgent extras treatments (including most dental, optical and other health services).
At the same time, average premium increases have continued to be higher than inflation and wage growth despite the fact that most insurers postponed their scheduled April 2020 premium increases for at least six months in response to the pandemic. Some insurers, such as HBF and Teachers Union Health, cancelled this year’s premium increase altogether.
Health funds say they have returned substantial sums to policyholders since the pandemic began, including ongoing relief to those suffering financial hardship. Insurers have also indicated that they will use any remaining profits gained from the COVID-19 restrictions to discharge policyholders’ accumulated demand for non-urgent elective surgery.
“The ACCC expects insurers to act on public commitments to return any profits gained from COVID-19 to policyholders, including through hardship measures such as premium waivers and discounts, and through the timely management of any built-up demand for non-urgent elective surgery,” ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said
“In preparing the next report to the Senate, the ACCC will consider the actions taken by insurers in this regard.”
The report also noted that health insurance participation rates had continued to decline over the past year, as the proportion of the population holding ‘hospital only’ or combined cover fell from 44.3 per cent in June 2019 to 43.6 per cent in June 2020.
“The overall decline in the proportion of people with hospital policies in 2019-20 was possibly due in part to the economic slowdown associated with COVID-19. However, some have asserted that the pandemic also reminded Australians of the quality of Medicare and the Australian hospital system, leading them to question the value of continuing to pay for private health insurance,” Ms Rickard said.
“While it is difficult to determine the exact reason why there was a lower proportion of people with hospital cover in the year ending June 2020, there is little uncertainty about the continued downward trend, particularly among younger age groups.”
Background
Each year, the ACCC is required by the Senate to produce a report on key competition and consumer developments and trends impacting on people’s health cover.
This report covers the 2019-20 period, and is the ACCC’s 22nd report to the Senate under this order.
The Minister for Health will consider the following matters when assessing each health fund’s application to change premiums from April 2021:

information on projected future benefit payments, including from claims deferred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and
the reasonableness of the proposed treatment of any funding set aside for deferred medical procedures.

The Department of Health will continue to monitor these matters throughout 2021.
Notes to editors
In June 2020, following ACCC enforcement action, the Federal Court ordered Medibank , trading as ‘ahm Health Insurance’ to pay $5 million in penalties for making false representations to its policyholders about the benefits offered by their ahm health insurance policies, in breach of Australian Consumer Law.
On 17 September 2020, the ACCC granted private health insurers an exemption from the operation of the competition laws until 31 March 2021, in relation to conduct to coordinate the provision of financial relief to policyholders during the COVID-19 pandemic, and broadening insurance coverage to include COVID-19 treatment, tele-health and medical treatment provided at home. The exemption is conditional on details of proposed measures being provided to the ACCC in advance, and excludes agreements to increase premiums.
On 6 October 2020, the Australian government announced a range of initiatives aimed at making private health insurance simpler and more affordable.
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Consumers
Media

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Health

7 December 2020The Federal Court has ordered Kogan Australia Pty Ltd (Kogan) to pay a penalty of $350,000 for making false or misleading representations about a tax time sales promotion, in breach of Australian Consumer Law.
In July 2020, the Court found that Kogan had misled consumers by advertising over a period of four days that they could use the code ‘TAXTIME’ to reduce prices by 10 per cent at checkout, when Kogan had increased the prices of 621 products immediately before the promotion.
In most cases, the prices of these products had been increased by at least 10 per cent. Kogan then decreased those prices soon after the promotion ended, many back to their pre-promotion prices.
Kogan made these statements to consumers in June 2018 on its website, via emails sent to over 10 million consumers, and by SMS messages to over 930,000 consumers.
“In many cases, consumers who used the promotional code to purchase these products paid the same as, or more than, they would have paid before or after the promotion,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.
“Consumers were not receiving a genuine 10 per cent discount as promised, and this affected high-value products such as Apple MacBooks, cameras and Samsung Galaxy mobile handsets.”
Towards the end of the promotion, Kogan also used statements such as ‘48 hours left!’ and ‘Ends midnight tonight!’ in some emails to consumers, to create a sense of urgency to entice consumers to make a purchase during the tax time promotion period. 
In her judgment, Justice Davies said: “Kogan’s contravening conduct must be viewed as serious, as misrepresentations about discounts offered on products not only harm purchasers acquiring such products on the basis that they are getting a genuine discount but also may impact on consumer confidence in discount promotions when legitimately made – that is, when products are being offered for sale with a genuine discount on price.”
“This decision sends a strong signal to businesses like Kogan, which regularly conduct online sales promotions, that they must not entice consumers to purchase products with a  promise of discounts that are not genuine,” Mr Sims said.
The Court also made declarations and ordered Kogan to pay the ACCC’s costs of the proceedings.
Background
Kogan Australia Pty Ltd (a subsidiary of Kogan.com (ASX:KGN)) is an online retailer with over 1.4 million active customers which sells a wide variety of goods including consumer electronics, furniture and toys.
In May 2019, the ACCC launched legal proceedings, alleging Kogan made false or misleading representations about a 10 per cent price reduction promotion.
An example of Kogan’s website promotion is below:

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Media

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Competition and Consumer Act 2010

7 December 2020The ACCC has issued a public warning notice about the alleged conduct of Dismissals Direct Pty Ltd, trading as Unfair Dismissals Direct, a company that represented employees in unfair dismissal claims before the Fair Work Commission until earlier this year. Mr John Bingham is the sole director of Unfair Dismissals Direct.
Unfair Dismissals Direct did not offer legal services, but acted as a paid agent on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis and deducted its fees from any final settlement for clients.
From May 2018, the ACCC received complaints about Unfair Dismissals Direct, including from 18 consumers around Australia who complained that Unfair Dismissals Direct did not pay them their settlement monies, minus its fees, after their unfair dismissal claim was settled.
The ACCC has reasonable grounds to suspect that Unfair Dismissals Direct may have engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct, and made false or misleading representations, by telling consumers that it would receive settlement monies on their behalf, deduct its professional fee and transfer the remaining balance to the client when, in some instances, Unfair Dismissals Direct kept the remaining balance.
Unfair Dismissals Direct advertised its services online and offered potential clients a ‘free confidential assessment’. Their contract with clients outlined fees which were to be deducted from any settlement paid into the companies’ accounts after successful conclusion of their claim.
“We are very concerned that it appears some clients of Unfair Dismissals Direct, who were at a low point in their lives after losing their job were not paid the settlement balance owing to them.”
“We are warning Australian consumers seeking representation for unfair dismissal claims to choose their representatives carefully,” ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court said.
“Consumers should do their research before signing any contract, including for unfair dismissal services. If a business is trying to pressure you into signing a contract quickly, without ample opportunity to review the contract, ask yourself why.”
The Public Warning Notice has been issued because the ACCC has reasonable grounds to suspect that the conduct by Unfair Dismissals Direct may constitute a contravention of sections 18 and/or 29 of the Australian Consumer Law, and the ACCC is satisfied that consumers have suffered detriment and it is in the public interest to issue the notice.
The warning notice is available at Dismissals Direct Pty Ltd (also known as Unfair Dismissals Direct)
Advice for consumers seeking unfair dismissal representation
Individuals do not need to be represented at the Fair Work Commission, in fact almost half choose to represent themselves. Free and reliable information about the unfair dismissals process is available on the Fair Work Commission website.
Workers seeking to engage representation for unfair dismissal claims should read contracts carefully before engaging a representative to determine:

what services will be provided;
whether the contract limits their ability to keep negotiating for the best possible payout;
how much the service costs; and
whether the services are good value when compared to a potential payout.

Other tips include:

Look for online reviews before signing up.
Shop around – many representatives in the industry offer free consultations. Find the one that best suits your needs. 
Ask how any settlement money will be handled, will it be paid directly to you or the company?

At the Fair Work Commission, you are able to request that any settlement money will be paid to you directly
Lawyers are subject to strict legal obligations when handling client money. Commercial operators, who are not lawyers, are not subject to the same obligations. 

Keep a copy of your contract and any associated terms and conditions.
If COVID restrictions allow, visit the offices of the representative before signing up.

For more information on the unfair dismissal process visit:

Fair Work Commission

Unfair dismissal process
Unfair dismissal eligibility quiz 
Where to get help for Unfair Dismissals 
Complaints about lawyers and paid agents 

Fair Work Ombudsman

Unfair Dismissals – general information 

Note to editors
The ACCC may issue a public warning notice to warn consumers about the conduct of a person where it has reasonable grounds to suspect a breach of certain provisions of the Australian Consumer Law. A key consideration for the ACCC in evaluating whether it is appropriate to issue a public warning notice is whether it is satisfied that one or more persons has suffered detriment as a result of the conduct.
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Media

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Competition and Consumer Act 2010

4 December 2020The ACCC has instituted Federal Court civil proceedings against construction company J Hutchinson Pty Ltd (Hutchinson) and the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMMEU) over alleged boycott conduct at a building site in Brisbane.
The proceedings relate to an alleged agreement in 2016 between Hutchinson and the CFMMEU, in which Hutchinson allegedly agreed to terminate the contract of an independent waterproofing subcontractor working on the Southpoint A Apartments construction project in South Brisbane.
The ACCC alleges that Hutchinson terminated the subcontractor to avoid conflict with, or industrial action by, the CFMMEU at the site. Hutchinson was the head contractor on the Southpoint A site. The waterproofing subcontractor was not covered by an enterprise agreement with the CFMMEU.
The ACCC alleges that, by making and acting on the agreement, Hutchinson contravened sections 45E and 45EA of the Competition and Consumer Act, which prohibit contracts, arrangements or understandings for the purpose of preventing or hindering the acquisition of goods or services from a supplier.
The CFMMEU allegedly induced or was knowingly concerned in these contraventions.
“Tackling anti-competitive conduct in the construction industry is a priority for the ACCC, and this includes boycotts like the one alleged to have taken place here,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.
“Boycotts are extremely detrimental to competitive markets and the economy, and can do great damage to those businesses targeted. Given this, we will take action to detect and deter such conduct whenever we can.”
The ACCC was assisted by the Australian Building and Construction Commission during the course of its investigation. The ACCC and the ABCC signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2017.
Background
Hutchinson is one of Australia’s biggest privately owned construction companies with around 1,800 staff and over $2.5 billion worth of projects annually.
The CFMMEU is a trade union organisation that represents member employees in a number of industries including the construction industry.
The ACCC’s Commercial Construction Unit was established in 2017. It focuses on anti-competitive conduct and unfair business practices in the construction industry. Issues impacting the construction industry can be reported to the ACCC’s Commercial Construction Unit anonymously at www.accc.gov.au/ccu or contact the Infocentre on 1300 302 502.
The ACCC is seeking declarations, injunctions, pecuniary penalties, orders for findings of fact, compliance training and, against the CFMMEU only, adverse publicity orders.
The attached document below contains the ACCC’s initiating court document in relation to this matter. We will not be uploading further documents in the event this initial document is subsequently amended.
Concise statement 
ACCC v J Hutchinson Pty Ltd_Concise Statement
(

PDF 556.68 KB
)

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Competition and Consumer Act 2010

4 December 2020Consumers are urged to check their caravans and recreational vehicles (RVs) for dangerous Suburban-branded water heaters which may emit deadly carbon monoxide.
The Suburban Recreational Vehicle water heater can operate using electricity or gas, and may produce unsafe levels of carbon monoxide when gas is used to generate the heat.
Carbon monoxide poisoning can cause death, and exposure for a short amount of time can lead to serious injuries. Carbon monoxide has no smell and is unlikely to be detected. It is also highly flammable and can explode on contact with a spark or flame.
The Gas Technical Regulators Committee (GTRC), with the ACCC’s assistance, is raising awareness of the need for repair of thousands of water heaters.
“Do not use the affected water heaters in gas mode under any circumstances,” ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said.
“It’s especially important to check your caravan’s water heater as soon as possible if you plan to go away during the summer holidays. It only takes a minute and it could save the lives of your loved ones.”
“We are concerned that a large number of deadly heaters remain in caravans and RVs because owners have not yet contacted Coast to Coast for an inspection. Coast to Coast Caravan and Leisure has recalled these heaters due to the serious hazards they present. Owners should not take this issue lightly and act quickly,” Ms Rickard said.
Consumers can check if their heater is affected by opening the exterior access door to the hot water service and checking the model and serial number located on the right hand side. They should then enter the serial number at the Coast to Coast website.
“Anyone with an affected water heater should urgently contact Coast to Coast Caravan and Leisure on 02 9645 7685 who will arrange for a licensed gasfitter to inspect their water heater free of charge,” Ms Rickard said.
Consumers will not have to cover any costs related to the supply and installation of the new water heater, or any required associated work, such as the modification of cavity and gas and/or water lines.
Coast to Coast Caravan and Leisure will check every unit, after being contacted by consumers, to ensure the water heater is properly installed and if needed, will replace the unit through a licenced gasfitter free of charge.
Consumers who experience difficulties obtaining a timely remedy should contact Coast to Coast Caravan and Leisure, their state or territory gas regulator or the ACCC online.
Background
Coast to Coast Caravan and Leisure notified a recall for Suburban Recreational Vehicle Water Heaters on 15 November 2019 due to their serious safety hazards. 18,139 heaters have been sold across all states and territories in Australia mostly installed in caravans and RVs via certain caravan and motorhome retailers.
Gas regulators have been working with Coast to Coast Caravan and Leisure to identify a suitable safe replacement water heater. Replacement models initially proposed by Suburban, the overseas manufacturer, also failed testing. A safe model was finally produced, and approved for use in July 2020.
Remediation could not commence until the GTRC was satisfied of the safety of the replacement units. The supplier then needed to import sufficient units from the US manufacturer, at a time when their supply chains were impacted by the pandemic situation.
The supplier advises stocks of replacement units are now in hand and they are keen to get remediation happening quickly. To date, only 210 units have been remediated or scheduled for inspection, and the supplier would like to encourage greater consumer response to the recall.
The affected products are the Suburban Recreational Vehicle Water Heaters with model numbers SW6DEA, SW6DA, SW4DEA, SW4DA, SW4DECA, SW6DECA and SW6PA that have serial numbers between 181315552 and 193002648 (some serial numbers may end with a ‘D’) and between 8183311827 and 8190201139. They were manufactured between 4 April 2018 and 1 August 2019.
The Office of the Technical Regulator (SA) is the responsible regulator for this product. It is a member of the Gas Technical Regulators Committee (GTRC). The GTRC is composed of gas technical and safety regulators across Australia and aims to apply a consistent regulatory approach to improve gas safety, measurement and quality.
More information is available at Product Safety Australia.
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5 December 2020Many Australians with older home loans continue to pay significantly higher interest rates than borrowers with newer home loans, potentially costing them many thousands of dollars over time, the ACCC has found in a report published today.
The final report of the ACCC’s Home loan price inquiry highlights that many borrowers could save money by seeking a lower rate from their existing lender or switching to a new lender.
To encourage this process, the ACCC has recommended that lenders be required to regularly prompt borrowers whose loans are older than three years to review their current interest rate and to consider the potential benefits of switching products or lenders.
“A significant number of Australian home loan borrowers have not switched lenders for several years, yet they stand to save so much money by doing so,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.
“There are factors standing in the way of home loan borrowers switching lenders, such as a lack of clear and transparent pricing, as well as inconvenience and time costs, but for many borrowers switching will be worth the effort.”
“Our recommended prompt would clearly set out for many borrowers just how much higher their interest rate is compared to new borrowers,” Mr Sims said. “This information would be a powerful motivation for borrowers to seek a lower rate from their current lender or to switch to a new lender. It would also encourage lenders to offer existing customers better rates, promoting greater competition in the sector.”
The ACCC has recommended that consumer trials and testing should inform the design and presentation of the prompt.
The ACCC found that, as at September 2020, borrowers with home loans between three and five years old paid on average about 58 basis points more than the average interest rate paid for new loans. Such a borrower with a home loan of $250,000 could save more than $1,400 in interest in the first year by switching to a loan with the lower, average interest rate paid for new loans. Over the remaining term of the loan, that borrower could save more than $17,000 in interest.
As loans age, the gap between the rates paid on older loans compared with new loans widens. Borrowers with loans more than 10 years old were, on average, paying about 104 basis points more than the average interest rate paid for new loans.
“If you are someone with an older loan, you might be surprised to know that borrowers with new loans are likely walking into the very same lender you have your loan with and getting significantly lower interest rates,” Mr Sims said.
To make it easier for home loan borrowers to switch, the ACCC has also recommended lenders be required to provide a standardised Discharge Authority form to borrowers, which should be easy to access, fill out and submit.
A time limit of 10 business days should also be imposed on lenders to complete the discharge authority process, the ACCC has recommended.
“Existing lenders want to keep their borrowers, so have no incentive to make the discharge process quick or straightforward,” Mr Sims said.
“We want it to be as easy as possible for borrowers to switch lenders, as it should be in all markets. Our recommendations are designed to make this process faster, less confusing and less frustrating.”
“The Consumer Data Right will also assist the process of looking for a better deal and switching, by allowing borrowers to direct their bank to share their home loan data with accredited third parties, such as other lenders or comparison services.”
Given the significance of home loan prices to household budgets, the ACCC has also recommended continued monitoring of home loan prices and competition in the home loan market. This ongoing role is needed to continue to provide transparency on lenders’ pricing practices to consumers and the Australian Government.
During the inquiry, the ACCC closely examined a wide range of pricing information, including by using its compulsory information gathering powers to obtain information and documents from the big four banks, and obtaining additional data from the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.
The Home loan price inquiry’s interim report raised concerns about a lack of price transparency in the home loan market, as headline interest rates, which are relied upon by consumers shopping around, often do not reflect the actual rates paid by most borrowers. This was mainly due to the banks’ use of opaque discretionary discounts.
The ACCC has noted, however, that two of the big four banks have since reduced or are considering reducing their reliance on discretionary discounting to improve transparency for consumers.
“We remain concerned about opaque pricing in the home loan market, but are encouraged that some banks are moving to more transparency without direct intervention from the government,” Mr Sims said.
“We are recommending ongoing monitoring of this market so we can ensure that this trend of improved pricing transparency continues. We may recommend further action if it does not.”
The report is available at Home loan price inquiry
Background
On 14 October 2019, the Treasurer directed the ACCC to conduct an inquiry into the market for the supply of home loans.
The interim report focused on prices charged for home loans between 1 January 2019 and 31 October 2019 by the big four banks, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank, and Westpac Banking Corporation.
The big four banks account for close to 80% of Australian home loans. Over 100 lenders supply home loans in Australia, offering a combined total of nearly 4 000 different home loan products.
Advice on how to switch your home loan can be found on ASIC’s MoneySmart website at Switching home loans
The findings of this inquiry reinforce and build on those in the ACCC’s earlier Residential mortgage price inquiry
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3 December 2020Over 65,000 vehicles with deadly Takata airbags remain on Australian roads with just four weeks until the compulsory recall deadline.
As Australians are more likely to be holidaying at home and by car this summer, the ACCC is calling on consumers to prepare for a safe holiday by checking their airbags and booking in for a replacement if they are affected by the recall.
Takata airbags have the potential to explode in an accident, even in minor ones, and can send sharp metal fragments through the vehicle at high speed, potentially seriously injuring or even killing its occupants. Globally, there have been over 350 injuries and 32 deaths reported, with one death and three injuries in Australia, including one serious injury.
More than 2.7 million vehicles have now been rectified, leaving about two per cent remaining for replacement. Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane’s outer suburbs have the most airbags still outstanding.
Under the compulsory recall, manufacturers are required to replace all of these Takata airbags by 31 December 2020.  
“More than 65,000 of these dangerous vehicles are still on our roads, potentially putting people’s lives in danger. Replacements are free of charge, and there is no excuse for not getting it done,” ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said.
“Before you get away this summer, please check your cars even if you have checked before, and get your friends and family to check their vehicles too.”
“All you need to do is type in the car’s number plate and state or territory of registration online at ismyairbagsafe.com.au. You can even check it for others. It takes less than a minute and could save a life,” Ms Rickard said.
More than 6,000 of the remaining vehicles are classified as critical, meaning they should not be driven at all. Owners should instead contact their manufacturer to arrange for the vehicle to be towed or for a technician to be sent out, free of charge.
“We’re concerned by the number of people who have refused to have their airbags replaced and the number of airbags that have not been retrieved. We want to assure people that replacements will not cost anything, and could help protect you and your loved ones,” Ms Rickard said.
“States and territories are imposing registration sanctions for vehicles affected by the recall. Drivers who don’t get their airbags replaced could risk having their vehicle’s registration cancelled,” Ms Rickard said.
Businesses that sell spare parts such as auto recyclers also have obligations under the compulsory recall to check if they have affected airbags and notify manufacturers so the airbags can be safely collected and destroyed. The ACCC is aware of at least one death associated with a used dangerous Takata airbag that was installed into a vehicle as a repair following a collision.
Consumers can visit ismyairbagsafe.com.au, the Product Safety Australia page, or contact their manufacturer to check if their vehicle is affected. A list of vehicle manufacturer helplines and contact details is available online. 
Facts and figures:

In total, more than 3.71 (90.2 per cent) of airbags have been replaced in 2.72 million (88.9 per cent) of vehicles.
There are 79.514 (1.9 per cent) of airbags in 65,451 (2.1 per cent) of vehicles remaining for replacement.
Of these, 6,818 vehicles are classified as critical, with 564 alpha vehicles and 6,254 non-alpha vehicles. 
A further 273,856 (8.9 per cent) of vehicles have been deemed by suppliers as written-off, stolen, unregistered for more than two years, exported, modified and unable to be replaced, or where the owner has been unresponsive or uncontactable.

Notes to editors
The Takata airbag recall is the world’s largest automotive recall, affecting an estimated 100 million vehicles globally.
It is the most significant compulsory recall in Australia’s history, with over four million affected Takata airbag inflators and involving more than three million vehicle recalls.
Takata airbags affected by the compulsory recall use a chemical called phase-stabilised ammonium nitrate (PSAN). The ACCC’s investigation concluded that certain types of Takata PSAN airbags have a design defect. The defect may cause the airbag to deploy with too much explosive force so that sharp metal fragments shoot out and hit vehicle occupants, potentially injuring or killing them.
Vehicle manufacturers are required to ensure all cars with affected Takata airbags have their airbags replaced by 31 December 2020 or provide adequate evidence to the ACCC to satisfy deemed compliance with replacement obligations.
Deemed compliance applies to unresponsive or uncontactable consumers where supplier communication obligations have been met, cars unregistered for two years or more, or those that are written-off, exported or stolen.
Manufacturers have ongoing obligations to replace outstanding inflators where they have not achieved 100 per cent actual replacement. Manufacturers must also retrieve spare parts when notified. This obligation extends beyond 31 December 2020 until 100 per cent actual completion is achieved.   
Manufacturers are required to provide updated recall progress reports relating to the period to 31 December 2020 to the ACCC in January 2021. The ACCC will provide a recall progress update in early 2021. 
In addition to the compulsory recall of vehicles fitted with Takata PSAN airbags, eight vehicle manufacturers have also issued voluntary recalls for some vehicles manufactured between 1996 and 2000, which may have been fitted with a different type of faulty Takata airbag, being a NADI airbag. The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications monitors the NADI voluntary recalls.
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4 December 2020Consumers are benefiting from faster download speeds, as retail service providers now deliver on average more than 94 per cent of plan speed in the busy evening with some monitored services regularly achieving higher speeds than expected by consumers, according to a new ACCC report.
The eleventh Measuring Broadband Australia (MBA) report, published today, shows that in October retail service providers (RSPs) achieved between 84.8 and 98.5 per cent of maximum plan speed across all plans across busy hours (7-11pm).
More than half of monitored NBN services achieved download speeds exceeding the maximum speeds specified in the retail plan description when averaged across all hours of the day.
“Speeds in the October test period were the highest we have seen for all monitored RSPs since the start of the MBA program,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.
In October, daytime download speeds held steady, and even during the busy hours (7-11pm) customers experienced a minimal decrease in performance.
Telstra has shown the greatest improvement in their busy-hour download speeds, up by over 11 per cent since the last report. Superloop featured for the first time in this quarterly report, and achieved comparable results to other monitored RSPs with an average of 93.4 per cent of maximum plan speed during busy hours.
Pandemic pressure largely resolved
This is the second ACCC quarterly report detailing NBN network performance results during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has put sustained pressure on the network.
“NBN Co’s decision to temporarily waive charges for up to 40 per cent extra capacity for RSPs in the form of increased connectivity virtual circuit (CVC) has played a key role in supporting broadband speeds during the pandemic,” Mr Sims said.
The more recent uplift in speeds has also been assisted by an increase in how NBN Co over-provisions the download component of most NBN speed tiers by around 10 to 15 per cent where possible. This ensures that consumers can more reliably experience speeds closer to the maximum download speed of their chosen retail plan.
“We had been concerned that consumers haven’t experienced full use of their plan speed even outside busy hours for some time now, so it is good to see the MBA’s transparency measures showcasing the faster broadband speeds available to consumers during these difficult times,” Mr Sims said.

Figure 1. NBN download plan speeds comparison over time

This chart shows NBN download speeds over time since MBA Quarterly Report 2 which was published in July 2018. Data is shown for both all hours and busy hours (7-11pm) by NBN plan and also by access technology.
For more broadband performance data from the latest report see: Broadband performance data.

Compare by plan – All hours
Compare by plan – Busy hours
Compare by technology – All hours
Compare by technology – Busy hours

FTTN still lagging behind
Fibre to the node (FTTN) connections, however, are still performing considerably lower than other connection technologies. The results show that consumers on FTTN connections who are paying for high speed 50 Mbps and 100 Mbps plans received around 10 and 20 per cent lower speeds than the maximum plan speed respectively, at any given time.
“Although most consumers have already benefited from increased download speeds, those on FTTN connections are continuing to experience lower than expected speeds. We encourage NBN Co and RSPs to work to resolve this, especially given the additional investment in FTTN services announced by NBN Co in September,” Mr Sims said.
“Good progress has already been made on addressing this issue with the proportion of underperforming services in our sample falling from 13.9 per cent in May 2018 to 8.1 per cent in October 2020,” Mr Sims said.
Streaming services now able to be viewed on more simultaneous screens
The MBA report also shows how different NBN plans perform in streaming popular video content from Netflix.
“The faster speeds are allowing households to stream an increased number of high definition and ultrahigh definition screens at the same time over one NBN connection,” Mr Sims said.
The report also shows that all major NBN plans can support at least one high definition stream at a time. NBN plans provided on the 25 Mbps tier can support at least one ultrahigh definition stream, and nearly all could support three simultaneous high definition streams. 
Third monthly key indicators report
The ACCC also released today its third monthly key indicators report which shows the trend in daily average NBN download speeds from August through to October. The report reaffirms that download speeds are significantly faster than the pre-COVID February 2020 baseline and trended up since August due to NBN Co’s 40 per cent additional capacity boost and the recent over-provisioning of download speeds to allow for full plan speeds to be achieved, in line with international practice. Speeds were also maintained during busy hours, reflecting abundant capacity on the NBN network to support additional evening demand.
This is also the first report to provide network level performance results for NBN fixed wireless services. These results are drawn from a relatively small sample of fixed wireless services.
“These are encouraging first results and will better inform consumers about broadband performance quality in our regional, rural and remote areas,” Mr Sims said.   
The ACCC is calling on broadband customers to volunteer and to also take part in the free speed test program via measuringbroadbandaustralia.com.au
More information
Measuring Broadband Australia Quarterly Report
Measuring Broadband Australia Key Indicators Report
Broadband speed information for consumers
Home broadband consumer guidance
Background
The Federal Government funded the ACCC to run a national broadband performance monitoring and reporting program from 2017-21.
Data for Measuring Broadband Australia is provided by UK-based firm SamKnows using methodology based on established speed testing programs in the UK, US and Canada.
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2 December 2020The ACCC has accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from Toyota Motor Corporation Australia Limited to take a number of steps to review and improve its compliance processes in relation to the Australian Consumer Law consumer guarantees.
Toyota has acknowledged the ACCC’s concerns that consumers can be misled about how their consumer guarantee rights under the Australian Consumer Law interact with manufacturer’s warranties. Toyota acknowledged that internal processes should be maintained that ensure consumers are informed of, and able to easily access, their legal rights under the consumer guarantees.
Toyota also acknowledged the ACCC’s concerns that failure to inform consumers regarding mechanical issues with their vehicles (or issues with repairs) may be misleading.  
“We received a number of complaints about Toyota’s approach to consumers experiencing issues with the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) in their vehicles,” ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court said.
Between 2016 and 2018, many consumers experienced issues with the DPF in their vehicles. This included the emission of white smoke from the vehicle and soot accumulation in the DPF resulting in the display of warning messages and some vehicles entering ‘limp mode’ to encourage the driver to seek assistance. 
Consumers were instructed to take their vehicles to a Toyota dealer for repair under warranty but the ACCC received complaints about vehicles being repaired on multiple occasions without remedying the DPF issues.
From June 2018, Toyota Australia progressively implemented measures, including software updates that significantly reduced the occurrence of DPF issues in new vehicles. These measures were rolled out to existing vehicles from October 2018.  
Toyota has also implemented a review of, and improvements to, its Consumer Law Compliance Program and provided Consumer Law compliance training to relevant Toyota Australia staff and Toyota Dealers.
In 2019, Toyota Australia established a DPF consumer redress program to review requests for refunds and replacement vehicles made by consumers who experienced DPF issues.
“Toyota has now undertaken to review its systems and procedures for customer complaint handling, to ensure consumers are able to access a refund or replacement vehicle where there has been a major failure,” Ms Court said.
“The ACCC continues to prioritise work in the new car retailing sector and we are pleased Toyota customers will now benefit from a better approach in terms of being informed about, and exercising, their consumer guarantee rights.”
“All businesses, including car manufacturers, are reminded that consumer law rights cannot be excluded, restricted or modified. Express warranties operate in addition to consumer guarantees, not instead of these statutory guarantees,” Ms Court said.
Toyota has also undertaken to inform consumers purchasing a new Toyota vehicle of their consumer guarantee rights and to update its existing Vehicle Identification lookup service to allow consumers to access details of repairs or updates carried out by Toyota dealers relevant to their vehicle.
A copy of the undertaking can be found at: Toyota Motor Corporation Australia
Background:
Between June 2015 and June 2018, Toyota Australia supplied vehicles fitted with 2.4L or 2.8L diesel engines to Australian consumers. These vehicles were fitted with a Diesel Particulate Filter designed to capture particulate matter and transform it into carbon dioxide and water vapour through a process referred to as regeneration.
The ACCC has previously accepted court-enforceable undertakings from Volkswagen, Holden and Hyundai to improve their Australian Consumer Law compliance.
In April 2018 the Federal Court found Ford engaged in unconscionable conduct in the way it dealt with complaints and ordered them to pay $10 million in penalties.
In October 2019 the ACCC instituted proceedings against Mazda alleging unconscionable conduct and false or misleading representations in its dealings with consumers.
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Competition and Consumer Act 2010

1 December 2020Alkaloids of Australia Pty Ltd and its former export manager, Christopher Kenneth Joyce, have each been charged with 33 criminal cartel offences, contrary to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, formerly the Trade Practices Act 1974, following a criminal investigation by the ACCC.
The matters will be prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP).
Alkaloids of Australia produces and supplies the active pharmaceutical ingredient SNBB (scopolamine N-butylbromide, also known as hyoscine butylbromide), which is the active pharmaceutical ingredient in antispasmodic medications taken to relieve stomach pain and bowel cramps.
The ACCC alleges that Alkaloids of Australia and other overseas suppliers of SNBB made and gave effect to arrangements to fix prices, restrict supply, allocate customers and/or geographical markets, and/or to rig bids for the supply of SNBB to international manufacturers of generic antispasmodic medications.
The allegations extend over a period of almost 10 years, beginning on 24 July 2009, when criminal cartel laws came into force in Australia.
“Cartel conduct, such as price fixing, market and customer allocation, and bid rigging, is a very serious breach of the law,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.
“The specific purpose of most cartels is to increase the profits of the cartel members by agreeing to act together instead of competing with each other.”
“We are committed to pursuing cartel conduct allegations, in order to protect businesses and consumers from the economic harm of such conduct,” Mr Sims said.
The matter is listed in the Downing Centre Local Court on 19 January 2021.
Background
Alkaloids of Australia is a company which produces active pharmaceutical ingredients, based in Queensland and NSW.
SNBB is manufactured from the Duboisia plant, which is native to Australia. Duboisia plants are grown commercially for the pharmaceutical industry in and around Kingaroy in Queensland. SNBB is produced in Australia and exported for use in antispasmodic medications. The medications are then imported into Australia as a final product.
Note to editors
The ACCC investigates cartel conduct, manages the immunity process and, in respect of civil cartel contraventions, takes proceedings in the Federal Court.
The CDPP is responsible for prosecuting criminal cartel offences in accordance with the Prosecution Policy of the Commonwealth. The ACCC refers serious cartel conduct to the CDPP for consideration of prosecution in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding between the CDPP and the ACCC regarding Serious Cartel Conduct.
For corporations, the maximum fine for each criminal cartel offence is the greater of:

$10 million
three times the total benefits that have been obtained and are reasonably attributable to the commission of the offence, or
if the total value of the benefits cannot be determined, 10 per cent of the corporation’s annual turnover connected with Australia.

An individual convicted of a criminal cartel offence may be sentenced to up to 10 years’ imprisonment or fined up to $420,000, or both.
Anyone with information about cartel conduct is urged to call the ACCC Cartel Hotline on (02) 9230 3894.
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30 November 2020The ACCC is seeking views on a proposed court-enforceable undertaking offered in Australia to the ACCC by Google in relation to its proposed acquisition of Fitbit, Inc (Fitbit).
“Our decision to begin consultation should not be interpreted as a signal that the ACCC will ultimately accept the undertaking and approve the transaction,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.
“Feedback from interested parties will assist us to decide whether the behavioural remedy proposed is capable of addressing our competition concerns regarding this transaction.”
The proposed undertaking would require Google to:

not use certain user data collected through Fitbit and Google wearables for Google’s advertising purposes for 10 years, with an option for the ACCC to extend this obligation by up to a further 10 years;
maintain access for third parties, such as health and fitness apps, to certain user data collected through Fitbit and Google wearable devices for 10 years; and
 maintain levels of interoperability between third party wearables and Android smartphones for 10 years.

The ACCC released a statement of issues on 18 June 2020. The statement of issues highlighted concerns that Google would have the incentive to restrict rival wearables’ access to critical Google services such as Google Maps and the Google Play app store, or restrict their interoperability with Android smartphones.
Concerns were also raised that the proposed acquisition may provide Google with access to unique and substantial health related data that may improve the targeting capabilities of its advertising services.
“The ACCC is seeking feedback from industry and consumers on the long term effectiveness and enforceability of Google’s behavioural undertaking to address the competition concerns raised by its proposed acquisition of Fitbit.  The ACCC has not decided whether or not it will ultimately accept any undertaking,” Mr Sims said.
The ACCC invites submissions on the proposed undertaking by 9 December 2020.
More information is available on the ACCC website at Google LLC proposed acquisition of Fitbit Inc.
Background
Google is a US-based information technology company. Google is the largest subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., specialising in internet-related services and products. Its principal activities are the provision of online search services, the sale of online advertising space on its own websites (including Google Search and YouTube), and the supply of advertising technology services to facilitate advertising space on third party websites.
Fitbit is an American company headquartered in San Francisco, California that develops, manufactures and distributes wearable devices, software, and services in the health and wellness sector under the brand name ‘Fitbit’. It is active in Australia via its subsidiary Fitbit (Australia) Pty Ltd.
Fitbit’s products include fitness wearables, smartwatches, smart scales, and software. Fitbit’s wrist-worn wearable devices are supported by the Fitbit mobile app and Fitbit’s proprietary operating systems.
The ACCC’s provisional decision date of 9 December 2020 will be delayed. As the ACCC undertakes its consultation process, a new decision date will be announced in due course. Google offered its proposed undertaking to the ACCC in November 2020.
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26 November 2020The ACCC has today instituted Federal Court proceedings against Telstra (ASX:TLS) for admitted unconscionable conduct in the sale of post-paid mobile products to Indigenous consumers. 
Telstra has admitted it breached Australian Consumer Law and acted unconscionably when sales staff at five licensed Telstra-branded stores signed up 108 Indigenous consumers to multiple post-paid mobile contracts which they did not understand and could not afford between January 2016 to August 2018.
In each case, these contracts were entered into with individual consumers on a single day when they visited a store.
Telstra has admitted that staff at five stores in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia used unfair selling tactics and took advantage of a substantially stronger bargaining position when selling post-paid mobile products on behalf of Telstra.  
Many of the consumers spoke English as a second or third language, had difficulties understanding Telstra’s written contracts, and many were unemployed and relied on government benefits or pensions as the primary source of their limited income. Some lived in remote areas where Telstra provided the only mobile network.
In some cases, sales staff at the Telstra licensed stores did not provide a full and proper explanation of consumer’s financial exposure under the contracts and, in some cases, falsely represented that consumers were receiving products for ‘free’.
In many instances, sales staff also manipulated credit assessments, so consumers who otherwise may have failed its credit assessment could enter into post-paid mobile contracts. This included falsely indicating that a consumer was employed.
Telstra’s board and senior executives were unaware of the improper sales practices when they occurred, and Telstra has acknowledged that it had no effective systems in place to detect or prevent this type of conduct.
Telstra has agreed to the filing of consent orders and joint submissions in Court in support of penalties totalling $50 million being imposed by the Court. It is a matter for the Court to decide whether these penalties are appropriate. 
“This case exposes extremely serious conduct which exploited social, language, literacy and cultural vulnerabilities of these Indigenous consumers,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.
“Even though Telstra became increasingly aware of elements of the improper practices by sales staff at Telstra licensed stores over time, it failed to act quickly enough to stop it, and these practices continued and caused further, serious and avoidable financial hardship to Indigenous consumers.”
The average debt per consumer was more than $7400. 
The improper sales practices caused many of the affected consumers severe personal financial hardship and great distress. Telstra referred some unpaid debts to debt collectors, which had the potential to cause those consumers to feel further personal and cultural shame and embarrassment.
“These debts significantly impacted the affected individuals. For example, one consumer had a debt of over $19,000; another experienced extreme anxiety worrying they would go to jail if they didn’t pay; and yet another used money withdrawn from their superannuation towards paying their Telstra debt,” Mr Sims said.
The Federal Court will decide at a later date whether the orders sought are appropriate. If imposed by the Court, the penalties would be the second highest total penalties ever imposed under Australian Consumer Law.
Telstra has since taken steps to waive the debts, refund money paid and put in place steps to reduce the risk of similar conduct in the future.
In addition to the remedies to be determined by the Court, the ACCC has accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from Telstra in which Telstra undertakes to provide remediation to affected consumers, improve its existing compliance program, review and expand its Indigenous telephone hotline and enhance its digital literacy program for consumers in certain remote areas.
“Telstra is Australia’s largest telecommunications provider. It has clearly failed to meet community expectations for appropriate business behaviour,” Mr Sims said.
“This case is a reminder to all businesses to ensure that they comply with Australian Consumer Law in their dealings with all consumers, especially vulnerable consumers in regional or remote communities.”
Background
Telstra is Australia’s largest retail supplier of mobile telephones and telephony and data services for mobile telephones and tablets, which offers pre-paid and post-paid services to its customers. It is a publicly listed company, incorporated in Australia.
Telstra operates stores across Australia, including stores operated by independent licensees which sold Telstra products and services on behalf of Telstra through Telstra-branded stores.
The admitted unconscionable conduct occurred at licensed stores in Alice Springs, Casuarina and Palmerston (NT), Arndale (SA), and Broome (WA).
Consumers from remote Indigenous Australian communities located near these stores were affected by the alleged conduct, including the regions surrounding Darwin, the islands off Northern Territory, the Kimberley region and the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands (APY Lands) in central Australia.
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Competition and Consumer Act 2010

24 November 2020Engineering company UGL will restore shorter payment terms for its small business suppliers, by moving from 65 days to 30 days payment terms in the new year.
In September 2019, the ACCC became aware of allegations that UGL had unilaterally extended its payment terms to 65 days on new purchase orders, and that it was advising suppliers requiring earlier payment to contact finance company Greensill Capital.
UGL also allegedly told some suppliers that, in order to be paid earlier, they would need to accept a discount on the amount of their UGL invoice, and the invoice would be paid by Greensill Capital.
The practice of requiring a discount in exchange for earlier payment of invoices is known as reverse factoring or supply chain financing.
The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman has publicly raised concerns about the use of supply chain finance in combination with extended payment terms for small businesses, and issued a final report on its Supply Chain Financing Review in April this year. The ACCC has been looking into issues raised by extended payment terms and reverse factoring, including by engaging with UGL and Greensill Capital.
UGL has announced that it will reduce its payment terms back to 30 days for all its small business suppliers by early next year as part of its Small Business Policy, a move welcomed by the ACCC.
Greensill Capital also recently announced that it has taken action to cut its services to clients that did not satisfy it they had supplier payment terms of 30 days or less for small-to-medium enterprises.
“Supply chain financing is not unlawful, and in some cases can be a good option for small businesses. However, we are keen to ensure that supply chain financing is not used to push out payment terms for small business suppliers or require them to accept a discount in order to be paid within 30 days, especially during the COVID-19 environment,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.
“We are pleased these two companies have announced that they will take action to ensure that their payment and financing arrangements do not disproportionately burden small business suppliers.”
“We will continue to monitor the use of supply chain financing and extension of payment terms in small business contracts to identify conduct that raises concerns under the Australian Consumer Law, especially the provisions relating to unfair contract terms and unconscionable conduct,” Mr Sims said.
“Ensuring that small businesses receive the protections of the competition and consumer laws is a priority for the ACCC.”
Background
UGL is an engineering company that provides construction, maintenance and asset management services both within Australia and internationally.
Small businesses can lodge a small business report with the ACCC or contact the Small Business Helpline on 1300 302 021.
Issues impacting small businesses in the construction industry can be reported to the ACCC’s Commercial Construction Unit anonymously at ACCC.gov.au/ccu or contact the Infocentre on 1300 302 502.
Information about Unfair Contract Terms and Unconscionable Conduct can be found on the ACCC website.
Release number: 246/20ACCC Infocentre: Use this form to make a general enquiry.
Media enquiries: Media team – 1300 138 917
Audience

Media

Topics

Competition and Consumer Act 2010

25 November 2020New figures released today show COVID-19-related consumer reports make up the majority of the 109,446 complaints the ACCC received in the first ten months of this year.
The impact of COVID-19 on consumers and fair trading report reveals the pandemic’s impact on travel resulted in 24,210 complaints to the ACCC, an increase of 497 per cent compared to the same period last year.
Other industries with large increases in complaints to the ACCC so far this year include sport and recreation (up 134 per cent on the same period in 2019), fuel retailing (121 per cent), and insurance (104 per cent).
“The economic disruption from COVID-19 has led to a huge volume of varied and complex consumer law issues,” ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court said.
“Common misconduct we’ve received complaints about during the pandemic includes businesses misleading consumers about their right to a refund, or deducting cancellation fees from refunds when there is no contractual basis to do so.”
When cancellations occur due to government restrictions, Australians are not automatically entitled to a refund as they would be in normal circumstances under the consumer guarantees of the Australian Consumer Law.
For the vast majority of services and events cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions, it is the terms and conditions of each individual booking that determines whether consumers are entitled to a refund or credit note.
“The ACCC has had to step in and help consumers and businesses understand the legal ramifications of cancelled services,” Ms Court said.
In March this year, the ACCC adjusted its priorities to focus on competition and consumer issues arising from the pandemic and established a COVID-19 Taskforce to address immediate harm to consumers and small business.
The Taskforce has primarily focused on the travel industry, and its engagement with travel businesses to date has ensured that hundreds of thousands of consumers received the remedies they were entitled to under the terms and conditions of their contract.
“We decided early on that the best way we could help consumers was to educate businesses about their legal obligations and resolve issues quickly and efficiently, rather than taking court action,” Ms Court said.
“We announced some cases such as Flight Centre, Qantas and Etihad, where we worked with those businesses to improve their treatment of customers, but we’ve been doing a lot of other work behind the scenes with dozens of travel businesses to get refunds and other remedies for customers who had their holiday plans dashed.”
“The ACCC is very conscious of the fact that many businesses have struggled to process cancellations and respond to consumer queries as they have reduced staff capacity and are struggling to stay afloat. We have taken these issues into account in our engagement,” Ms Court said.
The COVID-19 Taskforce has also conducted engagement, compliance and education initiatives with more than 60 businesses from industries including live performance and ticketing, fitness and gymnasiums, online selling platforms, professional sports and food suppliers to help resolve consumer issues.
The report contains 15 case studies that demonstrate the different approaches used by the ACCC in addressing harm to consumers and small business.
“Unfortunately, the pandemic is likely to have a long term impact on many industries and the work of our Taskforce will have to continue as issues persist,” Ms Court said.
“The ACCC will work with the Federal Government and the state and territory consumer law regulators to consider whether policy reforms are required to address some of the gaps and other industry specific issues that COVID-19 has highlighted,” Ms Court said. 
Background
The ACCC publicly announced in March 2020 that it would be adjusting the focus of its regulatory activities to prioritise consumer and competition issues arising from the impact of COVID-19.
This priority shift led the ACCC to alter its day-to-day operations and direct its resources to COVID-19 specific work streams, including establishing an internal ACCC COVID-19 Taskforce.
The Taskforce has been working closely with other state and federal government agencies and regulators to share information and coordinate COVID-19-related activities.
As the primary competition regulator in Australia, the ACCC is closely monitoring key markets and industries to determine the impact of the pandemic on competition in the economy. The ACCC’s COVID-19 Taskforce continues to investigate reports of anti-competitive practices and alleged contraventions of the fair trading provisions, with a particular focus on the small business sector.
The ACCC has also been monitoring reports of COVID-19-related scams and sharing updates with other government agencies. The ACCC uses this information to develop public education campaign to alert consumers.
Release number: 247/20ACCC Infocentre: Use this form to make a general enquiry.
Media enquiries: Media team – 1300 138 917
Audience

Media

Topics

COVID-19

24 November 2020Losses to online shopping scams have increased 42 per cent this year, and Scamwatch is warning Australians to be careful when buying gifts this holiday season.
Scamwatch has received over 12,000 reports of online shopping scams so far this year, with almost $7 million in reported losses.
“More people have been shopping online this year due to COVID-19 restrictions and scammers are now targeting people doing their Christmas shopping, including in the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales,” ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said.
“Scammers create fake websites that look like genuine online stores, offering products at very low prices and victims will either receive a fake item or nothing at all.”
“They also post fake ads on classified websites, often claiming they are travelling and someone else will deliver the goods, but the item never arrives and the victim can no longer contact the seller.”
Losses on classified websites, such as Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree, have increased by 60 per cent this year, to $4.5 million.
Reports of online shopping scams involving consumer goods, such as shoes, phones, computers and toys, continue to be high. But the most common thing people were trying to buy when they were scammed was puppies and other pets.
People aged 24 and under reported the highest number of scams involving phones and computers.
“Watch out for popular products being sold at prices much lower than on other websites and sellers requesting payment through direct bank transfer or cryptocurrency,” Ms Rickard said.
“Take the time to consider who you are dealing with and don’t be pressured by special offers.”
“Do your research by checking independent reviews of online stores or the seller’s history on classified websites.”
Another scam to be aware of if you have made recent purchases online is fake parcel delivery notifications via text message or email.
“Australia Post will never ask you to click a link to enter your personal details, nor will they ask for credit card details or a fee to deliver your packages,” Ms Rickard said.
“If you have been the victim of a scam, contact your bank as soon as possible and contact the platform on which you were scammed to inform them of the circumstances.”
Most financial institutions offer a charge back service for credit cards and will dispute a credit transaction with the merchant if they still exist.
More information on scams is available on the Scamwatch website, including how to make a report and where to get help.
You can follow @scamwatch_gov on Twitter and subscribe to Scamwatch radar alerts.
Background:
Top ten products for online shopping and classified scams

Number
Product
Reports
Losses

1
Pets
2111
$2 050 158

2
Shoes
569
$81 502

3
Vehicles
568
$808 571

4
Phones
428
$258 199

5
Laptop/computer/drones/iPads
356
$205 496

6
Clothing
250
$35 693

7
Toys
204
$39 498

8
Games/Nintendo/X-box/Jigsaw
182
$381 110

9
Barbeques
173
$55 552

10
Handbags and bags
110
$55 788

 
Release number: 245/20ACCC Infocentre: Use this form to make a general enquiry.
Media enquiries: Media team – 1300 138 917
Audience

Consumers
Media

Topics

Scams