Five updated guides have been released for businesses to gain a better understanding of their rights and obligations under Australian Consumer Law.
According to NSW Fair Trading’s website, the guides focusing on specific topics: Consumer Guarantees, Unfair Contract Terms, Consumer Product Safety, Sales Practices and Avoiding Unfair Business Practices.
The guides were developed by Access Canberra, the ACCC, ASIC, Consumer Affairs Victoria, Consumer and Business Services South Australia, NSW Fair Trading, NT Consumer Affairs, the QLD Office of Fair Trading, the WA Department of Commerce and Consumer Protection and Consumer, Building and Occupational Services, Tasmania.
The Consumer Guarantees guide focuses on: who guarantees what, what consumer guarantees cover, statements made by businesses about consumer guarantees, consumer guarantees applying to goods, problems with goods, consumer guarantees applying to services, problems with services, compensation for consequential loss, types of warranties, consumer claims against the manufacturer, limits on compensation for non-household goods or services, suppliers fixing problems and receipts.
The Unfair Contract Terms guide focuses on: the types of contracts that the Australian Consumer Law applies to, exemptions from unfair contract term laws, what the definition of unfair is under the law and enforcement of the law.
The Consumer Product Safety guide focuses on: national consumer product safety laws, what the consumer product safety laws cover, safety warning notices, bans on consumer goods or products, mandatory safety standards, recall of consumer goods, product liability and when consumer goods or products may cause serious injury, illness or death.
The Sales Practices guide focuses on: unsolicited supplies, unsolicited consumer agreements,proof of transaction and itemised bills, pricing, lay-by agreements, referral selling, harassment and coercion, pyramid schemes, and warranties, refunds, repairs (consumer guarantees).
The Avoiding Unfair Business Practices guide focuses on: misleading or deceptive conduct, false or misleading representations, unconscionable conduct and representations about country or place of origin.
All of the guides contain relevant examples and case studies.
According to NSW Fair Trading’s media release, consumer regulators around Australia have co-operated to educate businesses about their consumer rights and obligations, with the guides being updated regularly to be used as a toolkit.
The guides can be viewed and downloaded for free here.
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