AUSTRALIAN CONSUMER LAW

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (15:12): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Consumer Affairs a question about the new Australian Consumer Law.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: Under the new Australia Consumer Law which came into effect earlier this year, the Office of Consumer and Business Affairs may issue expiation notices for breaches of the law on lower level conduct matters or first time offenders. My question to the minister is: how has the Office of Consumer and Business Affairs acted to enforce new conditions under the Australian Consumer Law?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Public Sector Management, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister for Gambling) (13:12): I thank the honourable member for his important question. As members may be aware, the Office of Consumer and Business Affairs undertakes statewide trader monitoring every year. Last year a monitoring program was undertaken which targeted retailers in the Adelaide metropolitan and regional areas. The main focus of the program was to educate traders regarding consumer refund rights and warranties under the new Australian Consumer Law.

The Australian Consumer Law came into effect on 1 January 2011. The ACL includes national product safety laws and sets out the responsibilities of the commonwealth, state and territory governments and also suppliers. The ACL aims to protect consumers from unsafe goods and unsafe products and also related services. The ACL enhances consumer protection, as businesses now have the same obligations and responsibilities right across Australia, and the commonwealth, state and territory regulators are applying and enforcing uniform laws now right across Australia.

I am very pleased that, in line with the ongoing responsibility to consumers, OCBA officers visited a total of 265 metropolitan and 169 regional retail stores with the aim of monitoring traders' refund signage and practices with respect to refund rights and warranties. Of the 434 traders visited, I am very pleased to say that 362 were found to be fully compliant during the audit, but 72 were found to have incorrect refund signs or statements on dockets deemed to mislead consumers about their statutory warranty and refund rights. The incorrect signs were removed, and traders were given the option of using the OCBA refund rights sign template. Traders were also given relevant advice and information brochures. First-time offenders were issued a warning.

In recent months, OCBA officers conducted 44 follow-up visits to traders who failed to take adequate action in response to OCBA's written warning, and I am advised that 11 of the traders revisited were found to have signs or receipts that did not appear to comply with legislation. That is always disappointing, particularly when they were given the chance to do the right thing. After further investigation, OCBA issued expiation notices to five traders for infringement under the ACL and as a consequence of warranty and refund statements that were considered to be misleading.

Under the ACL, OCBA can seek penalties of up to $1.1 million for companies and $220,000 for individuals who make false and misleading statements. Expiation notices may also be issued for lower-level conduct matters or first breaches. The new laws are designed to strengthen consumer protection, and OCBA will continue to monitor businesses and ensure that consumers are not misled about their warranty and refund rights. In addition, OCBA continues to focus on educating South Australians about their rights and responsibilities through trader and consumer education campaigns.