ACCC gets a bigger stick: Maximum penalty for breaching the Australian Consumer Law substantially increases

Amidst the recent leadership chaos in Canberra, you could easily be forgiven for failing to notice that Parliament recently passed legislation which substantially increases the maximum pecuniary penalty that may be ordered under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL).

As of 1 September 2018,¹ the maximum civil pecuniary penalty for corporations under the ACL increased from $1.1 million per contravention to the greater of:

• $10 million; or
• if the court can determine the value of the benefit obtained from the offence by the corporation (and any related bodies corporate) – three times the value of the benefit; or
• if the court cannot determine the value of the benefit – 10% of the annual turnover of the corporation.