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ARTICLE · 23 APRIL 2017

Australian Consumer Law review: Final report imminent

Holding Redlich
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The Government's response to this report into the ACL may have wide ranging implications in the communications sector.

AustraliaConsumer Protection
Angela Flannery
Angela Flannery
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A comprehensive review of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) was undertaken in 2016 through Consumer Affairs Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ). The review was required to be undertaken under the terms of the Intergovernmental Agreement for the Australian Consumer Law.

The terms of reference for the review were broad, looking not only at whether the ACL is operating as intended (and not imposing unnecessary regulatory burdens on industry), but also considering the effectiveness of the multiple regulator enforcement model, whether the ACL has met COAG's objectives, and the flexibility of the framework to deal with emerging issues.

An interim report was issued in October 2016 for consultation, with submissions closing in December 2016. The interim report indicated that there was general stakeholder agreement that the ACL is functioning well, though there are areas for improvement. The Interim Report asked for feedback on a broad range of issues including for example,

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