What is the ACCC?

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is the independent federal regulator that enforces competition law and consumer protection across Australia. It was established under the Trade Practices Act 1974 (now the Competition and Consumer Act 2010) and operates from offices in every state capital. The ACCC is run by a chairperson, currently Gina Cass-Gottlieb, and a small team of commissioners appointed by the federal government.

The ACCC's main jobs are to enforce the Australian Consumer Law (which protects shoppers from misleading claims, faulty products, and unfair contract terms), to enforce the competition provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act (which prohibit cartels, abuse of market power, and anti-competitive mergers), to regulate access to essential infrastructure such as the National Broadband Network and key gas pipelines, and to oversee specific industries such as telecommunications, fuel, supermarkets, and energy retailing.

Consumer protections under the Australian Consumer Law include automatic consumer guarantees on goods and services (the right to a refund, repair, or replacement when something fails), the right to accurate advertising and pricing, protection against unfair contract terms in standard form contracts, and specific rules about door-to-door sales, telephone sales, lay-by, and online purchases. The ACCC works with state and territory consumer protection agencies (such as NSW Fair Trading and Consumer Affairs Victoria) to enforce these protections jointly.

Consumers who think a business has broken the law can make a report through the ACCC website (accc.gov.au) or by calling 1300 302 502. The ACCC publishes annual compliance and enforcement priorities, and has taken major actions against airlines for misleading advertising, supermarkets for misleading discounts, telecommunications companies for slow NBN speeds, and platform operators for fake reviews. Penalties for breaches can reach 50 million dollars or three times the benefit derived from the breach for companies, with personal penalties up to 2.5 million dollars for individuals.