In the media
Direction about advertisements: Mr David
Leyonhjelm
Mr Leyonhjelm was directed to cease advertising a
prescription medicine for the treatment of Covid-19, and making
claims or representations in advertisements for any therapeutic
goods that those goods have any effect on COVID-19 (including that
said therapeutic goods are capable of preventing, treating or
alleviating COVID-19) (08 February 2021).
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WWO fined $24m for criminal cartel conduct
On 18 June 2020 Wilhelmsen Ocean AS pleaded guilty to
criminal cartel conduct. It has now been convicted and ordered by
the Federal Court to pay a fine of $24 million. This is the third
criminal prosecution arising from the global shipping cartel (05
February 2021).
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Australia fines Wallenius Wilhelmsen $18.25 M completing
cartel case
The Federal Court in Australia completed the sentencing
phase for Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean, the Norwegian car carrier,
fining the company $18.25 million in Australia's long-running
criminal cartel case. The company was charged with colluding with
its Japanese competitors between 2009 and 2012. WWO plead guilty to
the charges in June 2020 after cooperating with the ACCC in its
investigation into the transportation market (04 February 2021).
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Court win against solar company who broke door-to-door
sales laws
Consumers are being reminded of their rights when
approached by door-to-door salespeople after Consumer Affairs
Victoria successfully took a solar company to the Federal Court for
using aggressive sales tactics and misleading consumers (05
February 2021).
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Class action meeting for Fonterra suppliers
The lawyers accuse Fonterra of engaging in misleading and
deceptive conduct, acting unconscionably and breaching contracts it
had with dairy farmers. It alleges that Fonterra failed to honour
its obligation to match the price of Murray Goulburn, another major
dairy processor (03 February 2021).
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ACCC has eyes for Googles advertising
A lack of competition and transparency in the digital
advertising technology supply chain is impacting on publishers,
advertisers and consumers according to an interim report from the
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (01 February 2021).
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Practice and Regulation
Interim report of the Commission's Digital
Advertising Services Inquiry
ACCC was currently seeking feedback on a series of
possible options which are set out in the Interim Report. Feedback
on the Interim Report would be received until 26 February. The
ACCC's Interim Report, including information on how to have a
say, can be accessed
here..
ACCC Note: Screen scraping warnings not
anti-competitive
The ACCC, responding to questions on notice as part of a
parliamentary inquiry by the
Senate Select Committee on Financial Technology and Regulatory
Technology, said that "statements or warnings regarding
potential security or safety risks associated with screen scraping
and sharing passwords ... does not appear to have the purpose or
effect of substantially lessening competition." On 24 April
2020, the reporting date was extended from the first sitting day in
October 2020 to 16 April 2021.
Guidelines on Part XICA - Prohibited conduct in the
energy market
These guidelines set out how the ACCC will interpret Part
XICA of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) and they
explain the general approach the ACCC will take in investigating
alleged contraventions of Part XICA (prohibiting certain conduct
involving retail pricing, financial contract markets and
electricity spot markets).
Part XICA will be in effect from 10 June 2020 to 1 January 2026.
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Cases
Director, Consumer Affairs Victoria v Vic Solar Pty Ltd (No
2) [2021] FCA 26
CONSUMER LAW – door to door marketing and sale of
residential solar photovoltaic panels and inverters – alleged
misleading representations in contravention of ss 18, 29 and 33 of
the Australian Consumer Law – whether the respondent entered
into unsolicited consumer agreements and contravened ss 73, 74, 76,
78, 79, 84 and 86 of the Australian Consumer Law – whether
the respondent's marketing and sales methods were
unconscionable in contravention of s 21 of the Australian Consumer
Law – whether allegations invoked Federal jurisdiction
Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) ss 131, 139B(2)
Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) Schedule 2 (Australian
Consumer Law) ss 18, 21, 29, 33, 69, 70, 72, 73, 74, 76, 78, 79,
84, 86, 224, 232, 237, 248
Australian Consumer Law and Fair Trading Act 2012 (Vic) ss 8, 10,
107, 109(g), 110, 126, 196(2)
Federal Court Rules 2011 (Cth) rr 4.04(3), 4.05(1)(b)
Competition and Consumer Regulations 2010 (Cth) regulations 83, 84,
85
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