Celebrating 10 years of wins under Australian Consumer Law

On March 15, the NSW
Government is celebrating not only World Consumer Rights Day but also the
10-year anniversary of Australian Consumer Law (ACL).

On 1 January 2011, the
ACL was implemented, replacing 17 Commonwealth, state and territory
consumer protection laws, the largest overhaul of Australia’s consumer laws in
25 years.

NSW Fair Trading has led
the charge on a number of successful investigations that have had a
national impact and changed the landscape of certain industries for good.

Lead in Hashmi kohl
eyeliner

In 2018, after imported
kohl eyeliners caused lead poisoning in 3 children, NSW Fair Trading and
NSW Health undertook joint inspections of targeted locations in Western Sydney
to locate and purchase suspected non-compliant Hashmi brand cosmetics. The
products were believed to be manufactured in Pakistan and imported to
Australia. 

Testing of these
products showed dangerous lead content of up to 84% and high levels
of dangerous metals like arsenic, cadmium, chromium and mercury. 

Collaboration by ACL
regulators throughout Australia and NSW Health resulted in
suppliers removing the products from sale and conducting voluntary
recalls.

Android Enjoyed and
Camera Sky 

In 2019, online
electronics retailer Android Enjoyed and Camera Sky was fined a
record $3.15 million after it failed to deliver mobile phones, cameras and
other electronic goods to customers across Australia. This was the highest
fine ever obtained by NSW Fair Trading.

VET FEE-HELP training
providers 

In 2016, unscrupulous
higher education providers targeted vulnerable consumers with
‘free’ incentives like laptops and cash to get them to sign up for courses
and large Government debts. 

Many of the students
enrolled were unable to read or understand what they were signing up for
and therefore unlikely to be able to complete the courses but would have been
left with significant student debt. 

NSW Fair Trading and the
ACCC found a number of institutions, including Australian Institute of
Professional Education Pty Ltd (AIPE) and Unique International College Pty
Ltd (Unique) were found to be engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct.

Another, Cornerstone
Investments trading as Empower Institute, received a combined penalty of
$26.5M and orders to repay $56 million in tertiary education funding to
the Commonwealth. The investigation saw a revision of the VET FEE-HELP
scheme.

Danoz Direct 

In 2011, TV shopping
company Danoz Direct agreed to change a number of their business practices
after an investigation led by NSW Fair Trading on behalf of all Australian
consumer protection agencies.

The investigation found
a number of breaches of the ACL including misleading 

representations about
products and their true cost, difficult to access terms and
conditions, non-delivery of goods and consumers continuing to be charged
for goods they had returned.

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