Mackay Chapman June 2023 ACCC Update

In this month’s ACCC update:

• Federal budget allocates $58 million to the ACCC to develop a new National Anti-Scam Centre; 
• The Reject Shop and Dusk are the first retailers to be hit with infringement notices related to new button battery standards; 
• Parents and guardians are urged to participate in the ACCC Parents and Guardians Survey;
• ACCC launches public inquiry to decide whether nine wholesale telecommunications services should continue to be regulated; and
• Deputy Chair Mick Keogh reappointed for a further 5 years.

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The Australian Government grants the ACCC $58 million in funding to set up the National Anti-Scam Centre (NASC)over the next 2 years

The Australian Government had made a commitment with the ACCC to establish a new National Anti-Scam Centre (NASC).

Last week’s Budget announcement allocated $58 million in funding to the ACCC. This funding is to complete the set up of the National Anti-Scam centre, over the next 24 months.

“We’ll be using this funding to build the technology needed to support high frequency data sharing with a range of agencies, law enforcement and the private sector, with the mission to make Australia a harder target for scammers,” ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said.

“The centre will bring together the expertise and resources to disrupt scammers making contact with Australians, raise consumer awareness about how to avoid scams, and link scam victims to services where they have lost money or had their identity compromised.”

See more here.

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Australian retailers Dusk and The Reject Shop pay nearly $240,000 in penalties to the ACCC over the supply of Halloween products containing potentially lethal button batteries

The Reject Shop and Dusk have paid a total of nearly $240,000 after the ACCC issued them with infringement notices related to the supply of Halloween novelty products. The products contained potentially lethal button batteries and do not comply with mandatory product safety and information standards.

The penalties paid by discount retailer The Reject Shop and national homewares retailer Dusk are the ACCC’s first enforcement outcomes after new button battery standards were introduced last year. 

The standards require products to have secure battery compartments to prevent children from gaining access to the batteries, button batteries must be sold in child resistant packaging, and warnings and emergency advice must be on packaging and instructions.

“Button batteries are extremely dangerous for young children and tragically, children have been seriously injured or died from swallowing or ingesting them,” ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said.

See more here.

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ACCC urges parents and guardians nationwide to take part in the Parents and Guardians Survey in order to gain feedback on accessibility of childcare 

In initial responses to an ACCC Parents and Guardians Survey, many Australians reported having their return to work delayed due to a lack of childcare while some are struggling with ‘extremely expensive’ fees.

“We urge more parents and guardians to tell us about their experiences accessing quality and affordable childcare,” ACCC Chair, Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.

“We are especially looking to hear from parents and guardians living in Queensland and Tasmania.”

So far more than 2000 families have responded to the survey, which will provide critical information for the ACCC’s Childcare Inquiry which delivers its interim report next month. The survey closes on June 4 and the ACCC is urging more families to take part.

See more here.

A public inquiry has been launched by the ACCC to decide whether nine wholesale telecommunications services should continue to be regulated

The ACCC has today commenced a combined public inquiry into whether nine wholesale telecommunications services that support the provision of broadband, voice and data transmission services should continue to be regulated.

The nine services that this inquiry will examine are subject to current declarations that will expire in2024. Broadly, these services enable access to Telstra’s legacy access network, interconnection of networks for the purpose of voice calls, the resale of analogue fixed line phone services, data transmission, and ADSL resale.

See more here.

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ACCC Deputy Chair Mick Keogh has been reappointed for a further 5 years

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has announced the reappointment of ACCC Deputy Chair Mick Keogh for a further five years, starting from 30 May 2023.

Mr Keogh joined the ACCC as a part-time Commissioner in February 2016, and was appointed Deputy Chair in 2018 with particular responsibility for the ACCC’s work in small business and agriculture.

“Mick’s contributions have been critical to much of the ACCC’s work during the past 7 years, including our Murray-Darling Basin water trading inquiry, our agriculture-focused market studies, and our activities in competition exemptions, mergers, product safety and enforcement,” ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.

See more here.

If any of the above is relevant to you or you want to know more, please feel free to get in touch.

‍The contents of this article do not constitute legal advice and it is not intended to be a substitute for legal advice and should not be relied upon as such.  It is designed and intended as general information in summary form, current at the time of publication, for general informational purposes only.  You should seek legal advice or other professional advice in relation to any particular legal matters you or your organisation may have.