Consumer protection

McDonald’s Brazil in a (Mc)Flurry

July 5, 2014 | 0 Comments

McDonald’s – the official restaurant of the FIFA Brazil World Cup – has been cleared of abuse of dominance allegations against its Brazilian subsidiary by the country’s antitrust regulator. The Conselho de Administrativo de Defesa...

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Airlines in deep water over drip pricing

June 20, 2014 | 0 Comments

The ACCC has launched Federal Court proceedings against Jetstar Airways (“Jetstar”) and Virgin Australia Airlines (“Virgin”) in relation to so-called “drip pricing” of airfares on their online sites. The ACCC alleges that the airlines engaged...

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Creating an even plane field

June 5, 2014 | 0 Comments

On 4 June 2014, ACCC Commissioner Dr Jill Walker spoke at the Swinburne Aviation Industry Conference on competition issues in the Australian aviation sector. Dr Walker’s speech is a timely reminder of the numerous competition...

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Earlier this month, the ACCC added another $50,000 to its penalties piggy bank as a result of two further proceedings against Harvey Norman franchisees. This takes the total penalties ordered against Harvey Norman franchisees since December 2013...

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Taxing times for misleading franchisor

May 19, 2014 | 0 Comments

Last Friday, the Federal Court made orders by consent declaring that the defendant accounting firm, Taxsmart, made false and misleading representations about its graduate program for young accounting graduates, in contravention of section 18 of...

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The Abbott Government’s first Federal Budget brings no significant surprises from a competition and consumer law perspective. The ACCC has secured a modest amount of additional funding, largely to assist it to “monitor prices and...

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The Full Court of the Federal Court has allowed an appeal by the ACCC against the former Tasmanian Europcar franchisee, BAJV Pty Ltd (BAJV), and BAJV’s director Brendon Ayers.  BAJV was ordered to pay a...

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The Federal Court has drawn a clear line as to what fuel discounts major supermarkets are able to offer in excess of 4 cents per litre. The two decisions follow the ACCC’s applications to enforce...

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To be or not to be Australian Made

April 16, 2014 | 0 Comments

Only a week after a new inquiry was announced into country of origin food labelling (blogged about here), the ACCC has published guidance, the Country of origin claims and Australian Consumer Law Guide (Guide), to...

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ACCC the subject of penalty envy

April 7, 2014 | 1 Comments

In March, ASIC published a report that contrasts the penalties available to it for enforcement corporate wrongdoing with those available to regulators in overseas jurisdictions for similar types of conduct and to other regulators in...

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