1st July 2010
ACCC Small Business Information Network (SBIN)
Dear SBIN members,
Please find below some recent updates regarding the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC)’s activities relating to the small business sector.
Unfair contract terms
Today a new law comes into force which will provide greater protection to consumers when entering into standard form contracts. The law strengthens protection against unfair terms in standard form consumer contracts and provides the ACCC, ASIC and state and territory consumer protection agencies with an important tool to address systemic problems that have developed from the use of standard form contracts.
Businesses using standard form contracts in their dealings with individual consumers should review them now to ensure compliance with the new laws. To assist businesses in understanding their obligations the ACCC has issued a specific business publication with a simple, easy to read overview of the new provisions. This publication complements the previously released A guide to the unfair contract terms law, which was developed jointly by the ACCC, ASIC and the state and territory consumer protection agencies.
Both publications are available for download from the ACCC website:
Unfair contract terms, news for business
Guide to the Unfair contract terms law
Related media release:
New financial year, new laws for consumers and franchisees
Be aware of scams targeting your business at the end of the financial year
At this time of year, businesses around Australia are getting their financial affairs in order. When you are organising your business at tax time, it is important to remember that scams often target businesses as well as consumers – especially at this time of year. Scammers rely on the fact that small business owners and managers are very busy and may agree to sign up for services or pay for goods that they haven’t ordered or received without thinking about it.
Scams targeting small businesses come in various forms—from sending invoices for advertising or directory listings that that the business has never heard of, to the delivery of office supplies that were never ordered.
You can protect yourself and your business by being organised with your financial affairs and being aware of the common scams targeting small businesses. Yesterday the ACCC issued a SCAMwatch radar alert to its subscribers, alerting them to the issue of scams at this time of year. This radar is also available on the SCAMwatch website. The ACCC has also published a fact sheet which outlines the scams common types of scams which target small business. This fact sheet is available on the ACCC website.
Related ACCC publications:
Scams: protect your business from them
For further information visit the ACCC website, the SCAMwatch website or contact your local ACCC Regional Outreach Manager listed below.
Victoria Peter Eynaud 03 9290 6977 peter.eynaud@accc.gov.au
NSW Martino Santi 02 9230 9121 martino.santi@accc.gov.au
NSW Dave Badewitz 02 9230 9166 david.badewitz@accc.gov.au
WA Siobhan O’Gara 08 9325 0608 siobhan.ogara@accc.gov.au
WA Murray Beigel 08 9325 0602 murray.beigel@accc.gov.au
QLD Albert Julum 0438 946 177 albert.julum@accc.gov.au
SA Greg Trengove 08 8213 3456 greg.trengove@accc.gov.au
SA Angus McAulay 08 8213 3429 angus.mcaulay@accc.gov.au
TAS David McFie 03 6215 9304 david.macfie@accc.gov.au
NT Inta Tumuls 08 8946 9606 inta.tumuls@accc.gov.au
Feel free to pass this information on to others who may find it useful.
Kind regards,
Small Business & Outreach Section
Compliance Strategies
Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC)
