Watchdog updates
Practical updates on consumer law, product safety, privacy, marketing and responsible sourcing across Australia and New Zealand.
Search every update
Search titles, topics, jurisdictions and the practical action guidance in every published update.
Latest updates
Sale pricing, discounts, reference prices, offer conditions and urgency claims.
A practical pre-launch guide to Black Friday discounts, deadlines, exclusions, ‘up to’ claims and early-access offers.
Approve one source-of-truth offer matrix, retain price evidence, make limits prominent and retest every channel when the campaign changes.
EnergyAustralia admitted breaching the Electricity Retail Code by failing to make the required Solar Sharer Offer available from 1 July 2026. It introduced the offer on 3 August and gave a court-enforceable undertaking.
For every regulated offer or customer program, map the commencement date, eligibility, pricing, disclosures, operational launch and staff support. Treat a delayed launch as a compliance failure rather than an ordinary project delay.
This does not change the law. The Commerce Commission has identified online sales conduct, accurate pricing and promotions, and misleading savings or urgency as 2026–27 enforcement priorities.
Review online journeys for fake reviews, unsupported scarcity or social-proof claims, drip pricing and subscription friction, and retain evidence for every price, saving and urgency claim.
Four infringement notices were paid over alleged strike-through pricing and returns-policy representations. Payment is not an admission that the law was contravened.
Use genuine price history for comparison claims and make sure returns wording preserves Australian Consumer Law remedies rather than presenting a store policy as the only right.
Christofi Investments paid $39,600 after the ACCC issued two infringement notices over allegedly misleading strikethrough pricing on two Ugg websites. The ACCC alleged the products had not been offered or sold at the higher price in a reasonable preceding period. Payment of an infringement-notice penalty is not an admission of contravention.
Require product- and channel-specific price-history evidence before publishing a was/now or strikethrough comparison. Recheck the claim while it is live and withdraw it when the comparison no longer conveys a genuine saving.
The ACCC reported refunds and process improvements following allegedly misleading ‘was/now’ displays. The matter was resolved without a formal court finding.
Reconcile campaign inputs against live displayed prices, alert on impossible or stale comparisons and maintain a fast customer-remediation route when a pricing error is found.
The Federal Court found 13 of 14 sample ‘Down Down’ tickets misleading following temporary price increases. Penalty and final-order status must be checked separately before being quoted.
Test the complete price sequence and duration behind every savings or reduced-price message, and retain SKU-level evidence supporting the represented comparison.
The Federal Court ordered $15 million in aggregate penalties after admissions concerning false strike-through prices, savings claims and limited-time messages or countdown timers.
Keep product-level price history, use genuine campaign deadlines and test that countdowns, extensions and reset behaviour match the urgency message customers see.
The ACCC reported concerns after reviewing about 50 retailers and commenced investigations. The regulator’s concerns are not findings that any identified business contravened the law.
Check that urgency is real, exclusions are prominent, ‘up to’ claims reflect a meaningful product range and comparison prices are supported before peak-event campaigns launch.
This does not change the law. The ACCC’s priorities increase practical scrutiny of misleading retail pricing, manipulative digital practices, harmful cancellation terms and product-safety compliance.
Prioritise evidence-backed price claims, test digital sales and cancellation journeys, and confirm applicable mandatory-standard evidence before launch.
Mandatory standards, warnings and product-safety requirements.
The ACCC is calling for mandatory product-safety duties for online marketplaces. This update explains what is proposed, what already applies and what retailers and marketplace operators should do now.
Map who screens sellers and products, holds evidence, receives incidents, removes unsafe listings, prevents relisting, identifies customers and coordinates recalls across every sales and fulfilment channel.
A practical guide to sunglasses classification, mandatory-standard testing, lens categories, labels, UV and polarisation claims, recalls and supplier evidence across Australia and New Zealand.
Classify each product, confirm the market-specific pathway, map every model and lens variant to reliable test evidence, and check the category, label and claims before supply.
A practical guide to sunscreen classification, SPF evidence, ARTG and product-safety requirements, labels, advertising and private-label risks across Australia and New Zealand.
Classify the exact product, identify each supply role, match the product to its listing and testing evidence, and review the label and every promotional claim before sale.
A practical guide to Australia’s mandatory standards for aquatic toys, swimming and flotation aids and portable pools, the enforcement consequences of non-compliance and the different New Zealand pathway.
Identify the applicable mandatory standard before testing or supply, then verify the evidence, permanent warnings, instructions, packaging and market-specific pool information.
A practical guide to deciding when hooded towels, wearable blankets and infant sleep bags are regulated children’s nightwear, and what suppliers must check before sale.
Classify the exact product, then verify testing, fire-hazard labels, packaging and online listings for each market before stock is ordered or supplied.
A practical map of knife classification, buyer-age, retail-display, storage, import and online-sale requirements across Australia and New Zealand.
Classify each knife and check the rules for the buyer, delivery location, sales channel and import route before stock is ordered or listed.
The Full Federal Court dismissed City Beach’s appeal against the $14 million penalty for supplying non-compliant button-battery products. The underlying findings covered more than 60 product types supplied on over 54,000 occasions, and the penalty remains in effect.
Use a model- and SKU-specific release gate for every product containing a button or coin battery. Verify secure compartments, applicable testing, required warnings and traceable evidence before supply, and block purchasing, listing and replenishment where evidence is incomplete.
Fruugo became the sixth signatory to the strengthened Australian Product Safety Pledge, joining Amazon Australia, eBay Australia, AliExpress, Gumtree and Temu. The voluntary framework contains 15 commitments that go beyond current legal requirements, including regulator monitoring, rapid takedown pathways, relisting controls and annual reporting. Signing is not an ACCC endorsement and does not replace legal obligations.
Marketplaces and businesses selling through them should build regulator monitoring, traceable takedowns, repeat-seller controls and recall escalation into ordinary operations. Suppliers should not assume that a listing remaining live proves the product is safe or compliant.
The Government announced that New Zealand will introduce safety standards using an accepted overseas pathway. The announcement is policy direction, not yet an operative mandatory standard.
Identify affected products and supplier evidence now, but wait for the final instrument, commencement and transition terms before treating a particular standard as mandatory in New Zealand.
The 2026 mandatory standard updates permitted technical pathways and warnings, with a transition running to June 2028. The new instrument controls any saved use of the former pathway.
Classify each aquatic toy, select one permitted compliance route for the supply date, and keep model-matched testing, warning artwork and transition evidence.
The ACCC requested removal of listings for toys and games containing potentially banned small high-powered magnets. A takedown request is a compliance intervention, not a court finding.
Screen listings and supplier files for magnet size and flux risk, act quickly on safety intelligence and block relisting through duplicate, image and seller controls.
The ACCC commenced Federal Court proceedings alleging missing button-battery warnings on children’s backpacks. Liability has not been determined.
Treat marketplace possession, control and supply as active risk questions, and verify every required product, packaging, online and accompanying warning before listing.
The District Court sentenced the retailer after guilty pleas concerning toys that did not comply with the prescribed safety standard and presented potential choking risks.
Match testing and supplier evidence to the exact product, model and supplied construction, and quarantine stock when samples, components or classifications do not align.
Current requirements apply to infant sleep products and specified inclined non-sleep products across safety, supplied information, product markings, packaging and online or in-store warnings.
Classify every mode and marketing representation, obtain model-matched performance evidence and verify each warning route before supply.
The Cosmetic Products Group Standard expanded to products containing a hazardous ingredient even where the final product is not classified hazardous, with staged ingredient and stock transitions.
Recheck formulation, ingredient schedules, reporting, sale-through and disposal dates for each product; do not assume one transition deadline applies to every control.
The Federal Court ordered $14 million in penalties after admissions concerning widespread supply of products that did not comply with button-battery safety and information standards.
Require product-level pre-supply testing and warning evidence, control variants and promotional goods, and treat recall speed and governance as board-level safety issues.
Amended electrical-safety requirements commenced with a transition allowing regulated participants to use the previous or amended pathway through November 2026, subject to the exact rules.
Record the product, batch and supply date, select a complete permitted pathway and update declarations, testing and standards references before the transition closes.
Amended gas-safety requirements commenced with transition treatment for certain products offered or ordered before the relevant 2026 date, provided the instrument’s conditions are met.
Check product-specific certification, marking, offer or order dates and safety status; retain the evidence supporting any reliance on the previous pathway.
The undertaking records an admission of likely contravention involving a branded headband containing button batteries and sets matter-specific corrective and compliance commitments.
Extend safety approval, supplier evidence, warning and recall controls to licensed, promotional and third-party manufactured merchandise—not only core product lines.
Regulators reported that most assessed suppliers had at least one product with an apparent warning gap. Surveillance results are regulator assessments, not court findings against every business reviewed.
Audit category classification and all four information routes—online, in store, on product and in instructions—and correct incomplete or misplaced warnings promptly.
The transition ended, leaving the current standard’s permitted whole-standard pathways, exclusions and marking requirements as the applicable product-safety route.
Choose one complete permitted technical pathway and keep model, size, construction, retention-system, marking and instruction evidence aligned with the product supplied.
Product recalls, incidents and corrective action.
Two separate August recalls show different child-product failure modes. In Australia, specified Dusty and Jimmy pull-string sensory toys may not comply with the mandatory standard because strings are too long and small parts may detach. In New Zealand, a specified Secret Diary Pen with UV Light is being recalled because its button-battery compartment may not be adequately secured. These are product-specific recalls, not findings about every sensory toy or UV pen.
Check the exact product names, SKUs, barcodes, sales periods and markets against stock and customer records. Quarantine affected units, stop sale and replenishment, follow the official remedy instructions and preserve evidence of notification, recovery and disposal.
The recall identifies missing mandatory toppling-furniture warning labels on a free-standing monitor stand. A recall is application evidence, not a judicial interpretation of every category boundary.
Classify furniture by function, dimensions and intended use, then verify online, in-store, on-product and instruction warnings before supply and after listing changes.
The recall concerned a buckle and strap sewing defect that could cause the retention system to fail. It is product-specific recall evidence, not a finding about other models.
Link compliance evidence to controlled production construction, inspect safety-critical stitching and components, and treat batch variation as a trigger for renewed assessment.
Customer reviews, influencers, endorsements and commercial affiliations.
In August 2026, The TV Shop was fined NZ$1.104 million for a range of Fair Trading Act offending that included systematic review manipulation. The case follows earlier Australian cases over several years, including penalties of A$3 million for Meriton, A$2.9 million for HealthEngine - which also covered separate patient-information conduct - and A$600,000 for Service Seeking.
Use an end-to-end review governance process: control how reviewers are invited, verify genuine experience, identify and disclose material relationships or incentives, preserve the reviewer’s genuine overall message, apply neutral moderation rules, monitor the published results for distortion and retain evidence of each step.
The ACCC has commenced proceedings alleging that Grill’d overstated the donations and environmental contribution connected with its Tree Day Tuesday promotion, including representations that $1 from every Tuesday burger purchase would be donated towards tree planting. The allegations have not been determined by the Court.
Treat a charity, donation or environmental promotion as a measurable representation. Define the trigger, amount, exclusions, recipient, timing and environmental outcome before launch, and reconcile the published claim to transaction and payment evidence.
Hismile paid $138,600 under seven infringement notices concerning social media videos. The ACCC’s concerns included employees presented as apparently random shoppers and separate Glostik Tooth Gloss efficacy representations. In a court-enforceable undertaking, Hismile admitted that relevant conduct contravened or was likely to contravene the Australian Consumer Law.
Do not present employees, affiliates or paid creators as independent members of the public. Disclose material relationships clearly, substantiate product-performance claims and review the overall impression of every edited social video before publication.
The ACCC issued infringement notices over allegedly misleading influencer reviews. Payment of the notices is not an admission that the law was contravened.
Make reviewer identity, incentives and commercial relationships clear, and prevent scripts or editing from creating the impression of an independent customer experience.
Consumer guarantees, unfair practices, remedies and regulatory reform.
The ACCC has signalled closer attention to the systems, incentives and governance behind harmful digital retail outcomes. See what retailers should review now.
Test complete customer journeys across marketing, pricing, checkout, subscriptions, cancellation, consumer remedies and marketplace controls, then connect each material screen to its evidence, owner, incentives and approvals.
A detailed guide to Australian Consumer Law guarantees, major and non-major failures, remedies, warranties, return costs and practical business obligations.
Review returns policies, customer-service scripts, assessment pathways and supplier-recovery processes so each claim receives the remedy required by the facts and the ACL.
Five recent developments involving subscriptions, button batteries, customer reviews, marketing consent and biometric privacy.
Review the live customer journey, product controls, marketing systems and biometric processing, then address gaps before they become enforcement or remediation issues.
The enacted reforms introduce a broad prohibition on unfair trading practices and specific requirements for transaction-based charges and subscription contracts. They start on 1 July 2027, so the present position is enacted future law rather than an obligation already in operation.
Use the preparation period to review complete customer journeys, not only terms and conditions. Prioritise digital design, unavoidable charges, free trials, renewals, cancellation, sales pressure and situations where information or friction may distort a customer's choice.
Responsibility for regulating the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act transferred from the Commerce Commission to the Financial Markets Authority. The transfer changes the current regulator route, not the substantive answer to every credit issue.
Update monitoring, escalation paths, templates and links to current FMA sources while retaining dated Commission material where it remains relevant to historical conduct or proceedings.
The ACCC has commenced Federal Court proceedings over more than 320,000 debt notices that it alleges were misleading. The allegations concern notices about debts that were no longer outstanding or were statute-barred, threatened escalation that had not been instructed, and representations about affiliation, wage deductions, legal costs and interest. The ACCC has not alleged that the creditor clients breached the Australian Consumer Law or knew about the conduct.
Businesses using internal or external debt collection should verify each debt and communication before issue and supervise the systems, templates and providers used in their name. Outsourcing delivery does not remove the need for accurate source data, authority, escalation and remediation controls.
The Bill proposes changes to penalties, product-safety powers and scam-related protections. It is not enacted and does not change current Fair Trading Act obligations yet.
Track the Bill through Parliament, separate proposed clauses from current law and plan changes only after final text, Royal assent, commencement and transition are confirmed.
An infringement notice was paid over an alleged failure to maintain a disclosure-register profile. Payment does not amount to an admission of contravention.
Assign an owner, renewal calendar and evidence check for mandatory register profiles and disclosures rather than treating initial publication as a one-off task.
The undertaking records admissions concerning terms and statements that likely contravened unfair-contract-term and consumer-remedy provisions. Its exact obligations are matter-specific.
Review standard terms alongside complaint handling, refund and replacement processes so operational scripts do not revive a term that has been removed from the contract.
Covered gift cards must have at least a three-year expiry period and display the expiry date prominently, subject to statutory definitions, exclusions and transition rules.
Update card stock, ecommerce terms, point-of-sale settings, balance systems and staff scripts, and check whether hybrid, promotional or replacement products fall within an exclusion.
The distributor admitted resale-price-maintenance conduct and gave a three-year undertaking. The instrument is matter-specific, while the prohibition applies more broadly under competition law.
Remove minimum-price pressure from agreements, portals, emails and account management, and train sales teams on lawful recommended-price and promotion discussions.
The District Court imposed a fine and emotional-harm payment after a guilty outcome involving repeated pressure and sales to a known vulnerable consumer.
Build vulnerability, affordability, comprehension and stop-contact safeguards into sales and collections, and ensure incentive structures do not reward bypassing them.
The Tribunal’s general financial jurisdiction increased from $30,000 to $60,000. This expands a remedy pathway but does not change the underlying Consumer Guarantees Act test.
Update complaint and dispute-escalation materials, but assess substantive rights, limitation periods, evidence and the correct forum separately for each matter.
The Federal Court ordered a $100 million penalty after admissions concerning inappropriate sales practices, unsuitable or unaffordable products and debt collection affecting vulnerable consumers.
Connect store incentives, fraud indicators, affordability, complaints, cancellations and debt controls so known vulnerability signals trigger protection and remediation.
A court penalty followed misleading representations about customer compensation rights. Sector terms and internal policies cannot displace statutory remedies.
Align frontline scripts, automated messages, policies and escalation decisions with current statutory rights, and monitor complaint outcomes for recurring misinformation.
Subscriptions, ecommerce, optional extras and cancellation controls.
A practical guide to checking seller access, product restrictions, compliance requirements, evidence and responsibilities before applying, listing or committing stock.
Confirm that the marketplace route, product category, Australian or New Zealand requirements, evidence and operational responsibilities are workable before investing in stock.
Australia's enacted unfair trading and subscription reforms put disclosures, cancellation methods and manipulative design practices under greater scrutiny from 1 July 2027.
Map each subscription model, test the live sign-up and cancellation journey, remove unnecessary pressure and exit steps, and prepare adaptable reminder systems.
The Federal Court ordered $10 million in penalties after admissions concerning an initial low-price message that obscured an ongoing monthly subscription and misleading government-affiliation claims.
Show the ongoing price, billing frequency, minimum commitment and provider identity before payment, and test the full journey rather than relying on later terms or cancellation information.
The business paid infringement notices, which are not admissions, and separately gave an undertaking addressing admitted or likely contravening conduct concerning trial eligibility and the annual subscription cost.
Confirm eligibility before checkout, show the minimum recurring cost prominently and test that refunds, cancellation and renewal information match the live journey.
The ACCC has instituted proceedings alleging that Miyagi used unfair terms that prevented many customers cancelling health programs and made misleading statements about cancellation, refunds and staff affiliations. It also alleges the CEO was involved through approval of contract terms and sales scripts. These are allegations and have not been determined by the Court.
Review cancellation and refund controls together with the sales journey. Customers should have a real opportunity to understand the commitment, claims about professional status must be accurate, and staff scripts and system outcomes must not override consumer rights.
The platform paid infringement notices over alleged component-pricing and preselected-extra representations. Payment is not an admission of contravention.
Do not preselect optional extras in a way that obscures the minimum total price, and test price continuity from search result through checkout and confirmation.
The District Court outcome followed a guilty plea concerning misleading subscription conduct, with a substantial fine imposed.
Make sign-up, recurring obligations, skips, cancellation and confirmation accurate and easy to follow, and test that operational systems honour the choices presented.
Privacy, data handling, electronic marketing and spam obligations.
The 2026 privacy exposure draft could expose weak retail consent, adtech, targeting, data sharing, breach response and retention controls. See what retailers should do now.
Map the live customer-data journey, identify cookies, pixels, audience tools, inferred profiles and vendor disclosures, test consent and genuine choice, connect marketing opt-outs, review retention and prepare breach escalation for the proposed 72-hour notification period.
A joined-up guide to consumer, privacy, biometric, cybersecurity, product safety, radio, workplace and medical-device considerations for smart glasses.
Map the exact product and digital ecosystem, then confirm the applicable requirements, evidence, privacy controls and operational responsibilities before committing stock or deploying the glasses.
The OAIC updated its guidance for Australian Privacy Principle entities considering facial recognition in high-volume, publicly accessible spaces such as retail shopfronts. The guidance reflects the Bunnings ART decision, treats biometric templates and information used for automated identification as sensitive information, and says each proposed deployment needs its own assessment. It is not a blanket ban or approval.
Do not procure or switch on facial-recognition technology until the business has documented the purpose, lawful collection pathway, necessity and proportionality, transparency, accuracy and bias controls, security, retention and ongoing governance for the specific deployment.
TAB paid more than $2.7 million after ACMA found telemarketing and spam breaches. The conduct included calls to numbers on the Do Not Call Register without consent, calls outside permitted hours, calls without required identification or purpose information, and more than 217,000 emails and SMS sent to customers who had unsubscribed from those specific channels. ACMA also accepted a court-enforceable telemarketing undertaking.
Treat consent and withdrawal as channel-specific operational data. Make sure every campaign tool, call list, CRM, agency and suppression process applies the customer's current choice before contact, including where the customer has opted out of one channel but not all marketing.
The OAIC closed preliminary inquiries without commencing an investigation or making concluded breach findings. The report highlights the value of implemented supplier assurance, access controls, training, incident response and retention processes.
Keep risk-specific evidence that privacy and security controls operate in practice, especially for overseas providers, privileged access, social-engineering risk and incident decisions.
Most operational privacy and responsible-information-sharing provisions commenced in July 2026. The regime principally covers WA public entities and contracted service providers within the statutory contracting framework, not the private sector generally.
Map WA public-sector contracts, information flows, applicable privacy clauses and project duties, and keep uncommenced breach provisions separate from requirements already in force.
This does not change the law. ACMA’s priorities increase practical scrutiny of branded SMS scams, spam and telemarketing harms, vulnerable-customer telco sales controls and cancellation friction.
Recheck consent, sender identification, unsubscribe, suppression, call-time and cancellation controls before campaigns or subscription-style customer journeys go live.
The Privacy Commissioner found an APP 11.1 breach involving privacy preferences that did not reliably propagate to a downstream directory. The administrative determination is fact-specific and reviewable.
Assign end-to-end ownership for privacy preferences, reconcile intended and live states across downstream systems, investigate exceptions and verify remediation rather than relying on outbound files alone.
The Privacy Commissioner found breaches involving tracking pixels, health-related information and targeted advertising. The determinations are binding on the parties but are not appellate court precedent.
Map every pixel and event, prevent sensitive or revealing data entering advertising tools, test consent before collection and keep policies aligned with verified live data flows.
A follow-up OAIC investigation concluded that the subsequently examined products and services did not contain personal information during the relevant period. A prior finding did not prove the content of every successor dataset.
Verify the actual fields, sources, identifiability and time period for each dataset rather than transferring a conclusion from an earlier system, product or investigation.
The Privacy Regulations 2025 commenced and repealed the 2013 regulations. Historical conduct can still require the version in force at that time.
Update policies, templates, training and advice links to the current regulations while preserving dated references where a historical provision continues to govern earlier conduct.
The ART set aside one APP 3 conclusion on the facts but affirmed governance and notice breaches. The guidance decision is authoritative within the Tribunal framework, not a court precedent or broad approval of facial recognition.
For biometric systems, document necessity and proportionality, complete privacy impact work, provide effective notice and maintain governance even where an exception may support collection.
The Privacy Commissioner found an APP 11.1 breach involving a temporary cloud database used for a data migration. The determination is binding on the respondent and reviewable, not a general court precedent.
Apply production-grade ownership, minimisation, configuration, logging, monitoring and verified deletion to temporary, migration and testing environments containing personal information.
The Federal Court imposed $5.8 million in penalties for serious privacy interferences and Notifiable Data Breaches assessment and notification failures under the historical penalty regime.
Integrate cyber due diligence, acquired-system risk, incident assessment clocks and notification decisions, with evidence showing when reasonable suspicion arose and what happened next.
Individuals gained a statutory cause of action for intentional or reckless serious invasions of privacy, subject to the elements, public-interest balancing, defences and limitations in Schedule 2.
Add intrusion and misuse risk to privacy assessments, surveillance and content decisions, and do not assume APP exemptions automatically answer exposure under the separate tort.
Modern slavery, sourcing claims and supplier due diligence.
A jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction plastics ban update, including the expired WA takeaway-container exemption and the 1 October 2026 WA barrier-bag deadline.
Map each item and material by jurisdiction, stop relying on the expired WA exemption and verify WA meat and dairy barrier bags before 1 October 2026.
The Attorney-General’s Department has published outcomes from consultation on possible Modern Slavery Act reforms. Stakeholders broadly supported powers addressing objective non-compliance and generally supported due diligence aligned with international guidance, but views differed on penalties, prescriptive requirements and high-risk declarations. These are reform considerations, not enacted amendments.
Continue meeting current reporting requirements while strengthening supplier-risk mapping, due-diligence evidence, remediation pathways and lodgement controls. Keep possible penalties, threshold changes and mandatory due diligence clearly labelled as proposals until legislation is enacted.
The Commerce Commission closed the matter with a warning concerning substantiation of a sustainable-cotton claim. A warning records the regulator’s view, not a judicial finding.
Define the represented product, material, supply-chain stage and environmental attribute, then retain evidence that supports the claim at the time it is made.
