Submission to the Australian Consumer Law Review – Clarification, simplification and modernisation of the consumer guarantee framework
The Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action), WEstjustice, National Association of Community Legal Centres (NACLC) and Federation of Community Legal Centres (Victoria) Inc welcome the opportunity to comment on the Consultation Regulation Impact Statement (RIS).
The Australian Consumer Law (ACL) plays a critical role in helping to empower and protect consumers, allowing them to operate with confidence in the marketplace. Following on from the Australian Consumer Law Review (Review), the RIS assesses options for addressing the problems identified in the Review relating to consumer guarantees.
Consumer guarantees are at the core of consumer trust and confidence. Consumers need to know that the products they purchase will be safe, lasting and without faults, and that services will be fit for purpose and provided with due care and skill. Consumers also need to know that the representations made about the goods and services they purchase are correct, and that they have effective options for redress where those goods or services fail to meet the consumer guarantees. Low-income and vulnerable consumers can experience particular barriers to accessing redress when consumer guarantees fail, as they can have increased difficulty in negotiating directly with businesses and may find redress processes more onerous.
Read the full submission here [PDF].
180423 ACL_Super RIS submission FINAL