In 2009, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agreed to the establishment of a ‘single law, multiple regulator’ model for general consumer protection in Australia. This model was based on the recommendations of the Productivity Commission’s 2008 report, Review of Australia’s Consumer Policy Framework.
The new Australian Consumer Law (ACL) took effect in January 2011. In essence, the ACL enhanced and combined the consumer protection provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) (and similar provisions in the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) Act) and elements of existing state and territory consumer laws.
Under the multiple regulator model, administration and enforcement of the ACL is split between the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and ASIC at the Commonwealth level and state and territory fair trading and consumer protection bodies.
In 2015, consumer affairs officials under the banner of Consumer Affairs Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ) began a review of the ACL. That review is focussing mainly on the adequacy of the consumer protection regulations in the ACL itself, with limited attention to how they are enforced and administered. That review is scheduled to deliver an interim report in the second half of 2016 and a final report by March 2017.
In parallel with the CAANZ review, the Australian Government has asked the Productivity Commission to undertake an independent study of the enforcement and administration arrangements supporting the ACL and related consumer protection regulation
