Keeping Up with the Consumer Law Keeping Up with the Consumer Law

On February 8, Keeping Up with the Consumer Law went live and in person at The Suburban Brew in Adelaide. In this recording of that event, join regular hosts Joel Grieger and Joel Lisk as they tackle the big consumer law issues with three expert guests; Alexandra Douvartzidis, Katherine Temple and Dr Mark Giancaspro.


About Our Expert Guests
Alexandra Douvartzidis. Alexandra is a Senior Associate in the Civil and Commercial Litigation team at HWL Ebsworth Lawyers (HWLE) in Adelaide. Alexandra predominately practises in the areas of: civil, competition and consumer law, regulatory and governance investigations and enforcement actions, defamation & media law, intellectual property law, administrative law and government. Alexandra was awarded the Professional Staff award for HWLE for 2022 and the Media & Telecommunications prize in the Lawyers Weekly 30 Under 30 Awards (2021). Alexandra is also a casual academic at Flinders University teaching Contract Law & Advanced Competition Law. 

Dr Mark Giancaspro. Mark is a Senior Lecturer and practising commercial lawyer at the University of Adelaide Law School. He specialises in contract law, consumer law, and sports law, and regularly provides training and education to law firms and industry bodies in Australia and around the world. His research focusses on the formation and renegotiation of contracts, smart contracts, and consumer protection. Mark has authored a suite of books and articles on commercial law and is a routinely invited guest speaker. He is a member of the Law Council of Australia, the ACCC Small Business and Franchising Consultative Committee, the Australian Commercial Law Association, the International Association of Consumer Law, and the Adelaide Law School’s Research Unit on the Regulation of Commerce, Corporations, Insolvency and Taxation (ROCCIT).

Katherine Temple. Since her admission to practice in 2011, Katherine has worked in private practice and at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Katherine was also the Director of Policy and Campaigns for Consumer Action Law Centre, leading a team of legal and policy experts who contributed to significant reforms in consumer protection laws. Katherine has regularly appeared in the media to discuss consumer law and finance issues, including interviews with the Australian Financial Review, 7.30 Report and A Current Affair. Katherine has been a member of various panels and forums, including ASIC’s Consumer Advisory Panel and the RBA’s Payments Consultation Group. Her experience is primarily in the practice of consumer protection and financial services laws. Katherine provides advice to businesses about complying with their regulatory obligations and engaging fairly with consumers. Katherine also regularly provides advice to startups about whether a credit or financial services licence is required for their business, and potential regulatory risks. Katherine completed a Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice (First Class Honours) and a Bachelor of International Studies at Flinders University. Katherine returned to Holley Nethercote as a Senior Associate in 2022. 


Get in touch with Grieger and Lisk at ⁠www.consumerlaw.media/contact, where you can also find out more about our up-and-coming multi-level marketing program.

Keeping Up with the Consumer Law is intended to be for educational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. Does this episode raise any questions for you about how you can use the ACL or what your obligations are under the ACL? We recommend seeing a lawyer, head over to ⁠www.consumerlaw.media/legal-advice for more information. 

Season 1 of Keeping Up with the Consumer Law was supported by The Law Foundation of South Australia Inc.

Keeping Up with the Consumer Law is recorded and produced on Kaurna Country.

Have you missed the Joels ramble on about consumer law? Well don’t we have a massive end of year surprise for you: the Keeping Up with the Consumer Law Extravaganza! In this episode Joel Grieger and Joel Lisk try to run through some of the major consumer law news that has happened since the last episode of the 2023 season from August.

So, what do the Joels cover? Well, in 23 minutes they cover the ACCC’s action against Qantas for alleged ghost flights, changes to unfair contract term laws, an action against a Jeep distributor for poor consumer compliant management, and a massive penalty for a major power tool distributor for violating competition laws.

Before signing off for 2023, the Joels want to say a massive thank you to you, our audience for downloading our episodes and sharing our passion for the consumer law and how it works. Keep an eye out for the 2024 Season.

Do you want to read more about this episode’s content? More information is below:


ACCC takes court action alleging Qantas advertised flights it had already cancelled (23 August 2023) www.accc.gov.au/media-release/accc-takes-court-action-alleging-qantas-advertised-flights-it-had-already-cancelled
Businesses urged to remove unfair contract terms ahead of law changes (11 September 2023) www.accc.gov.au/media-release/businesses-urged-to-remove-unfair-contract-terms-ahead-of-law-changes
Jeep distributor to improve complaints handling for consumer guarantee claims (25 October 2023) www.accc.gov.au/media-release/jeep-distributor-to-improve-complaints-handling-for-consumer-guarantee-claims
Record penalty for resale price maintenance conduct by power tool supplier Techtronic (1 December 2023) www.accc.gov.au/media-release/record-penalty-for-resale-price-maintenance-conduct-by-power-tool-supplier-techtronic

Get in touch with Grieger and Lisk at ⁠⁠www.consumerlaw.media/contact.

Keeping Up with the Consumer Law is intended to be for educational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. Does this episode raise any questions for you about how you can use the ACL or what your obligations are under the ACL? We recommend seeing a lawyer, head over to ⁠⁠www.consumerlaw.media/legal-advice⁠ for more information.

This Podcast is supported by the Law Foundation of South Australia. Keeping Up with the Consumer Law is recorded and produced on Kaurna Country.

Welcome to episode 15 of Keeping Up with the Consumer Law, the last episode of Season 1. In this episode we are joined by Nick Heys, Executive Director of Coordination and Strategy at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to talk through a range of topics from how the ACCC select the matters they pursue, greenwashing and influencers.

This is the fifteenth episode of Keeping Up with the Consumer Law. Keeping Up with the Consumer Law is financially supported by the Law Foundation of South Australia.

Want to follow up on a couple of the topics covered in this episode? 


ACCC’s 2023-24 Compliance and Enforcement Priorities: https://www.accc.gov.au/about-us/accc-priorities/compliance-and-enforcement-policy-and-priorities
ACCC published draft guidance to improve businesses’ environmental claims (Media Release, 14 July 2023) https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/accc-publishes-draft-guidance-to-improve-businesses-environmental-claims
ACCC social media sweep targets influencers (Media Release, 27 January 2023) https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/accc-social-media-sweep-targets-influencers
Federal Trade Commission (US), Disclosure 101 for Social Media Influencers (November 2019) https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/plain-language/1001a-influencer-guide-508_1.pdf

Want to share your thoughts on the ACCC’s Greenwashing Guidance? Head over to https://consultation.accc.gov.au/accc/environmental-and-sustainability-guidance/ before 15 September 2023. 

Lisk and Grieger also want to pass on their massive thanks for listening to Keeping Up with the Consumer Law. We have really appreciated your support and engagement over the course of this first season and look forward to keeping you up with the consumer law in the future. 

Get in touch with Grieger and Lisk at ⁠www.consumerlaw.media/contact, where you can also find out more about our up-and-coming multi-level marketing program.

Keeping Up with the Consumer Law is intended to be for educational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. Does this episode raise any questions for you about how you can use the ACL or what your obligations are under the ACL? We recommend seeing a lawyer, head over to ⁠www.consumerlaw.media/legal-advice for more information. 

Keeping Up with the Consumer Law is recorded and produced on Kaurna Country.

 

If life is like a box of chocolates, then wealth is like a pyramid. Pyramids have played an important part in the history of human kind – the Great Pyramids of Giza, the 5 food groups, the illuminati. But some aren’t so joyfully received and are even banned by the Australian Consumer Law. 

 

In this episode of Keeping Up with the Consumer Law, Grieger tries to walk us through one of the more interesting components of the Australian Consumer Law; the prohibition of pyramid schemes. Grieger introduces the ill-fated TVI Express scheme, a scheme the ACCC described as a scam. We aren’t going to give any more away here, give the episode a listen to be entirely confused by the scheme. 

 

This is the fourteenth episode of Keeping Up with the Consumer Law. Keeping Up with the Consumer Law is financially supported by the Law Foundation of South Australia.

 

Want to learn more about this case? Check out some of the details here: 


Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Jutsen (No 3) [2011] FCA 1352
$200,000 penalty for TVI Express pyramid selling scam (21 May 2012) https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/200000-penalty-for-tvi-express-pyramid-selling-scam
Court finds TVI Express a pyramid selling scheme (30 November 2011) https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/court-finds-tvi-express-a-pyramid-selling-scheme

Get in touch with Grieger and Lisk at ⁠www.consumerlaw.media/contact⁠, where you can also find out more about our up-and-coming multi-level marketing program.

Keeping Up with the Consumer Law is intended to be for educational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. Does this episode raise any questions for you about how you can use the ACL or what your obligations are under the ACL? We recommend seeing a lawyer, head over to ⁠www.consumerlaw.media/legal-advice⁠ for more information. 

 

Keeping Up with the Consumer Law is recorded and produced on Kaurna Country.

 

The Australian Consumer Law can be useful for a range of circumstances, even extremely personal ones. In Episode 13 of Keeping Up with the Consumer Law, Grieger walks us through the sensitive case of ACCC v AMI.  

Following one of the most prominent and memorable advertising campaigns of the 2000s, characterised by the line “Want Longer Lasting Sex?”, the ACCC commenced proceedings against Advanced Medical Institute (AMI) and related entities alleging a raft of contraventions of the Australian Consumer Law including unconscionable conduct. In this episode, we explore how this case dived into the easily forgotten area of unfair contract terms. 

The Federal Court’s Justice North declared a range of provisions contained in AMI’s (or related entities’) customer agreements void as they violated the Australian Consumer Law’s prohibitions on unfair contract terms. This included terms imposing arbitrary administrative and cancellation-related fees as well provisions that effectively punished patients for terminating their arrangements with AMI (or related entities) even where the medication did not work. Broadly, the contracts were found to lack transparency and clarity, ultimately leading to a situation where the contracts’ terms were unfair. 

This is the thirteenth episode of Keeping Up with the Consumer Law. Keeping Up with the Consumer Law is financially supported by the Law Foundation of South Australia.

Want to learn more about this case? There is a long litigation history to this case, check out some of the details here: 


Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v ACN 117 372 915 Pty Limited (in liq) (formerly Advanced Medical Institute Pty Limited) and others [2015] FCA 368
ACCC institutes further proceedings against AMI (8 June 2011) www.accc.gov.au/media-release/accc-institutes-further-proceedings-against-ami
ACCC joins NRM to Advance Medical Institute proceedings and alleges unfair contract terms (7 September 2011) www.accc.gov.au/media-release/accc-joins-nrm-to-advanced-medical-institute-proceedings-and-alleges-unfair-contract-terms
Federal Court finds Advanced Medical Institute engaged in unconscionable conduct (22 April 2015) www.accc.gov.au/media-release/federal-court-finds-advanced-medical-institute-engaged-in-unconscionable-conduct
Full Court upholds unconscionable conduct finding against AMI (22 July 2016) www.accc.gov.au/media-release/full-court-upholds-unconscionable-conduct-finding-against-ami

Get in touch with Grieger and Lisk at ⁠www.consumerlaw.media/contact⁠, where you can also find out more about our up-and-coming multi-level marketing program.

Keeping Up with the Consumer Law is intended to be for educational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. Does this episode raise any questions for you about how you can use the ACL or what your obligations are under the ACL? We recommend seeing a lawyer, head over to ⁠www.consumerlaw.media/legal-advice⁠ for more information. 

Keeping Up with the Consumer Law is recorded and produced on Kaurna Country.

It is important to recall that safety is essential and in this 12th episode of Keeping Up with the Consumer Law, the two Joels work their way through the 2022 case of ACCC v Mercedes-Benz.



Following several incidents of serious injuries and deaths, in 2018 a mandatory recall commenced in connection with Takata manufactured airbags. Airbags had been installed in approximately 3 million vehicles in Australia (and more than 100 million globally). In certain instances, on deployment, the airbags would cause metal and plastic shrapnel to explode out of the airbag. The recall applied to two types of airbag, Alpha and Beta airbags. Both airbags were deemed to pose a risk of death or injury, but the Alpha airbags posed a significantly higher safety risk.



Following the commencement of the mandatory recall program, Mercedes-Benz began recalling vehicles in accordance with a communication and engagement plan approved by the ACCC. In 2021, the ACCC commenced a proceeding in the Federal Court of Australia alleging that customer service staff had departed from the communication and engagement plan by using language that minimised the risks associated with the airbags. Mercedes-Benz admitted contravening provisions of the Australian Consumer Law associated with the recall and the Federal Court imposed a $12.5m penalty in 2022.



This is the twelfth episode of Keeping Up with the Consumer Law. Keeping Up with the Consumer Law is financially supported by the Law Foundation of South Australia.



Want to learn more about this case? There is a long litigation history to this case, check out some of the details here:


Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific Pty Ltd [2022] FCA 1059
Mercedes to pay $12.5m for failing to comply with Takata recall communications plan, ACCC Media Release (2 September 2022) https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/mercedes-to-pay-125m-for-failing-to-comply-with-takata-recall-communication-plan
ACCC alleged Mercedes-Benz minimised risk of defective Takata airbags during compulsory recall, ACCC Media Release (4 August 2021) https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/accc-alleges-mercedes-benz-minimised-risk-of-defective-takata-airbags-during-compulsory-recall



Get in touch with Grieger and Lisk at ⁠www.consumerlaw.media/contact⁠, where you can also find out more about our up-and-coming multi-level marketing program.



Keeping Up with the Consumer Law is intended to be for educational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. Does this episode raise any questions for you about how you can use the ACL or what your obligations are under the ACL? We recommend seeing a lawyer, head over to ⁠www.consumerlaw.media/legal-advice⁠ for more information.



Keeping Up with the Consumer Law is recorded and produced on Kaurna Country.