Potential AI reforms, new consumer guarantee prohibitions and civil penalties and a ban on unfair trading practices are proposed In brief The Australian Government has announced consultations on a range of proposed reforms to the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) covering: Consultations have commenced on the proposed AI-related reforms and consumer guarantee amendments, with submissions sought by 12 November 2024 and 14 November 2024, respectively. Treasury has not yet commenced consultation in relation to the…
The Australian Government takes its next step towards becoming a world cyber security leader by 2030. In brief In 2023, the Australian Government released the 2023-2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy. 9 October 2024 marked the latest in a series of legislative reforms in pursuit of that strategy, as the Cyber Security Legislative Package 2024 (Package) was introduced to Parliament. The Package has been referred to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security for inquiry and report. The Package contains…
The Treasury Laws Amendment (More Competition, Better Prices) Bill 2022 will, for the first time, apply penalties to unfair contract terms and will increase maximum penalties under the CCA and ACL five-fold. In brief On 28 September 2022, the Government introduced the Treasury Laws Amendment (More Competition, Better Prices) Bill 2022 (“Bill”). If passed, the Bill will: Introduce a civil penalty regime prohibiting the use of and reliance on unfair contract terms (UCTs) in standard…