Ever wondered what the priorities of the ACCC are? Well in this episode of Consumer Law Bites you get Lisk's real time reactions to seeing the ACCC's 2025 Compliance and Enforcement Priorities.

In this episode, you with hear Lisk stumble his way through the various priority and focus areas from his kitchen with its poor acoustic qualities and horrible echo. It's a great reminder that even with a PhD, some people just aren't good at things.

Want to check out the priorities yourself? Head over to this website: www.accc.gov.au/about-us/accc-priorities/compliance-and-enforcement-priorities

What do you think Keeping Up with the Consumer Law Bites? Got an idea for a topic we should tackle? Send us a message on Instagram at @KUWTCL or LinkedIn.

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 about how you can use the ACL or what your obligations are under the ACL? We recommend seeing a lawyer.

How often do you sit down to read the Australian Consumer Law? We do it all the time because it brings some excitement to our boring lawyer lives. If you're a business operator it might be a good idea to give it a read.

In this episode Dr Joel Lisk keeps you up with the consumer law events associated with Booktopia and their non-compliant practices.

Want more details? Of course:

What do you think of Keeping Up with the Consumer Law Bites? Got an idea for a topic we should tackle? Send us a message on Instagram @kuwtcl.

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.

Welcome to Keeping Up with the Consumer Law Bites - where we keep you up with the Australian Consumer Law with smaller, bite sized episodes.

Sometimes it is important to remember that the Australian Consumer Law isn't a flower. It isn't there one moment and gone the next, it is an actual Australian law and it applies all the time. In 2024, two florists learnt this the expensive way. Bloomex was ordered to pay a $1 million penalty for misleading and false representations on its website. Meg's Flowers was also ordered to pay a $1 million for misleading representations.

Join half of your usual Keeping Up with the Consumer Law team for a bite sized recap of the facts and the conduct.

Want the details of the proceedings?

What do you think of Keeping Up with the Consumer Law Bites? Got an idea for a topic we should tackle? Send us a message on Instagram @kuwtcl.

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.

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

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. 

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:

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? 

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: 

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: 

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:

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.

Sometimes outsourcing is a good thing. In Episode 11 of Keeping Up with the Consumer Law, the Joels try to answer your questions by speaking to consumer law experts.

Massive thank you to our experts for their time and finding answers to the burning questions. Our experts were:

No part of this episode constitutes legal advice, if these questions and answers touch on any legal concerns you might have, head over to www.consumerlaw.media/legal-advice to learn more about the options available to you.

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

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.

Disclosure Note: Joel Lisk is engaged on a casual basis with Cowell Clarke within their Corporate and Commercial team.

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.