Oceania: Consumer Protection

Australian businesses face dramatically increased penalties for competition and consumer law breaches, with corporate fines now reaching $50 million and individual penalties rising to $2.5 million. The unfair contract terms regime has been strengthened with new pecuniary penalties applying for the first time, creating urgent compliance obligations for businesses using standard form contracts. Companies that have not yet audited their contracts against these expanded obligations are now operating at signific

AI enabled decision making systems are being increasingly used to determine dynamic pricing, assess credit eligibility, prioritise search results, and moderate content (among other decisions).

Misleading pricing occurs when a business creates a false or misleading impression about the true cost of goods or services, even where the advertised price is technically correct. Under the Australian Consumer Law, businesses must ensure consumers can understand the real price they will be required to pay, including any unavoidable fees, charges, surcharges or conditions affecting price.