Sam Hibbins to ask the Minister for Consumer Affairs —
On 9 September 2022, the Commonwealth, State and Territory consumer ministers agreed that the Commonwealth would lead a public consultation on proposed reforms to address unfair trading practices in the Australian Consumer Law on behalf of the states and territories. With regards to the Consultation Regulation Impact Statement:
(1) What is the current status of the report and consultation process.
(2) What is the status of the Decision Regulation Impact statement.
(3) Are there any recent updates or amendments to the Unfair Practices Provision that you can provide an update on.
(4) What measures does the report suggest implementing to prevent unfair practices from occurring within our community.
Response from the Minister for Consumer Affairs
1) The Commonwealth Treasury undertook a public consultation on proposed unfair trading prohibition reforms between 31 August 2023 and 29 November 2023. Submissions made to the Commonwealth Treasury have not yet been made publicly available.
(2) Commonwealth Treasury is currently reviewing stakeholder feedback, which will inform the development of the Decision Regulation Impact Statement. The Commonwealth have indicated this will be released later in 2024.
(3) The Victorian Government will continue to collaborate with the Commonwealth and other states and territories to work through options for potential policy reforms.
(4) Options for reform for stakeholder feedback were presented in the Consultation RIS which can be accessed at https://treasury.gov.au/consultation/c2023-430458.
