Penalties faced bv companies and individuals for breaching Australian Competition & Consumer Law (ACCL) are significant. Corporations face penalties in excess of $10 million and individuals can face fines of $500K and/or a prison term.
However, many businesses either do no ACCL training, or outsource the responsibility to a lawyer for quick glance.
The Drinks Association offers Australian Competition & Consumer Law training to its members and our provider, NextGen recommends regular training for businesses to mitigate risks.
In December 2019, the Federal Court ordered Volkswagen pay a record $125million in penalties, the largest ever fine for breaches of Australian Consumer Law – dwarfing the previous record of $26 million against training college Empower Institute. In the FMCG sector, Coles incurred a $10million penalty in 2014.
The Volkswagen penalty related to false representations made about its compliance with Australian diesel admissions standards.
Under laws that came into effect late in 2018, maximum penalties for breaches are now three times the profit or benefit obtained or, if this cannot be determined, 10 per cent of turnover.
The NextGen/Drinks Association ACCL training solution is a program built entirely from the ground up, with specific focus, and case studies, on how suppliers should do business in the liquor channel.
It covers key aspects of the law in an engaging and relevant way with three learning options available to companies:
• Liquor specific In-house training - this takes about 3.5 hours and can accommodate up to 25 delegates at member premises. (COVID restrictions permitting)
• General open training - as above, run in venues in Sydney and Melbourne, offering suppliers the opportunity to send representatives to attend alongside other companies.
• General on-line training - self-paced learning solution where delegates can study online. This takes approximately 3 hours to complete.
The program covers all key ACCL topics, including:
• Price fixing
• Resale price maintenance
• Promotional pricing
• Refusal to supply
• Product recalls
• Exclusive dealing (full and third line forcing)
• Misuse of market power
• Misleading and deceptive conduct
• Unconscionable conduct
• Consequences – personal and corporate
• Product misrepresentation, including packaging
• Advertising, including social media
• Warranties and guarantees
• Product recall
For more information, email Marketing & Membership Manager Kylie Le Lievre.