What the ACCC does

  • We have a compliance and enforcement policy that sets out the principles we adopt to achieve compliance with these laws. The policy outlines our compliance and enforcement functions, strategies and tools.
  • We provide information to help businesses implement compliance programs.
  • We may review an individual compliance program if it is part of a court enforceable undertaking.
  • We have specific tools to check businesses are complying with mandatory industry codes.

What the ACCC can't do

  • We don’t provide legal advice to business on whether their documents or practices comply with the law.
  • We don’t make formal decisions on whether a person or business has breached the law. Only the courts can do this.
  • We don’t provide legal advice on compliance programs.
  • We don’t resolve individual disputes.

Rights and responsibilities around compliance and enforcement

Breaches of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 and the Australian Consumer Law attract fines and pecuniary penalties. Some breaches are civil and can result in monetary penalties. Some are criminal and can result in monetary fines or jail time.
The ACCC's approach to claims for legal professional privilege when responding to compulsory notices. This guideline is not a substitute for legal advice.
The ACCC can require businesses covered by a prescribed industry code to provide information or documents they are required to keep, generate or publish.
Businesses should implement a compliance program to help comply with competition and consumer law. We have templates to help.
The ACCC encourages and recognises cooperation by people or businesses with our compliance and enforcement activities under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.

Our priorities

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We set out our priorities to achieve compliance with the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 and other legislation we enforce.

ACCC compliance and enforcement action

The Federal Court has ordered Mobil Oil Australia to pay $16 million in penalties for making false or misleading representations about the fuel sold at nine petrol stations in north and central Queensland, in breach of the Australian Consumer Law.
Participants in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) are being targeted by NDIS providers’ deceptive advertising practices and other behaviours banned by consumer law, a new report has found. Whilst these practices are not universal, the scale and types of complaints we’re hearing about is concerning.
An international car rental booking platform has paid a penalty of $39,600 after the ACCC issued it with two ACCC infringement notices.
SIA Booking Group Corporation, which operates under the name EconomyBookings, allegedly breached Australian Consumer Law in the way it displayed prices to consumers on its website.