The Albanese Government will introduce more powers for regulators to issue infringement notices for breaches of unfair contract term laws by big business.
Whether a big business is a supermarket, a petrol company, or a digital platform we won’t tolerate Australian consumers and small businesses being taken for mugs.
The changes will expand reforms we introduced to make unfair contract terms illegal, including increasing maximum penalties to $100 million per offence.
Infringement notice powers will allow the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) to respond more flexibly without the need for lengthy court proceedings.
The expanded reforms were a recommendation of the Final Report of the Review of the Amended Unfair Contract Terms Protections tabled in Parliament today.
The Review confirmed Labor’s reforms are delivering strengthened deterrence and pushing firms to clean up unfair contract clauses. That means fairer, more transparent deals for consumers and small businesses, and a marketplace where big players can’t tilt the playing field in their favour.
Since the first tranche of reforms commenced in November 2023, regulators have taken enforcement action. The ACCC has accepted court‑enforceable undertakings from Mable Technologies Pty Ltd and Aidacare Pty Ltd, with both companies admitting that they likely used unfair contract terms in their standard form contracts. ASIC has also commenced court proceedings against Venture 5 Group Pty Ltd, trading as CashnGo Australia, alleging unconscionable debt recovery practices, unfair contract terms and failures to provide compliant default notices.
These reforms are part of the Albanese Government’s broader agenda to level the playing field, ensuring large businesses cannot rely on unfair terms in take‑it‑or‑leave‑it contracts and that consumers and small businesses are better protected.
The Final Report of the Review is available on the Treasury website.
