Competition and Consumer Act 2010

Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.

Section 58 — Guarantee as to repairs and spare parts

(1) If: (a) a person supplies, in trade or commerce, goods to a consumer; and (b) the supply does not occur by way of sale by auction; there is a guarantee that the manufacturer of the goods will…

Section 58AA — Object of this Part

The object of this Part is to prevent and respond to scams impacting: (a) either: (i) natural persons while they are in Australia; or (ii) persons who carry on small businesses in Australia; if the…

Section 58BA — Simplified outline of this Division

Each regulated entity must comply with the overarching principles of the Scams Prevention Framework. These principles require each regulated entity to: (a) document and implement governance…

Section 58BZA — Safe harbour for taking actions to disrupt an activity while investigating whether the activity is a scam

(1) This section applies if a regulated entity has actionable scam intelligence about an activity relating to, connected with, or using a regulated service of the entity. (2) The regulated entity is…

Section 58BZDA — Giving a statement of compliance—civil penalty provision

(1) A regulated entity contravenes this subsection if the entity: (a) is undertaking internal dispute resolution in dealing with a person’s complaint of a kind described in paragraph 58BZD(1)(a) or…

Section 58CA — Simplified outline of this Division

The Minister may make a code for each regulated sector. Each code is to include sector-specific provisions for the following overarching principles of the Scams Prevention Framework (see Subdivisions…

Section 58DA — Simplified outline of this Division

One or more external dispute resolution schemes may be authorised for dealing with consumer complaints about scams relating to, connected with, or using regulated services. An existing scheme like…

Section 58EA — Simplified outline of this Division

The Commission is the regulator (the SPF general regulator) of most aspects of the Scams Prevention Framework, in particular of the overarching principles of the Framework. Other Commonwealth…

Section 58EFA — Roles and responsibilities statement

(1) The SPF general regulator must publish a statement on its website summarising, in general terms, the roles and responsibilities of: (a) each SPF regulator; and (b) each operator of an SPF EDR…

Section 58FA — Simplified outline of this Division

The Commission, in its role as the SPF general regulator or an SPF sector regulator, may use its powers under this Act (including section 155) to monitor and investigate compliance with the aspects…

Section 58FZA — Applying for injunctions

(1) An application for an injunction under this Subdivision may be made by an SPF regulator or any other person. (2) If an SPF regulator applies for such an injunction, the Court must not require the…

Section 58GA — Treatment of partnerships

(1) The SPF provisions apply to a partnership as if it were a person, but with the changes set out in this section. (2) An obligation that would otherwise be imposed on the partnership by an SPF…

Section 58AB — Simplified outline of this Part

The Scams Prevention Framework is a multifaceted approach for protecting Australian consumers from scams. The Framework requires service providers in selected sectors of the economy to take a variety…

Section 58BB — Meaning of reasonable steps

(1) Matters relevant to whether a regulated entity has taken reasonable steps for the purposes of a provision of this Division include: (a) the size of the regulated entity; and (b) the kind of…

Section 58BZB — Simplified outline of this Subdivision

Each regulated entity must have an accessible mechanism for its consumers to report activities that are or may be scams. The entity must have an accessible and transparent internal dispute resolution…

Section 58CB — Sector-specific codes (SPF codes)

The Minister may, by legislative instrument, make a code (an SPF code) for a regulated sector.

Section 58DB — Minister may authorise external dispute resolution schemes for a regulated sector

(1) The Minister may, by legislative instrument, authorise an external dispute resolution scheme (an SPF EDR scheme) for the purposes of this Part and one or more regulated sectors if: (a) the scheme…

Section 58EB — General regulator of the Scams Prevention Framework

(1) The Commission is the SPF general regulator for all SPF provisions apart from the provisions of SPF codes. (2) The functions and powers of the SPF general regulator include: (a) reviewing, and…

Section 58FB — Appointment of inspectors

(1) An SPF regulator may, in writing, appoint a person who is one of the following to be an inspector of that regulator for the purposes of one or more Subdivisions of this Division: (a) a person who…

Section 58FZB — Other powers of the Court unaffected

The powers conferred on the Court by this Subdivision are in addition to, and not instead of, any other powers of the Court, whether conferred by this Act or otherwise.

Section 58GB — Treatment of unincorporated associations

(1) The SPF provisions apply to an unincorporated association as if it were a person, but with the changes set out in this section. (2) An obligation that would otherwise be imposed on the…

Section 58AC — Regulated sectors subject to the Scams Prevention Framework

(1) The Minister may, by legislative instrument, designate one or more businesses or services to be a regulated sector of the Australian economy. Note 1: An individual business or service could be…

Section 58BC — Simplified outline of this Subdivision

Each regulated entity must document and implement governance policies, procedures, metrics and targets for combatting scams. These must be reviewed, and certified by a senior officer of the entity,…

Section 58BZC — Enabling SPF consumers to easily report activities that are or may be scams—civil penalty provision

(1) A regulated entity contravenes this subsection if the entity does not have an accessible mechanism for a person to report to the entity an activity that: (a) is or may be a scam; and (b) relates…

Section 58CC — Content of SPF codes

Main rule about the content of SPF codes (1) An SPF code must: (a) be consistent with the SPF principles; and (b) deal with only: (i) the themes or matters covered by Subdivisions B, C, D, F and G of…

Section 58DC — Content, including requirements, of a scheme that is not already authorised under a Commonwealth law

(1) The SPF rules may prescribe the following requirements for a scheme for which paragraph 58DB(1)(b) is to apply: (a) organisational requirements for membership of the scheme; (b) requirements for…

Section 58EC — Delegation of the SPF general regulator’s functions and powers

(1) The Commission may, by resolution, delegate any of: (a) the Commission’s functions and powers (as the SPF general regulator) under an SPF provision; or (b) the Commission’s powers under section…

Section 58FC — Multiple remedies can be sought for a single contravention

Subject to section 58FM (about civil penalties), a provision of this Division does not limit a court’s powers under any other provision of this Act or of any other Act.

Section 58FZC — Actions for damages—general rule

(1) A person (the victim) who suffers loss or damage by conduct of another person that was done in contravention of: (a) a civil penalty provision of an SPF principle; or (b) a civil penalty…

Section 58GC — Treatment of trusts

(1) The SPF provisions apply to a trust as if it were a person, but with the changes set out in this section. Trusts with a single trustee (2) If the trust has a single trustee: (a) an obligation…

Section 58AD — Regulated entities for regulated sectors and their regulated services

Entities with businesses or services within the banking, insurance or communications constitutional powers (1) To the extent that a regulated sector includes a business or service covered by…

Section 58BD — Documenting and implementing governance policies and procedures—civil penalty provision

(1) A regulated entity for a regulated sector contravenes this subsection if the entity fails to do one or more of the following: (a) document governance policies and procedures about: (i)…

Section 58BZD — Having an accessible and transparent internal dispute resolution mechanism—civil penalty provision

(1) A regulated entity contravenes this subsection if the entity does not have an accessible and transparent internal dispute resolution mechanism to deal with a person’s complaint about: (a) an…

Section 58CD — Delegation

The Minister may, in writing, delegate the Minister’s power under section 58CB to make a code for a regulated sector to: (a) another Minister; or (b) the Commission; or (c) the entity that is, or is…

Section 58DD — Scheme operator to report to SPF regulators

Referring contraventions, failures and systemic issues (1) If the operator of an SPF EDR scheme for a regulated sector becomes aware that: (a) a serious contravention of any law may have occurred in…

Section 58ED — Regulator of a regulated sector

(1) The Minister may, by legislative instrument, designate an entity that: (a) is a Commonwealth entity (within the meaning of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013); and (b)…

Section 58FD — Preference must be given to compensation for victims

If a court considers that: (a) it is appropriate to order a person (the defendant) to pay a pecuniary penalty under an SPF civil penalty order in relation to a contravention or conduct; and (b) it is…

Section 58FZD — Meaning of concurrent wrongdoers

(1) In this Subdivision, a concurrent wrongdoer, in relation to a claim under subsection 58FZC(1), is a person who is one of 2 or more persons: (a) who each contravened a civil penalty provision of…

Section 58GD — Compensation for acquisition of property

(1) This section applies if the operation of the SPF provisions would result in an acquisition of property (within the meaning of paragraph 51(xxxi) of the Constitution) from a person otherwise than…

Section 58AE — Minister must consider matters, and consult, before designating a sector

(1) Before making an instrument under subsection 58AC(1) about a sector of the economy, the Minister must: (a) consider all of the following: (i) scam activity in the sector; (ii) the effectiveness…

Section 58BE — Annual certification about SPF governance policies, procedures, metrics and targets—civil penalty provision

(1) A regulated entity for a regulated sector contravenes this subsection if: (a) no senior officer of the entity certifies in writing, within 12 months of the day the entity becomes a regulated…