Australian Competition and Consumer Commission | 2023 in Review

Welcome to the Maddocks ACCC Year In Review, our annual examination of enforcement and regulatory activity by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, and how well it performed against its announced enforcement priorities.

We’ve streamlined our chapters to focus on highlights from key developments and major cases during 2023, and what is next in competition and consumer law.
Our report features new topics, including environmental and sustainability claims, more commonly referred to as “greenwashing”, as well as essential services. In a changing ACCC enforcement landscape under its new Chair, Ms Gina Cass-Gottlieb, our experts will guide you through crucial developments to stay informed and ahead of the curve.

• ACCC 2023 in Review

  By

  • Shaun Temby,
  • Christopher Marsh
  • , & Rebecca Griffiths

  We uncover the ACCC’s new direction for enforcement in 2023 and provide high level statistics on its key focus areas.

• Consumer protection

  By

  • Shaun Temby
  • , Isabelle Heath, Rebecca Power & Alice Robertson

  While litigating several cases concerning misleading, deceptive or unconscionable conduct, the ACCC has taken a less adversarial approach than in previous years in achieving its objectives and protecting consumers.

• Consumer markets, retail and franchising

  By

  • Greg Hipwell,
  • Mira Martin
  • , & Connor Hehir

  We expand on several successful enforcement actions against both franchisors and retailers for breaches of the Franchising Code of Conduct (Code) and the ACL, as well as several policy and regulatory developments.

• Unfair contract terms

  By

  • Fiona Wallwork

  Financial penalties for including or relying on an unfair contract term now apply and the courts have greater flexibility in ordering remedies to address contravening terms.

• Cartel and anti-competitive conduct

  By

  • Gina Wilson,
  • Jacinta Atkinson

  We explore the ACCC’s success surrounding its enduring priorities of cartel conduct and anti-competitive conduct has continued last year.

• Essential services – Energy

  By

  • Peter Limbers,
  • Alena Stirton
  • , & Meaghan Little

  Australia’s energy market continues to face challenges as it experiences significant change with the increased uptake of renewable generation and the phasing out of coal-fired generation.

• Essential services – Telecommunications

  By

  • Harriet Royle
  • & Rishi Chhugani

  2023 received even greater focus in light of rising inflation and the spotlight on the increasing cost of living in the space of essential services and telecommunications.

• Technology and data

  By

  • Sonia Sharma
  • , Tara Dhanushkoti & Rishi Chhugani

  We examine the ACCC’s focus on significant consumer harm resulting from the lack of competition in the social media space, the lack of adequate safeguards against scams and the ever-increasing expansion of large digital platforms through growing product and service offerings.

• Environmental claims and sustainability

  By

  • Joshua Same,
  • Libby Walker

  These developments are an important reminder for all businesses to substantiate any environmental claims on their packaging or in other marketing materials with credible evidence.

• The 2024 Outlook

  By

  • Shaun Temby,
  • Christopher Marsh
  • , & Rebecca Griffiths

  We set out our views on what we can expect from the ACCC in 2024.