Put the fairness in fair trading

01 August 2024

Know your consumer rights and understand how to protect yourself when buying and entering into contracts.

Australian consumers are being reminded they have rights and protections when buying a product or entering into an agreement for a service with a business.

The Australian Consumer Law offers automatic guarantees and protections, shielding consumers from unfair trading practices such as misleading conduct, high-pressure sales, unfair contract terms and incorrect pricing.

Consumers should become familiar with these 4 key areas to protect themselves, and businesses should check that they know their obligations because very high penalties can apply for breaking the law:

Misleading conduct

  • Misleading conduct includes actions and statements in advertisements, promotions, quotes and statements made by a business about a product or service that are deceptive or untrue.
  • If a business creates an overall misleading impression about the price, value or quality of consumer products or services, it’s likely to be breaking the law.

Unfair contract terms

  • Businesses can’t use or rely on unfair contract terms in ‘take it or leave it’ contracts with consumers and small businesses - a contract made by the business where the customer has little or no opportunity to negotiate the terms.
  • Unfair contract terms are illegal and attract substantial penalties.
  • When signing a ‘take it or leave it’ contract, it needs to be fair and balanced. You don’t have to comply with an unfair contract term.

High pressure sales

  • There are rules around when a salesperson can try and sell you something at your front door, over the phone or in a public place.
  • They can’t knock on your door after 6pm, or call after 8pm, Monday to Friday, and they can’t knock or call after 5pm on Saturday. They can’t visit or call at all on Sundays or public holidays.
  • You can ask them to leave or hang up, and they must do so straight away.
  • Even if you agree to a contract with a door-to-door salesperson or telemarketer, you have 10 business days to cancel without any penalty, and they have to tell you about this cooling off right.

Pricing

  • Businesses must display clear and accurate prices, and must not mislead consumers about their prices, or the reasons for price changes.
  • A supplier must not promote or state a price for products or services that represents only part of the cost, without also advertising the total price.
  • Businesses must include all charges in the advertised price of their goods and services up-front.

When buying products or services, it pays to know your rights, shop around, stand up for yourself and ask for better deals.

If you see anything suspicious, please let us know.

If you have a problem with a product or service, the first step is to contact the seller. If you can’t resolve the issue on the phone or in person, it is important to follow up with an email to the business explaining the issue and how you believe it should be resolved. Following up with an email gives you evidence that you have tried to resolve the problem and it gives the business the opportunity to respond positively.

If you’ve tried to resolve your problem or complaint yourself and it remains unresolved, contact NT Consumer Affairs on 1800 019 319 or email consumer@nt.gov.au.