Toughening Gift Card Consumer Laws
Last year, NSW legislation came into effect requiring gift cards to have a minimum expiry period of 3 years. In a similar vein, Federal legislation passed on 25 October 2018, amending the Compet...
Do you sell gift cards? New Australia-wide laws may soon apply
The Australian Government recently released an exposure draft of the Competition and Consumer Amendment (Gift Cards) Bill 2018 (the Bill) for public consultation. If the Bill is passed, retailers and...
Review your returns policies!
Are your returns policies compliant with the Australian Consumer Law? In November last year, the ACCC announced that it will be cracking down on clothing retailers, particularly those trading online,...
3 fun competition ideas to promote your business (legally) on Instagram
You might remember our previous post about the legal issues associated with running promotional competitions. This week, we thought we would help to inspire your next competition with a list of 3 fun...
Competitions and trade promotions
Nothing gains quite as much attention as the word ‘free’, but make sure your business complies with the law or it could end up costing you. Who doesn’t love a good freebie? Running competitions, trad...
Always qualify your ‘no refunds’ statements
As a retail-specialised lawyer, I’ve worked on more Returns Policies than I can count, and it always surprises me that retailers continue to get caught telling customers “no refunds” without regard to...
Was/Now Advertising: Is your promotional sale legal?
It is common practice for retailers to advertise with “was/now” pricing on their products – for example, a suit that “was $300” and is “now $250” suggests a saving of $50. This method of compara...
Pumpkin Patch to Relaunch Online
As a mother of two young boys, I was disappointed to hear that another Australian children’s fashion retailer Pumpkin Patch was closing its doors as the retailer entered into receivership last year....
International online retailers: Does the Australian Consumer Law apply?
In a recent post, we discussed how Valve, one of the largest game retailers with revenue reported at over $3 billion, was left with a $3 million penalty in 2016 for false or misleading representations...
Promotion on social media with influencers
In recent times, it has become commonplace for businesses to use social media to promote and market their products to a wider audience. I’ve written numerous articles on how misleading and decep...
Cyber Resilience: Manage your risk
Online security has been a big topic this year, but many businesses are unsure what their first step should be to protect their online assets. As a result of a lack of know-how, many businesses...
Entering the Digital Age – Digital video game sales outperform retail
I love online shopping. It’s convenient (can be done from the couch after a hectic day), allows you to shop around and doesn’t involve bringing a persistent toddler to climb the shop walls. Giv...