ACCC tells Reebok to walk the talk on shoe claims
Four years after Reebok began claiming that wearing their EasyTone shoes would make buttocks 28% more toned and strong than wearing other walking shoes, Australia’s consumer watchdog has begun action...
View ArticleACCC cuts to the core of Apple’s refund policies
Tech giant Apple has been forced into an embarrassing backdown over its refunds policy, which is subject to a punishing court-enforceable undertaking. Apple will have to contact customers who were...
View ArticleCommunity network Kiss FM takes on radio heavyweight ARN in legal dispute
A name dispute has emerged between two Australian radio networks, as Kiss FM prepares to take legal action against Australian Radio Network. On January 20, 2014, ARN is scheduled to rebrand its Mix...
View ArticleDimmeys collapses following $3 million penalty
Iconic discount retailer Dimmeys has been placed in administration, following a $3 million penalty for breaching product safety laws late last year. Yesterday, administrators Richard Cauchi, Peter...
View ArticleASIC jumps to defend its jet-setting chairman
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has revealed its chairman, Greg Medcraft, spent $246,409.99 on international travel in 2013 and has an equally busy travel schedule planned for this...
View ArticleTrolls beware: ACCC crackdown on misleading online reviews
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) recently released guidance on managing online reviews. Businesses face the risk of prosecution by the ACCC if they cause or permit false or...
View ArticleWarning over businesses using fake testimonials as solar business cops...
Solar businesses P&N Pty Ltd and P&N NSW Pty Ltd (trading as Euro Solar) and Worldwide Energy and Manufacturing Pty Ltd (WEMA, formerly trading as Australian Solar Panel) have been ordered by...
View ArticleChemist Warehouse enters battle over online advertising breach
Discount retail chain Chemist Warehouse has copped a slap on the wrist from the health and medicine products ads regulator for breaching advertising standards, but it seems the retailer isn’t going to...
View ArticleBeer industry under investigation for anti-competitive behaviour
The competition watchdog has launched an inquiry into Australia’s beer industry, focusing on whether or not anti-competitive practices are taking place, as smaller breweries struggle to compete. The...
View ArticleBusiness welcomes Sydney’s tough new street violence laws, but hoteliers...
The Sydney Business Chamber has welcomed tough new street violence law which impose mandatory 1.30am lockouts on many CBD venues, saying they’re necessary to safeguard Sydney’s reputation as a safe...
View ArticleBlack Swan dips up for sale following Family Court dispute
One of Australia’s best-known dip brands is up for sale seven months after the Family Court ordered it be placed in receivership, the receivers told SmartCompany. Black Swan, owned by Melbourne-based...
View ArticleWarning on fraud as ASIC bans mortgage brokers for $3.45 million in false...
The corporate regulator has banned a credit business manager and a mortgage broker for submitting false documents to secure loans worth $3.45 million. The Australian Securities and Investments...
View Article“Burdensome” financial advice reforms watered down
The federal government released its watered down version of the draft of the Future of Financial Advice legislation yesterday. Assistant Treasurer Arthur Sinodinos said the government is supportive of...
View ArticleACCC chairman to take on CEO role, with budget woes to tackle
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has announced its chairman, Rod Sims, will take on the top job as chief executive officer starting on Monday, February 3. Sims replaces current chief...
View ArticleFast Lane: How unfair contract laws are making small businesses a target for...
Have you heard of a business called Publicity Monster? The Sydney company is run by Tim Sabre and operates by cold-calling small businesses, pledging to make them appear in Google Places' top seven...
View ArticleCourt finds LinkedIn accounts belong to business not employee
An employee in the United Kingdom has been ordered to hand over the log-in details of four LinkedIn group accounts to her former employer. The employee, Susan Wright, set up the LinkedIn accounts in...
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SPC Ardmona and the cheap Chinese food challenge
The political lobbying accompanying the government decision to withhold financial support from SPC Ardmona has overshadowed the big structural issues facing Australia’s preserved food industry. The two...
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Gary Morgan claims Fair Work Building & Construction perverted justice and...
Gary Morgan claims Fair Work Building & Construction threatened and intimidated witnesses to secure a judgment against the pollster’s family trust. Morgan, chairman of research company Roy Morgan,...
View ArticleSmall business complaints to the ACCC up 84%, as businesses dob in their...
Small business complaints to the competition and consumer watchdog have jumped 84% in the last half of 2013, as a result of increased education campaigns and court action. The Australian Competition...
View ArticleBCA chief calls on government not to target big business in competition review
The Business Council of Australia is calling for the federal government not to introduce any policy or law that restricts competition in its “root and branch review” of competition policy laws. BCA...
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