Zipser, Ben --- "Editorial: Protecting consumers" [2018] PrecedentAULA 28; (2018) 146 Precedent 2

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PROTECTING CONSUMERS

By Ben Zipser

In Australia, laws exist in a variety of statutes to protect consumers in connection with their purchase and use of products and services. The most broadly applied statute is the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), which includes the Australian Consumer Law in Schedule 2. Other Commonwealth statutes that provide important protections for consumers include the Australian Securities and Investments Commissions Act 2001 (Cth) and Chapter 7 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) in relation to financial services, and the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (Cth) in relation to consumer credit. At the state and territory level, there are a variety of statutes, or parts of statutes, which, in various ways, seek to protect consumers in connection with their purchase and use of products and services.

This edition of Precedent aims to inform readers about some recent developments and topical issues in the area of consumer law. A growing area of business activity in Australia is online shopping. Victoria Roy, in her contribution to this edition, considers the extent to which Australians who purchase goods online from an overseas supplier have a remedy in an Australian court against the supplier if the goods are faulty.

Claims by patients against healthcare providers for poor treatment are traditionally pleaded as negligence claims. However, in some cases, it may be useful for the patient to plead the claim under the Australian Consumer Law. Bill Madden considers this issue in his article titled ‘Medical claims and the Australian Consumer Law’.

Cosmetic surgery is a broad description of all forms of surgery related to the enhancement of appearance. For at least the last two decades there has been occasional debate about how best to regulate cosmetic surgery in Australia to protect consumers. Ngaire Watson, in her contribution to this edition, summarises the history of efforts to regulate this sector over the last two decades. In particular, she reports on the recent release of guidelines by the Medical Board of Australia for registered medical practitioners who perform cosmetic medical and surgical procedures.

An issue of relevance to most readers of Precedent is the interaction between Australian consumer laws and the fees that legal practitioners charge customers for their services. Sharon Drew, a specialist costs consultant, provides a useful article on this topic. Her article identifies provisions of the Australian Consumer Law which, given their design to protect consumers from wrongful conduct by service providers, may affect the ability of legal practitioners to recover fees charged to clients.

The Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 (Cth) is intended to include consumer protection provisions in respect of therapeutic goods sold in Australia. According to Katinka Day, consumer protections have been considerably weakened by the passing of amending legislation earlier this year. Katinka’s article highlights the value of regulations which require manufacturers and suppliers to provide accurate information concerning their products to consumers.

For many years there has been legislation in place in Australia intended to protect consumers from poor conduct by providers of financial services, including consumer loans. Recent revelations of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry indicate significant problems and inadequacies with the operation of the regulatory scheme. Josh Mennen’s contribution to this edition considers legal protections available to consumers against lenders and brokers in relation to consumer loans.

Other topics covered in this edition of Precedent include an article by Joshua Aylward on two class actions brought by communities against the Commonwealth of Australia arising from contamination of land used by the Australian Defence Force due to over 25 years of toxic chemical use. The contamination has flowed from the land used by the Australian Defence Force to the land on which the plaintiff communities are located, posing risks to human health and the environment. A case note by Ngaire Watson considers a claim by a ‘vulnerable’ plaintiff against the manufacturer of a poker machine in respect of money the plaintiff lost gambling on the machine.

This edition of Precedent contains a spread of articles in relation to consumer law and product liability that will be of interest to consumers and their legal advisers. Readers should find the edition informative.