All state and territory governments have agreed to support the Commonwealth’s move toward a national ban on unfair trading practices, particularly in relation to subscriptions, pricing transparency, and consumer guarantees.

Earlier this year, MEA responded to the Government’s consultation on these reforms, strongly advocating for small businesses to be treated in a similar manner to individual consumers. Given their vulnerable position in the supply chain, small businesses face comparable power imbalances and therefore warrant equivalent legal protections.

In particular, MEA called for protections to extend beyond product purchases and into construction contracts, with a clear focus on fair and timely payment practices. You can read our submission here.

While the initial reforms are primarily offered to individual consumers, the Government has confirmed it will shortly consult on extending unfair trading practice protections to small businesses, which is a great announcement for our members.

Key elements of the announced reforms include strengthening consumer guarantees, making it easier to obtain refunds or replacements for faulty products. Notably, manufacturers will be required to indemnify suppliers for the cost of providing remedies, so small businesses aren’t left out of pocket for doing the right thing.

This is particularly welcome for MEA members who often struggle to recover costs associated with faulty products, an issue highlighted most recently through the faulty power coil saga.

The reforms also target practices that undermine transparency and fairness, including:

• Making subscription cancellations as simple as signing up
• Criminalising “drip pricing”, where additional mandatory fees are added after an initially advertised price

MEA commends the Federal Government for its targeted action to strengthen consumer protections. We strongly encourage the prompt extension of these reforms to small businesses, with a specific focus on construction contract payment terms, ensuring subcontractors are paid what they are owed, when they are owed, and are not forced to act as financiers for larger contractors.

You can read more about the announcement here.