ACCC Priorities in 2021

[Revenge]

I thought this article summarising the ACCC's priorities for 2021 was interesting.

ACCC’s 2021 Enforcement Priorities

www.herbertsmithfreehills.com

• Travel sector – during 2020 the ACCC’s role in this sector grew exponentially with a 500% increase in complaints regarding the sector. The ACCC’s COVID-19 Enforcement Taskforce will continue to actively monitor the forward sales practices of travel businesses to ensure compliance with the consumer law, especially the misleading and deceptive conduct provisions.
• Aviation sector – the ACCC will monitor the aviation sector, as directed by the Treasurer in June 2020, and will be reporting quarterly to the Government on prices, costs and profits of the Australian domestic aviation sector. In addition, the ACCC will be closely monitoring the entry of regional airline, REX, onto the key east coast routes as well as REX’s ability to secure access to slots at Sydney Airport.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Yeah... doesn't hurt to advertise some 'areas of interest'. At the very least it might dissuade any companies looking to see what they can get away with. Better to stop the activity before it happens than have to deal with and breaches later.

 

[Daver6]

I think one area the ACCC (or whichever regulatory body is responsible for it) should look at is refund processes and timeliness of refunds. There is no excuse for airlines not having an automated process in place by now. In a similar vain,

I had tickets to a Perth Fringe show that was cancelled. The show was actually after the Perth lockdown but still during the restriction week. Many shows went ahead but some, like mine, were cancelled as they were deemed viable with a restricted audience. I have no issue with this. However, they surely would have/should have had plans in place for this scenario. Weeks later I'm still waiting for my refund.

I think there needs to be some enforceable guidelines for timely refund processes.

My 2 (not yet refunded) cents.