Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, David Bradbury, welcomed the passage through the ACT Legislative Assembly this week of the final piece of legislation to enact the Australian Consumer Law (ACL).
With the passage of the Fair Trading (Australian Consumer Law) Amendment Bill 2010 through the ACT Legislative Assembly, legislation for the ACL is now in place in all jurisdictions in Australia for the law to commence on 1 January 2011.
"The passage of this piece of legislation was the final step towards the commencement of the Australian Consumer Law on 1 January 2011," said Mr Bradbury.
"This follows the endorsement of the ACL at last week's meeting of the Ministerial Council on Consumer Affairs.
"The implementation of the ACL completes a two-year process to harmonise the nation's consumer protection framework and delivers on one of the 27 priority deregulation reforms identified through COAG.
"The ACL was developed through the cooperation of the Commonwealth and States and Territories following a commitment in 2008 to move towards a national harmonised system of consumer protection and product safety.
"The ACL cuts down on red tape for businesses operating in more than one State and Territory, replacing 20 statutes with one new national law.
"Under the ACL, there will also be a nationally-consistent enforcement regime across all of the regulators in each jurisdiction.
"The Productivity Commission estimates that a harmonised consumer protection regime will provide up to $4.5 billion in benefits to the Australian economy.
"The ACL is an important part of the Gillard Government's micro-economic reform agenda, reducing the compliance burden for businesses and increasing the productivity of the Australian economy."
For more information on the ACL, go to www.consumerlaw.gov.au.
10 December 2010