The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, the Hon Ross Cameron MP, today called for submissions to the Australian Government review of Building Consumer Sovereignty in E-commerce — A Best Practice Model for Business.
The review, to be led by the Government's Expert Group on Electronic Commerce, will assess whether the Best Practice Model has been effective in providing guidance to business on the best way to deal with consumers online.
"I have also asked the Expert Group to report on ways the Government can effectively respond to current and emerging online consumer issues," Mr Cameron said.
Since the Best Practice Model was released in 2000, Australian consumers have become more confident in using the Internet, Ross Cameron said. "Australians now routinely use the Internet to shop, pay bills and do their banking," he said.
"According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, as at September 2002, there were 3.9 million active household Internet subscribers in Australia — an increase of 14 per cent over the previous two years."
The Expert Group has prepared a discussion paper to form the basis for consultations during the review. The discussion paper has been drafted to encourage comments and ideas from a broad range of groups, including individual consumers and businesses, as well as their advocates, advisers and peak representative bodies.
"This approach will ensure that the Government provides relevant and effective advice to business," Ross Cameron said. "The review will ensure that Australia continues to enjoy world class consumer protection in electronic commerce."
The terms of reference for the review and the discussion paper are available from the review website at www.ecommerce.treasury.gov.au/bpmreview.
The closing date for submissions is 28 November 2003.