PUBLISHERS are being targeted by a campaign to protect job seekers from misleading job advertisements.
The campaign is being jointly run by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the Australian Publishers’ Bureau.
The partnership has released Misleading Job and Business Opportunity Ads — How to Handle Them.
ACCC chairman Allan Fels said the booklet was designed to help media outlets identify potentially misleading job and business opportunity advertising and action needed to ensure readers were not misled.
“This filter will be a major aid to help consumers and publishers,” Prof. Fels said. “Advertisers must ensure their job advertisements in newspapers indicate the true nature of the positions and are placed in the appropriate employment categories so, for example, commission-based jobs are not advertised in the Positions Vacant column.
“The ACCC is monitoring job advertisements closely and will take swift action when it believes job seekers are being misled.”
Misleading job advertisements can be in breach of the Trade Practices Act.
APB chairman John Huston said the bureau would conduct a series of inhouse training programs for its members’ constituent publications.
“It will be the APB’s responsibility to ensure prompt and complete distribution of the booklet to all member publications,” Mr Huston said.
