Protection for small business

The State Government is considering widening consumer protection legislation to include small business.

Such a change would reflect the growing role of small business in the community, where increasing numbers of former employees are becoming business owners or sole operators without experience in dealing with disputes.

Their avenues of complaint are limited to the courts or the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which administers the Trade Practices Act.

By the end of 2005, Consumer and Employment Protection Minister John Kobelke expects to receive a report and recommendations on a review he announced almost three years ago.

The report will be the result of a long-delayed review into the Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading Acts, which was announced in November 2002 as part of the Gallop Government’s commitment to restore protection for WA consumers.

WA Business News has learned of the expected changes during investigations into complaints by exhibitors at events managed by Perth company Media & Events Australia and associated entities.

Numerous complainants said they had been advised that DOCEP offered no recourse for business-to-business arrangements.

Under the current legislation, small businesses cannot complain to DOCEP because they are not classified as consumers.

At least one complainant, Creative Veneers and Furniture, has since taken the matter to the ACCC, which is investigating the My Home Expo and Every Home Expo.

When he announced the review, Mr Kobelke asked for public input and said it was time to “rethink the needs of the community which may have changed considerably since the acts were written in the 1970s and 80s”.

He said the acts had never been comprehensively reviewed since their induction.

The main issues Mr Kobelke said he wanted comment on included:

• the definition of ‘consumer’ and whether the term should be expanded to include small business;

• the effectiveness and adequacy of the existing powers of the Commissioner for Fair Trading;

• whether the DOCEP should provide conciliation services to small business; and

• the effectiveness of the Unfair Practices division.

Mr Kobelke blamed changes to legislation, including laws relating to trading hours, finance brokers, uniform trade measurement and charitable collections for the review’s delay.

“It has meant the review of these acts has not progressed as quickly as I would have liked,” he said.

Bob Reakes from Creative Veneers and Furniture said his company was unable to lodge a complaint about the My Home Expo because the classification of consumer in the acts did not include business.

Mr Reakes said he complained about Consolidated Events Australia, an entity associated with Media & Events Australia, after the event was postponed three times and the location changed from the Burswood Dome to the Fremantle Passenger Terminal.

“The expo was originally due to take place in September 2004, then February this year, but didn’t actually happen until May,” he said. 

“Small business needs protection like every consumer and to be classed as a normal consumer.”

Mr Reakes approached the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission with his complaint and has received a letter from the organisation’s assistant director for WA, Tony Hilton, saying that, “the matter you raised is currently being assessed”.

Consolidated Events Australia has since advised clients that it has transferred all its current events contracts to another entity, Australian Corporate Exhibitions, managed by Greg Millar.

Media & Events sales consultant John Webb said he was surprised by reports of any complaints and that the firm was simply trying to do the best by its clients in order to win repeat business.