Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Actrol Parts Pty Ltd

The Federal Court of Australia was asked to consider an action brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) against Actrol Parts Pty Ltd. The ACCC alleged that Actrol had contravened sections 18(1) and 29(1)(i) of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) by providing misleading and deceptive information to its customers about the reasons for increasing the prices of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerant gas it supplied. Actrol admitted to the conduct and the contravening nature of the conduct in a statement of agreed facts. The ACCC and Actrol then jointly submitted proposed consent orders and relief to the Court. The ACCC sought a declaration, an injunction, a pecuniary penalty, publication orders, an order for a verification affidavit and an order for the implementation of a compliance program. The Court considered the appropriateness of the forms of relief sought by the ACCC and Actrol.

The Court found that the agreed facts presented by the parties established that Actrol had made false and misleading representations about the reasons for the price increases of HFC refrigerant gas. These representations were both express, through a letter distributed to customers, and implied, through the continued operation of the business. The Court accepted the agreed facts and noted that there was a proper contradictor in the sense of a person with an interest in opposing the grant of relief. The Court found that the declaration, injunction, publication orders, verification affidavit and compliance program were appropriate forms of relief to prevent future contraventions and to provide redress to consumers. The Court also considered the appropriateness of the pecuniary penalty proposed by the parties. The Court found that a penalty of $520,000 was appropriate given the seriousness of the conduct and the need to deter future contraventions.

The Court ordered that Actrol be restrained from making any representation that an increase in its list prices of refrigerants is for a specified reason when that reason has not materially contributed to that increase. Actrol was also ordered to pay a pecuniary penalty of $520,000 and to publish notices of the Court’s decision in The Australian newspaper and on its website. Actrol was further ordered to send a corrective notice to its customers and to implement a compliance program. Finally, Actrol was ordered to contribute $50,000 to the ACCC’s costs. The Court considered that these orders were appropriate to provide redress to consumers, to prevent future contraventions and to deter Actrol and other businesses from engaging in similar conduct.