Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Jetstar Airways Pty Ltd

In the Federal Court, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) brought proceedings against Jetstar Airways Pty Ltd for making misleading and deceptive representations about the refundability of airline fares. The dispute centred on Jetstar's website representations that certain fares were non-refundable, despite statutory consumer guarantees potentially entitling consumers to refunds. Additionally, Jetstar's conditions of carriage stated that flight services were not subject to statutory guarantees, which further misled consumers regarding their remedies.

The primary legal issues involved whether the agreed penalties and orders proposed by the parties were appropriate and whether the Court should exercise its discretion to accept these agreed terms. The Court considered principles such as the public interest in promoting predictability of outcomes and the importance of sending a strong deterrent message to prevent future non-compliance. It also weighed the lack of intent to mislead and Jetstar's high degree of cooperation with the ACCC.

The Court found that the agreed penalties and orders were appropriate given the circumstances. It relied on the precedent set in Commonwealth v Director, Fair Work Building Industry Inspectorate, which supported the practice of accepting agreed penalties and orders in civil penalty proceedings. The Court exercised judicial restraint, accepting the agreed terms as long as they were within the appropriate range and served the public interest. Ultimately, the Court approved the agreed penalty of $1.95 million and the other proposed orders, emphasising the importance of deterrence and the cooperative stance taken by Jetstar.