Overview

The Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA) was enacted to implement a national consumer law regime known as the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) and to address consumer safety issues. The CCA replaced the Trade Practices Act 1974 (TPA), which had previously declared sky lanterns unsafe, leading to an interim ban on 1 January 2011 as the ACL came into force. The policy objective of the permanent ban on sky lanterns, imposed under subsection 114(1)(a) of Schedule 2 to the CCA, is to ensure ongoing consumer safety by prohibiting the supply of these goods due to the risk of uncontrolled fires, particularly in bushfire-prone areas. This ban is a legislative instrument subject to sunsetting under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (LIA), with an expected sunset date of 1 April 2021 unless deferred or exempted.

Scope and Application

The Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA) applies to all persons and entities within Australia, including businesses, corporations, and individuals, and governs conduct and transactions that may contravene the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) as set out in Schedule 2 of the CCA. The Act has a national jurisdictional reach, applying across all states and territories of Australia. In particular, the Act includes provisions for imposing bans on consumer goods deemed unsafe, such as the permanent ban on sky lanterns which was implemented to ensure ongoing consumer safety by prohibiting the supply of these products due to the risk of uncontrolled fires. The ban on sky lanterns was initially imposed as an interim measure and subsequently made permanent under the CCA. The Act allows for the extension of the ban through subordinate instruments, and consultation requirements are met as stipulated in the Legislative Instruments Act 2003. The ban is expected to sunset on 1 April 2021 unless otherwise deferred or exempted.

Key Provisions

The Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA) includes provisions that impose a permanent ban on sky lanterns, a type of miniature, unmanned hot air balloon that poses a fire risk due to their open fuel sources (s114(1)(a)). The ban on sky lanterns came into effect on 1 January 2011, following an interim ban that had been in place since the commencement of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) (s109). The ban was put in place to prevent consumer injury caused by the potential for uncontrolled fires when the open flame of the lantern comes into contact with combustible materials, particularly in bushfire-prone areas. The ban is intended to ensure ongoing consumer safety and is subject to sunsetting provisions under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (LIA), with an expected sunset date of 1 April 2021 unless action is taken to defer or exempt it. The CCA imposes obligations on entities to comply with the ban on the supply of sky lanterns. This includes manufacturers, importers, suppliers, and retailers of these products. Entities must ensure that they do not supply, advertise, or promote sky lanterns in any way, as doing so would be in breach of the ban. The ban applies to all consumer goods of this kind, and there are no known suppliers of these banned goods. The ban is in place to protect consumers from the potential harm that sky lanterns can cause and to prevent the supply of these goods in Australia. Breaching the permanent ban on sky lanterns is an offence under the CCA, and individuals and entities can face criminal and civil penalties. Criminal penalties can include fines of up to $1.1 million for individuals and $5.5 million for bodies corporate, as well as imprisonment for up to five years for individuals (s132). Civil penalties can include pecuniary penalties of up to $1.1 million for individuals and $5.5 million for bodies corporate, as well as the potential for injunctions or other court orders to prevent further breaches of the ban (s87). These penalties are in place to deter individuals and entities from breaching the ban and to enforce compliance with the CCA and its associated regulations.