We have commissioned the following advice from our business compliance advisors, HWL Ebsworth, to assist our members understand important aspects of the amendment to the Trade Practices Act (Section 53C) which came into force last month.

It is now law that whenever you give a price for a consumer style service that might be used for personal purposes (eg, shipping personal effects) you must give the customer an all inclusive or 'all in' price.

For services covered by the new rules, it is illegal to quote a price as, say, "$ x plus surcharges". If surcharges or other unavoidable charges apply, you must add them up using the current rates and tell the customer the total minimum price they will pay.

The all inclusive pricing rules do not apply when you are giving prices to a company, or giving prices for non-consumer services.

It is important to remember, however, that the general obligation not to engage in conduct that is likely to mislead (s52) always still applies.

For example, even if s53C does not apply:

• It is illegal to quote a base freight rate or quote just part of the price for a freight service in a way that is likely to make the customer think that is all they have to pay. If there are other charges to pay, it is important this is always made clear.
• Be careful of using price information selectively. For example, if a customer asks for a comparison of prices between carriers on a particular route, it might be misleading to tell them just the carrier with the cheapest base freight rate if you know that once all charges are taken into account, a different carrier is in fact the cheapest.

For further background refer to AFIF Bulletins:

May 9, 2009: http://www.afif.asn.au/pdf/2009/news/InclusivePricing.html
Feb 18, 2009: http://www.afif.asn.au/pdf/2009/news/allinclusive.html

Or visit the information on 'Component Price advertising' on the ACCC Website through the following link: http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/871339

Brian Lovell
Chief Executive Officer

Australian Federation of International Forwarders Ltd (AFIF)
Suite 403, Level 3
152 Bunnerong Road
Eastgardens NSW 2036
Tel: (61 2) 9314 3055
Fax: (61 2) 9314 3116