In Australia, the consumer protection laws apply to online sales just as they would to any other business sale. Australian Email Address When buying goods online from someone in Australia, Australian consumer law will apply to the purchase to anyone selling goods to customers in Australia. Australian Email Address However, it becomes more difficult to enforce Australian laws and requirements if you have purchased from an overseas online business. Australian Email Address Not only should the possibility of personal misuse turn someone off buying a product, but not including warranty and refund information should always be a major concern.
It is possible that the day after using the website you could have an inbox full of junk/spam mail or your email could be hacked as a result of your detail being passed on or sold. Australian Email Address You should be very careful as a consumer giving your personal details to websites that have no terms and conditions, outdated policies or little/no privacy statements. Australian Email Address The sites are operating illegally as they do not abide by regulatory requirements. Australian Email Address By using these and in these cases, there may be little or no protection against such websites selling on your personal information.
To meet the Australian consumer law requirements, you need to include a statement in your terms or on your website which complies with the new Consumer legislation. Australian Email Address The new Australian Consumer Legislation has now been incorporated as Part XI of the Australian Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth). Australian Email Address There is specific wording which you need to include that generally explains your goods and services company policy and provides a guarantee to your customers. Australian Email Address This includes, for example, your eCommerce website's policy on shipping and returns among other requirements.