This is a guest post from Dominic Woolrych, Legal Product Manager at LawPath 
.
Australia has entered the e-commerce age and so has the law governing online transactions. Legislative changes surrounding the collection of personal information, as well as buying and selling online means businesses need to stay up to date with the law. To ensure your business is meeting Australian expectations, we’ve outlined a number of key e-commerce issues that all businesses should consider when selling goods and services online.
Transaction Obligations:
E-commerce transactions are governed in Australia by the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). This legislation applies to consumer goods and services bought or sold in any state or territory in Australia. What this means is that the same laws applying to face-to-face transactions now apply to online transactions.
In completing a transaction, it is important for your business to include:
a clear description of the product
cost details including delivery, insurance and any credit card charges
information on exchange, refunds and warranty policies
details of when consumers will receive the good or service
the terms and conditions of the agreement.
Your business must also keep records as a legal requirement. They should be accessible, written in English, and must be kept for up to five years after they are prepared, obtained or completed. Failure to do so can result in penalties.
Service Obligations and Consumer Guarantees
Australian Consumer Law provide shoppers with automatic guarantees to protect consumers from unacceptable and/or misleading products and services. A full list of consumer guarantees can be found on the ACCC website.
A number of consumer rights also apply under the law when purchasing goods or services under $40,000 or over $40,000 if for personal, domestic or household use. Examples of these include guarantees for warranties offered, rights to repair, replacements and refunds.
Selling Obligations
As a business, it is important to allow customers to purchase with confidence. Your obligations include ensuring that the product received matches the online description, as well as meeting safety and quality standards. Further, there should be no misleading or hidden information regarding costs. It is also important for the consumer to know who they are buying products from and possible avenues for complaints. You can do this by providing your business contact information including the trading name, a physical address, email and telephone details as well as any statutory license numbers. This information should be clear, accurate and accessible.
Marketing Obligations
The internet is a powerful and essential tool in modern marketing, however there are a number of legal obligations surrounding marketing of which you must be aware.
The SPAM Act 2003 (Cth) prohibits all unsolicited electronic communication. This includes emails, instant messages, SMS and MMS. You can take three steps to ensure you are complying with these laws:
make sure you have consent from the people you are sending messages to
identify your business with details that are accurate over the next 30 days
allow them the option to unsubscribe.
Privacy obligations
Personal information obtained online is subject to the same laws governing offline information collection. The National Privacy Principles (NPPs) set out in the Privacy Act 1988 lists the requirements for businesses concerning personal information. To ensure that consumer information is protected, simply provide a policy that tells consumers exactly what you will use their information for. We recommend taking the privacy checklist for small business to ensure you’re compliant with Australian privacy laws.
Things to remember:
Trademarks: It’s a good idea to trademark your business to ensure that you have proprietary rights over your brand. Learn more about trademarks here .
GST: Don’t forget that GST applies to all online transactions. This guide provides a complete insight on how GST affects your business.
The material in this blog post is not intended to nor should it be relied on as a substitute for legal advice. Readers should seek independent legal advice relevant to their business’ particular circumstances.