ACCC Small Business and Franchising Half Yearly Report

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has published its half yearly report on small business and franchising. The biggest single issue remains misleading advertising and false representation, with over 1,000 complaints and enquiries received in the past year alone.

The complaints extend to credence claims which have been an area of priority for the ACCC. The ACCC explained that “Credence claims are important, and we need to protect honest small businesses who are selling premium products from unscrupulous competitors making false representations.” The ACCC has been actively policing credence claims in a wide variety of different markets.

The Small Business In Focus report also lists the sectors which are generating the most complaints and enquiries within the small business and franchising communities. They include:

• Advertising services

• ‘Non-store’ retailing (such as online retailers, milk vendors)

• ‘Other’ store-based retailing (e.g. art galleries, musical instrument stores, pet shops)

• Travel agency and tour arrangement services

• Wired telecommunication network operation

The small business, franchising and industry codes report is available at www.accc.gov.au/small-business-in-focus

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