The Australian consumer law after the first three years - is it a success?

The Australian Consumer Law (ACL), which is located in Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) (CCA), came into force on 1 January 2011. A main reason for the ACL was to create a single Australia-wide regime, which would replace the myriad of consumer protection provisions contained in the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) (TPA) and the various State and Territory legislation the majority of which being the State Fair Trading Acts. The hope was that this new single Australia-wide regime approach to consumer protection would bring with it greater legal certainty than previously, especially for businesses operating in more than one of the Australian jurisdictions (a common feature in today's business world). However, a consolidation of the existing law was not the only goal; several other significant changes were also implemented, one of which was an increase in the enforcement powers of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). Now that it has been in force for three years, it is timely to assess whether or not the ACL has been a success. This is an area of the law that is particularly important since various provisions of the ACL apply not just to consumer law matters