explanatory STATEMENT

Select Legislative Instrument 2010 No. 305

Issued by the Authority of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer

Trade Practices Amendment (Australian Consumer Law) Act (No. 2) 2010

Trade Practices Amendment (Australian Consumer Law – Corded Internal Window Coverings) Transitional Regulations 2010

Clause 12 of Schedule 7 to the Trade Practices Amendment (Australian Consumer Law) Act (No. 2) 2010 (the ACL) provides that the Governor‑General may make regulations prescribing matters of a transitional, application or saving nature in relation to the amendments and repeals made by the Schedules of the ACL.

Clause 106 of Schedule 1 to the ACL provides that a person must not, in trade or commerce, offer to supply consumer goods of a particular kind if a safety standard for consumer goods of that kind is in force and those goods do not comply with the standard. The clause also provides that a person must not, in or for the purposes of trade or commerce, manufacture, possess or have control of consumer goods if the supply of the consumer goods is prohibited by the clause.

Subclause 104(2) of Schedule 1 provides that a safety standard for consumer goods of a particular kind may consist of such requirements as are reasonably necessary to prevent or reduce risk of injury to any person. These requirements may relate to, among other things, contents, design, packaging of consumer goods, and the form and content of warnings or instructions to accompany the consumer goods.

The purpose of the Regulations is to save State and Territory regulatory instruments under the ACL related to corded internal window coverings when the ACL takes effect on 1 January 2011. Saving the State and Territory regulatory instruments under the ACL ensures that the Trade Practices (Consumer Product Safety Standard – Corded Internal Window Coverings) Amendment Regulations 2010 (No. 1), which have been made at the same time as these Regulations, has effect under the ACL.

The ACL changes the name of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (the TP Act) to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 on 1 January 2011 and replaces the existing Schedule 2 to the TP Act with an expanded Schedule 2 including a new section 104 – Making safety standards for consumer goods and product related services. The effect of the Regulations is that, for the period from 1 January 2011 to 30 June 2011, an existing State or Territory regulation for corded internal window coverings will continue to apply as if it was made under section 104 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.

Details of the Regulations are in Attachment A.

The Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003. For the purposes of section 17 of that Act, corded internal window covering suppliers have been consulted prior to developing the Regulations and have agreed to the additional time to continue selling stock which complies with the State and Territory regulations.

The Regulations commence on 1 January 2011.

 

ATTACHMENT A

Details of the Trade Practices Amendment (Australian Consumer Law – Corded Internal Window Coverings) Transitional Regulations 2010.

Regulation 1 – Name of Regulations

This regulation provides that the name of the Regulations is the Trade Practices Amendment (Australian Consumer Law – Corded Internal Window Coverings) Transitional Regulations 2010.

Regulation 2 – Commencement

This regulation provides that the Regulations commence on 1 January 2011.

Regulation 3 – Transitional

This regulation provides that starting on 1 January 2011 and ending at the end of 30 June 2011, a State or Territory instrument or provision of an instrument, as listed in the Regulations, has the effect in the State or Territory in which it was made as if it were a safety standard made under section 104 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. This regulation applies despite the amendment of a law of a State or Territory in relation to the enactment of the Trade Practices Amendment (Australian Consumer Law) Act (No.2) 2010.