Starts 1 July 2027/C2026A00064/Read from the authorised Act/Not legal advice; does not certify
Competition and Consumer CheckerThe Act, section by section
Section 311Scope or machinery

Conduct caught from the start date

The unfair trading practices prohibition applies to conduct that occurs from the Part 1 start date. The date of the sale or offer does not matter, so conduct after the start date can be caught under an earlier supply relationship.

Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Act 2026, Schedule 1, Part 4, item 22, section 311Starts 1 July 2027Part 4: application and review
The requirement

Date the conduct, not the contract. A sale made before 1 July 2027 does not take later conduct outside the ban.

Who it binds. Suppliers with existing consumer relationships, and the teams that handle renewals, changes and service after the start date.

Operative term. conduct that occurs on or after commencement

What this means in practice

This is the provision that stops a supplier from arguing that an old contract is a safe harbour. The test is when the conduct happens. A misleading message, a pressure tactic or an obstruction in the course of an existing supply after 1 July 2027 is within the ban, even if the supply began years earlier. The practical work is to date the conduct and keep the evidence. A complaint about a call in August 2027 is a different matter from a complaint about a sale in 2026. Train the front line to record the date and the conduct, not only the contract date.

How to test it

For each consumer matter, record the date of the conduct and the date of the sale separately. If the conduct is on or after 1 July 2027, apply the new ban even where the contract predates it. If the conduct is earlier, the new ban does not apply to that conduct, but the existing Part 3-1 provisions may. Do not use the contract date as the only date in the file.

Evidence to keep

The Act does not prescribe these records. They are the artefacts our reading says a regulator or auditor may ask for; keep the ones that fit your business and the provision.

  • Conduct logThe date of each consumer interaction, kept separately from the contract date.
  • Complaint recordThe date, channel and conduct described in each complaint.
  • Training noteThe instruction to record conduct dates for pre-existing customers.
  • Contract registerThe start date of each consumer relationship, used only to identify the sale.
  • Review sampleA sample of post-start-date interactions tested against the ban.

What to do first

  1. Add a conduct date field to complaints and incident records.
  2. Brief the front line that an old contract does not make new conduct old.
  3. Test a sample of post-start interactions against the two-limb test.

Questions

Does the ban apply to a contract signed before the start date?
The ban applies to conduct on or after commencement, whether the sale or offer was made before, on or after that date. The contract date does not decide it.
What about conduct before the start date?
The new ban does not apply to conduct before commencement. The existing Australian Consumer Law provisions may still apply.

Related sections

s 28B(1): The bans 312: Contract timings 313: Property safeguard