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 6(3B)Scope or machinery

Reach beyond corporations

The Act extends Part 2-4 beyond the ordinary constitutional reach. It treats the new provisions as if they were confined to postal, telegraphic, telephonic and like services, and treats references to a corporation in Part XI as including a person who is not a corporation.

Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Act 2026, Schedule 1, Part 1, items 1 to 3, section 6(3B)Starts 1 July 2027Enforcement, penalties and reach
The requirement

Do not assume the new Part reaches only corporations. The extension is designed to reach conduct connected with communications services and persons who are not corporations.

Who it binds. The Commonwealth in applying the Act, and any supplier assessing whether the new Part can reach it.

Operative term. postal, telegraphic, telephonic or other like services

What this means in practice

The extension is a technical constitutional mechanism, but it has a practical consequence: an individual or a partnership that supplies consumer services can be within the new Part. The Act inserts the extension after subsection 6(3A) and amends subsection 6(3) and (4) to include Part 2-4. The reference to Part XI is also extended to a person who is not a corporation. For a compliance team, the point is simple: do not treat incorporation as the test for coverage. The entity classification matters for the penalty setting, not for whether the conduct is regulated.

How to test it

Ask whether the supplier is a corporation, an individual, a partnership or a trustee. Then ask whether the supply is connected with a communications service or otherwise within the extended reach. Do not stop at the corporate form. Record the answer with the entity classification used for the penalty assessment, so the coverage and the penalty setting are decided on the same facts.

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.

  • Entity registerThe legal form of each supplier entity and the person responsible.
  • Service descriptionWhether the supply involves postal, telegraphic, telephonic or like services.
  • Coverage noteThe reason the new Part does or does not reach the entity.
  • Penalty classificationThe entity class used for the penalty unit row.
  • Review dateThe next review of the coverage note.

What to do first

  1. Do not use incorporation as the coverage test.
  2. Record the legal form and the service type for every supplier entity.
  3. Keep the coverage note with the penalty classification.

Questions

Does the ban apply to an individual?
The Act extends the reach of Part 2-4 and treats references to a corporation in Part XI as including a person who is not a corporation. An individual supplier can be within the regime.
Why does the extension mention communications services?
It is a constitutional drafting technique that connects the provisions to a power the Commonwealth can rely on. It is not a limit to telecommunications businesses.

Related sections

s 28B(1): The bans penalties: Penaltiess 311: Conduct timing