Compliance for Retail trade
Retailers covered by the General Retail Industry Award and ACL product safety.
Published obligations that apply to retail trade (15)
- criticalCWLTHNotifiable Data Breach (NDB) scheme
Under the NDB scheme, APP entities must notify the OAIC and affected individuals of an eligible data breach likely to cause serious harm — assessed within 30 days.
- criticalCWLTHFood and Grocery Code of Conduct (now mandatory)
Major supermarkets bound by mandatory Code with civil penalties from April 2025.
- criticalCWLTHComply with Heavy Vehicle Chain of Responsibility (CoR)
Every party in the heavy vehicle supply chain has a positive duty under HVNL.
- highCWLTHWash outbound marketing lists against the Do Not Call Register
Lists must be washed within 30 days of the call/SMS unless valid consent.
- highCWLTHAvoid unfair contract terms in standard form consumer & small business contracts
From November 2023, unfair contract terms carry pecuniary penalties — up to $100M per term (from 28 March 2026).
- highCWLTHPublish a Privacy Policy that meets APP 1
Every APP entity needs a clearly-expressed Privacy Policy covering APP 1.4 requirements.
- highCWLTHComply with the Spam Act 2003 (consent, identify, unsubscribe)
All commercial electronic messages must have consent, identify the sender, and offer a working unsubscribe.
- highCWLTHWine Equalisation Tax (WET) for producers + wholesalers
WET at 29% on wine wholesale value; rebate scheme up to $350K per producer.
- highCWLTHComply with the Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code
Advertising of therapeutic goods to consumers must comply with the TGA Advertising Code and prohibited representations.
- highCWLTHCountry of Origin Labelling for food (CoOL Information Standard)
Food sold in Australia must carry country-of-origin labelling per the 2016 Information Standard.
- highCWLTHComply with Plain English Allergen Labelling (PEAL)
From 25 February 2026, allergen labelling must use plain English and a standardised format.
- highCWLTHOrganic claims and organic certification — certification mandatory for export only
Organic certification is not legally required to describe a product as organic in Australia, but every organic claim must be provable; exporting organic goods requires certification by an approved certifying body.
- highCWLTHImplement Food Safety Management Tool (Standard 3.2.2A)
Category 1 food businesses must use a Food Safety Management Tool to verify critical controls.
- highCWLTHHonour consumer guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law
Goods and services supplied to consumers come with automatic statutory guarantees that cannot be excluded.
- highCWLTHNotify ACCC of a voluntary recall within 2 days
Suppliers must notify the ACCC within 2 days of initiating a voluntary consumer product recall.