Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) is the state's consumer affairs regulator and is part of the Department of Justice. It protects the interests of consumers, particularly vulnerable and disadvantaged consumers, and promotes a fair and safe trading environment. Its role is to:
- provide advice and information to consumers and businesses;
- promote high-quality business practice;
- ensure laws are appropriately enforced;
- review and update consumer affairs policy and regulation;
- register and license businesses and occupations; and
- provide a dispute resolution service for consumers, businesses, tenants and landlords.
Consumer Affairs Victoria provides information and advice by telephone, via its website, and face-to-face at its CBD and regional offices, including Justice Service Centres in Box Hill, Berwick and Broadmeadows. Its regional offices in Morwell, Wangaratta, Bendigo, Ballarat and Geelong also provide mobile outreach to many other Victoria locations. Information on office locations and regional outreach is available on the Consumer Affairs Victoria website. Contact details are at the end of this chapter.
The agency provides a free dispute resolution service for complaints involving domestic builders, real estate agents and general consumer matters. It also conciliates tenancy disputes, for example, on issues such as repairs, evictions, bonds and rent increases.This includes conciliating complaints involving owners corporations and retirement villages. In 2011, Consumer Affairs Victoria expanded its conciliation service to include small businesses, which are defined as consumers under the Australian Consumer Law.
Neighbourhood disputes concerning animals, trees, fences, noise and the behaviour of people are handled by a separate agency called the Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria (DSCV) which is also part of the Department of Justice. It provides free advice and mediation on these issues (see: Chapter 10*2 Neighbours and Noise for further information).
At 30 June 2011, Consumer Affairs Victoria was responsible for administering 34 Acts of Parliament, including the Fair Trading Act 1999, Residential Tenancies Act 1997, Motor Car Traders Act 1986 and Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995. The agency uses a range of criminal, civil and administrative measures to address non-compliance with the laws it administers.
Consumer Affairs Victoria provides free telephone and face-to-face advice to consumers, traders, tenants, landlords, and residents and owners of rooming houses, retirement villages and caravan parks.
Consumer Affairs Victoria's dispute resolution service is free. Its conciliators will discuss the issues and help identify options to resolve a dispute and bring about a voluntary settlement. Consumer Affairs Victoria cannot force a party to participate in conciliation, nor can it make a binding determination or force a party to accept a particular outcome.
What to do if you have a complaint
1. Try to resolve the complaint yourself
If you are a consumer or tenant having a dispute with a trader or landlord, Consumer Affairs Victoria encourages you to try to resolve the issue directly. Write or speak to the trader or someone with the authority to represent them, explain your concerns and suggest a resolution (see: "Self-help" at the beginning of this chapter).
Visit Consumer Affairs Victoria's website for information that best relates to your problem. Have the information with you when you speak to the trader so you can clearly state your rights and their obligations under the law. Many complaints are resolved at this stage with the help of the right information.
2. Get help from Consumer Affairs Victoria
If you are unable to resolve your dispute, contact Consumer Affairs Victoria or another appropriate body (see: "Contacts" at the end of this chapter).
In most cases, you will need to make your complaint to Consumer Affairs Victoria in writing. Complaints can be made online through Consumer Affairs Victoria's website, in person at one of its offices, or by calling to request a complaint form. If you do not feel confident about making a written complaint, you can get help at a Consumer Affairs Victoria office or a community legal centre (For a full listing of community legal centres see: Chapter 2*4 Advice Directory).
Consumer Affairs Victoria has criteria for assessing whether a complaint is suitable for conciliation. The key requirements are:
- complaints must be within Consumer Affairs Victoria's jurisdiction;
- an attempt must have been made to resolve the dispute with the trader or landlord;
- the dispute must not have been determined by, or be pending in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) or the courts; and
- there must be a reasonable likelihood that the dispute will be settled.
For more details see Consumer Affairs Victoria's conciliation policy, available on its website.
Consumer Affairs Victoria has two specialist dispute resolution services - for disputes about the conduct of real estate agents, and for disputes about domestic building and renovation issues.
For domestic building disputes, where appropriate, Consumer Affairs Victoria can request that a Building Commission inspector conduct an inspection of the building work and provide a report about any defective work. The report may be used by the conciliator to help resolve the dispute. Some domestic building disputes are suitable for an on-site conciliation; this involves a conciliator and a Building Commission inspector attending the site with both parties, in an attempt to reach an agreement.
3. If your dispute is not resolved
If your dispute is not resolved by conciliation, Consumer Affairs Victoria will provide information and advice on what alternatives you can pursue, such as taking the matter to VCAT.
VCAT has unlimited jurisdiction to determine consumer and trader disputes under the Fair Trading Act 1999 (s.107). (See: "Small Claims: the Civil Claims List of VCAT" earlier in this chapter for more details on how to make an application to VCAT. Also see: Chapter 21*3 Administrative Appeals Tribunals, for further information about VCAT processes).
Unresolved domestic building disputes can be taken to the Domestic Building List of VCAT. (See: Chapter 14*2 Domestic Building and Renovation Work, for more detailed information). Alternatively, the consumer may make an application to the relevant domestic building insurer, if the builder has died, is insolvent, or has disappeared. (See: "Contacts", below, for contact details for VCAT and other alternative dispute resolution services).
A variety of remedies are available to consumers under the various Acts administered by Consumer Affairs Victoria. For example, under section 108 of the Fair Trading Act 1999, VCAT has powers to:
- refer the dispute to a mediator
- order payment of money owed or damages
- vary any term of a contract
- declare that a term of a contract is void (including because it is an unfair contract term)
- order specific performance of a contract term
- order the refund of any money paid under a contract
- order rescission (cancellation) of a contract
For information relating to VCAT's powers under the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (Vic), see: Chapter 10*1 Tenancy.
Vulnerable and disadvantaged consumers may be eligible for referral by Consumer Affairs Victoria to advocacy services (see: "Advocacy" below), including representation before VCAT. In most cases, it will be up to the consumer to pursue remedies, either through an alternative dispute resolution scheme, VCAT, or a court (see: Chapter 1*2 Courts).
If your dispute gets to this stage, you should seek legal advice, available free from a community legal centre. For further information on remedies available under current laws see: Chapter 12*3 Consumer Protection Legislation.
Consumer Affairs Victoria's Indigenous Consumers Unit (ICU) works with indigenous communities and individuals to resolve consumer issues. It also provides advice on consumer, tenant, trader and landlord rights and responsibilities. (See: "Contacts", at the end of this chapter).
Consumer Affairs Victoria funds the following community agencies to provide face-to-face advocacy services for vulnerable and disadvantaged consumers and tenants: Tenants Union of Victoria; Peninsula Community Legal Centre; Housing for the Aged Action Group; Footscray Community Legal Centre and the following regional agencies:
- PACT Community Support (Grampians region)
- Rural Housing Network (Hume)
- Quantum Support Services (Gippsland)
- The Advocacy and Rights Centre (Loddon Mallee)
- Diversitat and Community Connections Victoria (Barwon South-West).
Advocates can provide information and advice, negotiate with traders or landlords, prepare materials and support consumers at VCAT hearings. Consumers and tenants or residents who contact Consumer Affairs Victoria with a dispute may be eligible for referral to these advocacy services.
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CONSUMER AFFAIRS VICTORIA :: Last updated: Thu Jul 1st 2010