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At Australian Choice we only sell products that are made in Australia
- but what does that mean?
We use the criteria set by the Australian Made Campaign, which is a government funded body set up to administer the Australian made logo (green triangle with a kangaroo in gold).
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) also plays an important part in protecting country of origin claims.
Country of origin claims
- A country of origin claim is any labeling, packaging, logo or advertising that makes a statement, claim or implication about the country from which goods come.
The most common claims are 'Made in Australia', or 'Product of Australia'.
The law
- The Trade Practices Act prohibits businesses from making false or misleading representation concerning the place of origin of goods.
- The Act defines a set of defences for goods that pass certain tests. These are set out below.
'Made in Australia'
- This claim has two components that must be met:
- the goods must have been substantially transformed in the country claimed to be the origin; and
- 50 per cent or more of the costs of production must have been carried out in that country.
Substantial transformation
- The provisions define substantial transformations as:
A fundamental change - in form, appearance or nature such that the goods existing after the change are new and different goods from those existing before the change.
What does that mean?
- It means that simple treatments or processing - such as repackaging or mere assembly - are not likely to qualify an otherwise imported good for the 'Made in Australia' claim.
Costs of production
- Under the Act, three broad categories of costs of production or manufacture are considered:
expenditure on materials, labour and overheads. The costs must relate directly to the final goods.
'Product of Australia'
- This is now regarded as a premium claim about the origin of goods, and two rigorous criteria must be met:
- each significant component (or ingredient) of the good must originate from the country of the claim; and
- all, or virtually all, of the production processes must take place there.
Complaints and inquiries
- Complaints and enquiries should be taken up with the retailer who sold the goods or with the manufacturer. They might not realise that their claims risk breaching the law.
- Otherwise you can contact the ACCC at its offices in each capital city as well as Townsville and Tamworth.
More information
- The ACCC's guide to Country of origin claims and the Trade Practices Act is available free from all ACCC offices or on its website
www.accc.gov.au
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