Commentary on Sections Part 6: Consumer Protection and Miscellaneous New section 30G: Consumer redress orders
580.Subsection (1) sets out the circumstances in which the Authority may make a consumer redress order. The Authority must be satisfied that a “regulated person” has contravened a relevant condition or requirement of its licence and as a result of that contravention one or more consumers have suffered loss or damage or been caused inconvenience.
581.Subsection (2) describes the requirements which the Authority may impose on a regulated person in a consumer redress order. A consumer redress order may require a regulated person to do such things as appear to the Authority to be necessary for the purpose of remedying the consequences of the contravention or preventing a contravention of the same or similar kind from being repeated.
582.Subsection (3) specifies some things which must be included in a consumer redress order. For example, the order must specify the regulated person to whom the order applies, the contravention in respect of which the order is made and the requirements imposed by the order.
583.Subsection (4) imposes an obligation on the Authority to serve a copy of the order on the regulated person to whom it applies and serve a copy on affected consumers. Where the number of consumers affected is large the Authority can choose to publish a copy of the order in a way which it believes will bring the order to the attention of affected consumers, see subsection (4)(b)(ii).
584.Subsection (5) prevents a requirement imposed on a regulated person having to be complied with earlier than the end of the period of seven days from the date the order is served on that person. This provision builds in a minimum period within which a regulated person will have to consider the requirements in the order and to consider how it will comply with those requirements.
585.Subsection (8) defines “affected consumers”, “consumers” and “consumer redress order”.