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For businesses / Letters from the ACCC or Consumer Affairs Victoria

A letter from the ACCC or Consumer Affairs Victoria

A regulator's letter can be a request for information, a warning, or a compulsory notice with a deadline. The first reply matters.

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1800 776 529

Quoted

On this page: First steps What I do The law Enquire

In short

  • A regulator’s letter can be a request for information, a warning, or a compulsory notice with a deadline.
  • Failing to comply with a compulsory notice can be an offence.
  • Keep everything. Do not delete emails, messages or documents that may be relevant.
  • Get advice before you reply.
  • Cost and next step: quoted in writing before I start. Start online or call 1800 776 529.

First steps

01

Read it for the deadline and the type of letter

Some letters are voluntary requests. Others are compulsory: an ACCC notice to give information, produce documents or appear;1 a substantiation notice asking you to back up a claim you made, usually within 21 days;2 or a Consumer Affairs Victoria notice in an investigation.3 Failing to comply with a compulsory notice can be an offence.

02

Keep everything

Do not delete emails, messages or documents that may be relevant.

03

Do not guess

A reply that overstates or understates the facts can create a second problem.

04

Get advice before you reply,

particularly on whether the letter can be answered in writing, what must be produced, and whether to fix the issue for customers now.

A market stallholder weighing limes on a scale

What I do

I review the letter and the conduct it concerns, advise on your obligations and risk, prepare the response, and, where useful, propose changes to terms, advertising or processes that show the issue is being dealt with. Quoted in writing before I start.

The law

  1. Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) s 155(1); offence: s 155(5), (6A).
  2. ACL s 219; non-compliance: ss 205, 221, 224(3) item 15.
  3. Australian Consumer Law and Fair Trading Act 2012 (Vic) s 126 (non-compliance offence: s 126(3)); compliance monitoring: s 125.

Last reviewed: November 2026. This page is general information about Victorian and Commonwealth law as at November 2026. It is not legal advice about your circumstances.

Tell me what happened

I reply within one business day.

To send documents, use the Start online form.

Phone: 1800 776 529
Email: info@consumerlawyers.com.au
Hours: Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5:30 pm
Office: 435 Nepean Highway, Frankston VIC 3199 (by appointment)

The business, dealer, builder or customer, if known. I need this to check that I have not acted for them.

A few sentences: what happened, any deadline, and what you would like.

Sending this form does not make me your lawyer. I confirm in writing before I act, after a conflict check. See the privacy policy.

I act for consumers and for businesses, but never for both sides of the same dispute. Before I start, I check that I have not acted for the other party.