The Australian Consumer Law is the law that you need to comply with when customers ask for a refund for online shopping. The law gives consumers rights or guarantees in relation to your products. These include that each product must be of an acceptable quality, that it matches the description you provide, and if you give any additional warranties they will be honoured, amongst other matters*. It’s important to know your obligations under the Australian Consumer Law, because the ACCC can issue fines for not complying. Products of acceptable quality The law tells us that the products you sell must be of acceptable quality, which means that the products do the things a customer would expect them to do. For example, if you sell women’s clothing online it must be wearable! And the garment must be free from faults (zippers and buttons must work), safe (not highly flammable) and durable (can’t fall apart after the first couple of wears). If there are potential issues that you see, make sure you inform the customer accordingly. Say you sell distressed jeans (ie purposefully ripped) you should make sure your description matches the garment, so it is clear that the rips, or any

With coronavirus, you may have decided to set up an online store, or are considering doing so, but you need to know how selling online differs to selling in a bricks and mortar shop. Pivoting your shop online raises various legal matters you need to be aware of. You’ll be engaging in e-commerce, and this blog will give you a brief overview of the main legal considerations. Product descriptions for your online store Customers cannot physically touch your goods of course. So the product descriptions, and any images of your products on your website become an essential part of your customer’s experience. Where you upload pictures of your products, you may find that the pictures of the products are not the same as the actual product, and the pictures themselves will also differ on your screen to those seen on the screens of your customers. This is why it is a good idea to state the colour of the product. Keep in mind that customers also cannot feel the texture of the products now, so you may want to also describe their texture. But it is really important to ensure that any descriptions you write on your website are as

To say these are difficult times for many small businesses is an understatement. They are “unprecedented” times, and lawyers of course like precedents. However, we are always encouraging small businesses to be proactive. We are also always encouraging you to develop strong business relationships to minimize the likelihood of disputes. With some courts closing temporarily or being restricted in their ability to deal with disputes, strong business relationships are now more important than ever. So if you are not already, get talking. There are many legal issues that arise from coronavirus. How for example can we maintain a safe workplace at this time? Who determines what is safe, when everyone has the same predicament? There are also new laws being passed now faster than ever. And we wont attempt to go through them. However, we have drafted this article, legals for small businesses during coronavirus, to help you in a simple way get through the coming weeks and months. Being proactive will help enhance your chance of business survival, which in turn will help your community. DEALING WITH SUPPLIERS What are your legal obligations under contracts with your suppliers? For example, do you have requirements to make minimum orders? And

We made it!! And you made it here!! I’m so pleased to be able to introduce you to our new website. I think you’ll find that there are some rather useful legal resources for you in the way of legal guides which will gradually be released. They are for online stores, VAs, life and business coaches, marketers, social media managers, and more. It’s certainly been a big project, but I think it showcases our services, and our online packages well. There is so much value to be had on our website visitors, and if you are unsure of what you need my team and I are always here to answer. Have a look around, and if you haven’t signed up already please make sure you do to keep in touch. Davina Borrow-Jones The Mumpreneur Lawyer