Corporate Australia take note: new consumer chief Catriona Lowe is no dewy-eyed idealist and is determined to use every enforcement tool in her kitbag.
New federal consumer chief Catriona Lowe vows the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will test the limits of the law in prosecuting companies, expects to lose some cases, and says she cannot think of an effective self-regulation scheme.
She will also oversee an expected crackdown on scams as the regulator moves to protect consumers from the explosion in digital and identity-based fraud. “That was a really good early lesson to me in the power of taking something that’s ostensibly really complicated and explaining in a simple way that pretty much anyone can grasp hold of,” she said.
“That is why it is crucial, in my view, that regulators that have enforcement in their remit to wield that tool judiciously, of course, but nevertheless be prepared to wield where it is appropriate to do so.”
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