Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) is a government agency that protects and promotes the interests of

consumer A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or use purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. ...

s and is based in the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n state of Victoria. It is responsible for reviewing and advising the Victorian Government on consumer

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred ...

and industry codes; advising and educating

tenants A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to hold land or property in which a lessee or a tenant has rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord. Although a tenant does hold rights to real property, a lea ...

, traders and

landlords A landlord is the owner of property such as a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate that is rented or leased to an individual or business, known as a tenant (also called a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). The term landlord applies ...

on their rights, responsibilities and changes to the law; registering and licensing businesses and occupations; conciliating disputes between consumers and traders, tenants and landlords; and enforcing and ensuring compliance with consumer laws. It is a business unit of the Department of Justice and Community Safety. Consumer Affairs Victoria provides information and advice on issues including

renting Renting, also known as hiring or letting, is an agreement where a payment is made for the use of a good, service or property owned by another over a fixed period of time. To maintain such an agreement, a rental agreement (or lease) is sig ...

, buying and selling property,

building A building or edifice is an enclosed Structure#Load-bearing, structure with a roof, walls and window, windows, usually standing permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, a ...

shopping Shopping is an activity in which a customer browses the available goods or services presented by one or more retailers with the potential intent to purchase a suitable selection of them. A Retail#Shopper profiles, typology of shopper types ha ...

, motor car trading, small businesses and clubs and not-for-profits. It

license A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...

s or registers (in conjunction with the Business Licensing Authority) and regulates a range of occupations, including conveyancers,

estate agents An estate agent is a person or business in the United Kingdom that arranges the selling, renting, or managing of properties and other buildings. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a letting or management agent. Estate agents a ...

, motor car traders, owners corporation managers, sex work service providers, second-hand dealers and

pawnbrokers A pawnbroker is an individual that offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as Collateral (finance), collateral. A pawnbrokering business is called a pawnshop, and while many items can be pawned, pawnshops typic ...

History and establishment

In 1965, the State Government of Victoria established a Consumer Protection Council, the first government general consumer body established in Australia Consumer Affairs Victoria 2007 Lecture: Consumer Affairs; Past, Present and Future
Lecture presented in Honour of Mr Norm Geschke OBE by Dr David Cousins, Director of Consumer Affairs Victoria, 13 March 2007. The Consumer Protection Council was established essentially to consider issues and to advise the Government. The Council was not formally set up to handle complaints, but this became a dominant part of its work. New legislation in 1973 also established a Minister of Consumer Affairs tied to the Department of Labour and Industry. They were substantially cut by the Kennett Government and the Ministry was abolished and absorbed into a new Department of Justice.

Goals and purpose

The Consumer Affairs Victoria vision is "informed and responsible consumers and traders, who know their rights and responsibilities"Consumer Affairs Victoria Annual Report 2007-2008
, pages 4-5, published by the Victorian Government Printer, October 2008. Its goals are: * Empower consumers * Create a competitive, fair, and safe trading environment * Protect vulnerable and disadvantaged consumers * Optimise our organisational capability.

Activities and operations

A past Director of Consumer Affairs, Dr David Cousins, described the role of Consumer Affairs Victoria thus: "Consumer Affairs has essentially three key roles. These are firstly to advise the government on the consumer policy framework and to manage the legislative and non-legislative program related to this framework. Secondly, Consumer Affairs is a significant regulator of industry conduct, monitors entry regulation in some industries, and manages guarantee funds covering residential tenancies, property services and motor car trading. Thirdly, Consumer Affairs is a major service provider of information, advice, education, complaint-handling (primarily through the provision of third party conciliation and mediation services) and licensing services."

Organisation

Consumer Affairs Victoria is a component of the Regulation business unit of the Victorian Department of Justice and Community Safety. The department and its Secretary are responsible to three ministers, including the Hon. Marlene Kairouz MP Minister for Consumer Affairs. The head office of Consumer Affairs Victoria is at 121 Exhibition Street, Melbourne, Victoria. The Department of Justice and Regulation ha
regional offices throughout Victoria
which offer Consumer Affairs Victoria services.

Governance

The Director of Consumer Affairs Victoria is Simon Cohen. The Director is also a Deputy Secretary in the Department of Justice and Regulation and an office holder under the ''Australian Consumer Law and Fair Trading Act 2012''. The functions of the Director include: * to advise the public of their rights and obligations * to receive complaints from the public and to deal with them * to monitor compliance with the Acts Consumer Affairs Victoria administers and to investigate and prosecute any breaches of these Acts * to educate and inform the public on fair trading issuesAUSTRALIAN CONSUMER LAW AND FAIR TRADING ACT 2012 (NO. 21 OF 2012) - Section 109''.
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Related bodies

There are a number of related bodies within the Consumer Affairs portfolio, each established under separate legislation, but with administrative support provided by Consumer Affairs Victoria. The Estate Agents Council - established under the ''Estate Agents Act 1980'' Victorian Government Legislation website
''Estate Agents Act 1980'', section 6. the Council is a ministerial advisory body, that monitors the industry and advises the Minister, in order to promote appropriate standards of conduct and competency in the real estate industry and to protect the interests of the public using real estate services. The Motor Car Traders Claims Committee - established under the ''Motor Car Traders Act 1986'' Victorian Government Legislation website
''Motor Car Traders Act 1986'', section 57. the Committee is responsible for considering and determining claims for compensation from the Motor Car Traders Guarantee Fund. Sex Work Ministerial Advisory Committee - established under the ''Prostitution Control Act 1994'' Victorian Government Legislation website
''Prostitution Control Act 1994'', section 67. the Committee is a ministerial advisory body that advises the Minister on issues relating to the regulation and control of the prostitution industry in Victoria. Residential Tenancies Bond Authority - established under the ''Residential Tenancies Act 1997''Victorian Government Legislation website
''Residential Tenancies Act 1997'', section 429. the Authority collects, holds and disburses all Victorian residential tenancy bonds. The Director of Consumer Affairs Victoria is the sole member of the RTBA.Residential Tenancies Bond Authority Annual Report for the year 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2008.
Published by the Victorian Department of Justice, October 2008, p 5.

References

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External links

Consumer Affairs Victoria Official Website

Victorian Department of Justice

Business Licensing Authority
Government agencies of Victoria (state) Consumer protection in Australia Consumer rights agencies