MCCA Direct Marketing Model Code of Practice

Part 6: Administration of the code

70. The code should be administered by a code administration body.¹⁴

71. The administration plan should be set out in the code document and include:

• monitoring and reporting on compliance;
• obtaining from members adequate finance for administering the code and preparing budgets and financial reports;
• appointing the independent dispute resolution body required in Part 5;
• developing a strategy for ensuring the active promotion of the code;
• making provision for employee awareness of the code;
• imposing agreed sanctions on members for breaches of the code;¹⁵

  conducting periodic reviews of the effectiveness of the code and its procedures and recommending amendments if necessary; and

  preparing annual and other reports on the operation of the code.

72. Membership of the code administration body should include:

• an independent chair; and
• an equal number of industry and consumer/community representatives.¹⁶

73. The code administration body should meet a minimum of twice a year.

Review of the direct marketing model code of practice

74. A working party established by the Ministerial Council on Consumer Affairs shall review the model code at two year intervals.

¹⁴ The requirements in this part are based upon the guide on codes of conduct developed by the Australian Government, State and Territory consumer affairs agencies and approved by the Ministerial Council on Consumer Affairs: Fair Trading Codes of Conduct: Why have them and How to prepare them. Copies of the document are available from the Department of the Treasury at the contact details listed in footnote 13.

¹⁵ Authorisation for a code may be required from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). In considering whether to authorise the code the ACCC will consider whether the public benefit of the code outweighs any anti-competitive detriment. Further information about authorisation can be obtained by contacting the ACCC at the address listed at the back of this document or on the ACCC’s web site: http://www.accc.gov.au

¹⁶ Fair Trading Codes of Conduct provides guidance on how to select consumer representatives.

Next: Appendix 1: Summary of the Statutory Warranty Scheme
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