ACCC appeals $1m penalty against Employsure

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is appealing as inadequate the $1 million penalty ordered by the Federal Court against Employsure in a legal battle over Google ads.

The ACCC took Employsure to court over six allegedly misleading Google ads which appeared in response to searches for terms like “fair work ombudsman”, “fair work commission” and similar terms.

These ads featured headlines like “Fair Work Ombudsman Help — Free 24/7 Employer Advice”. ACCC deputy chair Mick Keogh said the regulator is concerned that the ads potentially misled thousands of Australian businesses over a two-year period into contacting Employsure, thinking they were dealing with a government agency or an agency affiliated with the government.

Keogh said the ACCC is appealing the $1 million penalty as inadequate in light of the $5 million the regulator was seeking. The Federal Court will hear the appeal at a later date.

“We believe a higher penalty is necessary and appropriate having regard to the nature of the conduct and size of Employsure, to ensure that internet advertisers are sufficiently deterred from misleading consumers about who they are dealing with,” he said.

The ACCC first initiated proceedings in December 2018. While the Federal Court dismissed the case in October 2020, the full Federal Court upheld the regulator’s appeal in August.

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