Question: My manufacturer is overseas, are they still responsible for making repairs or refunds?
Answer:No, not necessarily. Under s7 of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) a manufacturer includes a person who imports goods into Australia, where at the time of importation the manufacturer does not have a place of business in Australia. Therefore, if the distributor of a product is based in Australia, the manufacturer is based overseas and the manufacturer does not have a place of business in Australia then the importer is deemed to be the manufacturer for the purposes of the ACL. For example if you import shoes from Italy, you are based in Sydney and the Italian shoe brand doesn’t have a warehouse or office in Australia then you will be considered the manufacturer of the shoes for the purpose of the ACL.
