Ursula Stephens (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary Assisting the Prime Minister for Social Inclusion) Share this | Hansard source

This was an issue that was canvassed very widely through the stakeholder consultation process. It was argued in that process that including the postage and handling costs would actually create additional compliance burdens, particularly for online businesses, for very little consumer benefit. ‘Genuine postage and handling costs’ is a concept that is relatively well understood by consumers. The bill provides that the charges for sending goods from the supplier to the consumer do not need to be included in the total price. However, if the postage cost is known by the business and the postage is compulsory, the provision requires that the business actually disclose that price in their representation, either as part of the total price or as a separate component, so that the consumer understands exactly what they are paying for.