Customer Reviews and the Australian Consumer Law: What You Can (and Can’t) Do
- JLAJLA
- Apr 21
- 2 min read
Intro
Customer reviews are a powerful part of any online business. They build trust, influence decisions, and boost visibility. But under Australian Consumer Law (ACL), how you collect, display and manage those reviews matters.
This post explains what the ACL says about online reviews and what your obligations are as a business owner.
Why It Matters
Misleading or deceptive conduct under the ACL doesn’t just apply to your ads or product descriptions—it applies to reviews and testimonials too. If your reviews aren’t genuine, or if you hide or edit negative feedback to make your business look better, you could be in breach.
That applies whether you’re publishing reviews on your own site or using third-party platforms.
What You Need to Know
Don’t Post Fake Reviews
You can’t post reviews pretending to be a customer—or pay someone to write a review without disclosing the relationship. Reviews must reflect genuine customer experiences.
Don’t Remove or Filter Negative Reviews Without a Legitimate Reason
It’s not unlawful to moderate reviews for offensive or irrelevant content. But removing genuine negative feedback just because it’s unfavourable can be misleading—especially if it creates an unbalanced view of your business.
Tip: If you remove reviews that breach your policy, be consistent—and document your moderation process.
Don’t Edit Reviews to Make Them More Positive
You can’t change the wording of a customer’s review to make it sound better. If you shorten for formatting reasons, make sure you don’t alter the meaning.
Disclose Incentives
If you offer a reward or discount in exchange for a review, you need to disclose that. For example: “Reviewer received a 10% discount in exchange for honest feedback.”
Monitor Third-Party Platforms
Even if you don’t run the review platform, you can still be responsible for misleading content if you know about it and don’t take reasonable steps.
Commercial Insight
Genuine reviews are good for business. But trying to control the narrative too tightly—by filtering, editing or boosting only positive experiences—can lead to trouble.
A clear, consistent moderation policy (and a willingness to engage constructively with criticism) builds more trust than a wall of five-star praise.
What to Do Next to Ensure Your Customer Reviews Comply with the ACL
Review how your business collects, displays, and moderates reviews
Ensure any incentives are disclosed and don’t influence the content
Avoid editing or suppressing genuine feedback
Put a clear moderation policy in place if you host reviews directly
Closing Wrap
I help ecommerce businesses and online platforms stay compliant with the Australian Consumer Law—including how they manage reviews. If you’re unsure whether your review strategy stacks up legally, I can help.
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