Office of Fair Trading

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) aims to deliver a fair and safe marketplace for Queensland consumers and businesses. We do this by:

• supplying information and advice about rights and responsibilities
• enforcing consumer protection laws
• helping resolve marketplace disputes
• licensing a range of occupations
• investigating unfair business practices
• prosecuting unscrupulous businesses
• supplying information about product safety
• registering incorporated associations, charities and cooperatives.

Services

Visit the OFT website to learn about the services we offer.

Structure

Executive Director for the Office of Fair Trading

Craig Turner is the Executive Director of OFT. He oversees OFT’s work and has administrative responsibility for a wide range of legislation, including the Australian Consumer Law (Queensland).

Craig began his career in the former Office of Consumer Affairs (now OFT) before moving into gaming regulation in the mid-1990s. Since then, Craig has worked in a variety of regulatory roles, including operational and senior managerial positions in inspections, investigations, audit, licensing and policy.

Craig brings his extensive management and regulatory experience to OFT and is committed to ensuring markets are safe, fair and responsible by empowering consumers and ensuring traders understand their responsibilities.

Branches

OFT comprises the following operational branches.

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Investigations and Enforcement

The following units make up the Investigations and Enforcement branch.

Financial and Major Investigations

This unit handles large investigations that involve:

• systemic and serious misconduct by traders causing large-scale loss for consumers
• businesses that are repeatedly offending
• working with other agencies, including interstate or federal agencies
• claims of inappropriate use of trust account money by businesses and licensees in a range of regulated industries.

Marketplace Investigations

• investigates if a business has breached fair trading laws
• enforces fair trading laws in court or in the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT).

Consumer Product Safety

• educates the public about choosing safe products and using them safely
• investigates businesses that are selling unsafe products
• removes unsafe products from sale.

Enforcement Group

• provides statewide recommendations about
  • investigation processes, enforcement procedures and briefs of evidence
  • sufficiency of evidence to commence legal proceedings
  • drafting court documents

  Complaint and Program Coordination

  The following units make up the Complaint and Program Coordination branch.

  Case Assessment, Response and Trust Accounts

  • manages consumer complaints
  • provides information and advice to consumers and traders about marketplace issues and complying with requirements
  • works with consumers and businesses to negotiate solutions to disputes
  • examines and assesses trust account audit reports to decide whether auditors and agents have met their obligations under the Agents Financial Administration Act 2014
  • investigates low-level breaches of fair trading laws and undertakes enforcement action where appropriate
  • communicates with trust account auditors and/or agents.

  Program Strategy and Development

  • plans and schedules spot checks and other proactive compliance activities
  • manages the complaints database and reports on complaints
  • researches matters affecting industry compliance
  • analyses marketplace research and intelligence
  • trains OFT compliance officers.

  Regional Operations and Engagement

  The following units make up the Regional Operations and Engagement branch.

  Regional Operations

  This unit provides OFT services from our regional offices in:

  • Cairns
  • Hervey Bay
  • Mackay
  • Maroochydore
  • Rockhampton
  • Southport
  • Toowoomba
  • Townsville.

  Community and Stakeholder Education and Engagement Team

  • runs awareness programs for consumers and community groups
  • visits schools to educate students about consumer laws
  • educates businesses about how to follow the law
  • runs the Buy Smart Competition to educate students about marketplace issues and consumer rights.

  Industry Licensing and Registrations

  The following units make up the Industry Licensing and Registrations branch.

  Industry Licensing

  This unit processes licence and registration applications from:

  • real estate agents
  • motor dealers
  • security providers
  • auctioneers
  • second-hand dealers and pawnbrokers
  • tattoo salon operators and tattooists
  • debt collectors and process servers (commercial agents)
  • introduction agents
  • inbound tour operators.

  Registration Services

  • registers incorporated associations, charities, cooperatives and limited partnerships
  • processes land sales exemptions
  • reviews annual returns
  • handles claims made against the Funeral Benefit Trust Fund.

  Claims and Recoveries

  • processes claims made under the Agents Financial Administration Act
  • decides claims or refers them to QCAT for a decision
  • pays the claim amount to consumers (when a claim is decided in their favour)
  • recovers money from at-fault businesses or licensees.

  Publications

  Outcomes report

  The outcomes report provides an overview of OFT’s strategies, functions and activities throughout the year. It highlights where we focused our resources, and the results we achieved.

  • 2022–23 outcomes report
  • 2021–22 outcomes report
  • 2020–21 outcomes report
  • 2019–20 outcomes report
  • 2018⁠–19 outcomes report
  • 2017⁠–18 outcomes report
  • 2016⁠–17 outcomes report
  • 2015⁠–16 outcomes report
  • 2014⁠–15 outcomes report

  Regulator performance report

  Under the framework regulators must report publicly on the extent to which they are implementing the 5 model practices.

  In previous years this report was published as an annexure to the outcomes report. From 2022 this report will be a standalone document.

  More information

  • Visit the OFT website.
  • Access the Australian Consumer Law year in review reports.

  Last updated: --> 1 February 2024 --> Last published: --> 16 January 2024 --> Last updated: 16 January 2024

  Contact the OFT

  Visit the Office of Fair Trading website to find general contact information or follow up on complaints and investigations.

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  © The State of Queensland (Department of Justice and Attorney-General) 2010–2024

  Acknowledgement of Traditional Custodians

  The department acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of Queensland and pays respect to Elders past, present and emerging.