Whilst this a good outcome, I wonder why the ACCC is continuing with the case for penalties and other orders against two companies which went into liquidation ages ago (which was probably not entirely unexpected given the name of one of the companies was the Phoenix Institute?)
The Commonwealth has already cancelled the debts of eligible students enrolled by Phoenix, so consumer redress has been achieved.Unfortunately, the ACCC did not take legal action against any of the individuals behind the Phoenix Institute.
Therefore, declarations, injunctions, penalties and other orders against these two companies will serve no practical purpose.
I also note the recent changes to the Commonwealth Regulator Performance Guide issued in July 2021 which includes new guidance under Principle 2 - namely that Commonwealth regulators must take into consideration the "cost effectiveness" of regulatory action - ie:
"Adopting a risk based and data driven approach means regulators:
· consider the risks, cost effectiveness and impact of regulatory action, both before and after the regulatory action has commenced"
It may be time for the ACCC to drop this one - no point spending taxpayer's money to secure a phoenix fine against the Phoenix Institute!
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