The ACCC has filed an appeal against the $1 million fine issued against Employsure for misleadingly representing itself as being affiliated with a government agency in a series of six misleading Google ad.
The ads, published between August 2016 and August 2018, appeared for search terms such as ‘fair work ombudsman’ and ‘fair work commission’ and featured headlines like ‘Fair Work Ombudsman Help – Free 24/7 Employer Advice’.
The ACCC had originally sought a penalty of $5 million.
“We were concerned Employsure’s Google ads potentially misled thousands of Australian businesses over a two-year period into contacting Employsure, thinking they were dealing with a government agency, or one affiliated with the government,” ACCC Deputy Chair Mick Keogh said.
“Any attempt to misrepresent a business as being part of the government is a serious breach of trust, and of our consumer laws.
“We believe a higher penalty is necessary and appropriate having regard to the nature of the conduct and size of Employsure, to ensure that internet advertisers are sufficiently deterred from misleading consumers about who they are dealing with.”
