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How the Commission helps

How the Commission helps

We are New Zealand's competition, consumer and regulatory agency.

When you buy goods or services in New Zealand, you have rights under consumer laws. The Commerce Commission enforces some of these, including: 

The Fair Trading Act, which:

  • prohibits a wide range of unfair conduct, including false and misleading behaviour by businesses;
  • requires certain information to be given to consumers; and
  • sets minimum standards for the safety of specific products.

The Commerce Act, which

  • prohibits anti-competitive mergers and behaviour (for example, cartels)
  • sets regulatory responsibilities in the electricity lines, gas pipelines, telecommunications, dairy and airport sectors which aim to benefit consumers.

The Commission does not enforce the Consumer Guarantees Act (CGA). However, we may be able to take action if a business misleads you about your rights under the CGA.  

Read more about who we are.

Visit our case register to see our current and past cases.

Read more about the CGA on the Consumer Protection websiteopen_in_new.

Reporting a concern

If you have a concern about the conduct of a trader or individual, you can report a concern to us. We get thousands of complaints every year, so unfortunately we can not investigate all of them. We have a prioritisation process to make sure that we address the issues that cause the most harm or have the potential to cause the most harm to consumers. However, we are grateful for all information we receive as it help us understand the issues consumers are experiencing and where best to direct our resources.

Read more about reporting a concern.

For concerns about misleading or deceptive conduct relating to financial products or services, please contact the FMAopen_in_new.

Who else can help

Some of the contacts we receive are outside the scope of our responsibilities such as concerns about faulty goods and services and breaches of advertising standards. We do not provide legal advice to consumers or businesses. We also do not regulate retail prices in any industry. As long as businesses are not involved in anti-competitive or misleading activities we don't decide if retail prices are fair.

Other organisations which may be able to help you include:

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