‘Australian Made’ do the right thing

In June the newsletter ran a piece about the plight of Ocean Oils, a Melbourne based business selling squalene oil.  It had become almost impossible to sell any oil in Australia because of the influx of foreign oils that had somehow been able to obtain the ‘Made in Australia’ brand.

The ACCC has recently ruled that encapsulating imported marine oil in Australia does not justify a ‘made in Australia’ claim.  This ruling can be found here.  Penalties for breaching  Australian Consumer Law for anti-competitive conduct can include:  a $10 million dollar fine, three times the benefit reasonably attributable to the conduct or 10% of the annual turnover of the corporation.

After some help from the Deputy Prime Minister’s office, the organisation that provides the ‘Made in Australia’ logo, the Australia Made Campaign, has advised more than 60 brands of imported oil that they can no longer use the logo.  They say, “we can only advise licensees that soft gel products containing imported marine oil can no longer be described as made in Australia and therefore the Australian Made logo can no longer be used on these products. The logo should be removed from these products and associated marketing materials as soon as possible.”  Detailed advice to their clients can be found here and can even in Chinese here.

The number of imported oils carrying the made in Australia brand has dropped by 10% to 54 but there is a long way to go.

Positively, some of the imported oil companies have contacted Australian companies like Ocean Oils.  It sounds obvious, but they are trying to maintain their Australian made credentials by using goods made in Australia.

Only allowing the Australian Made brand to support products made in Australia means jobs for Australian fishermen, lease revenue to deepwater shark quota owners and the encouragement of a sustainable fisheries management system.

SETFIA will write to the board of the Australian Made Campaign.