Card 2 · The posts
A post on your own business page is held to the same consumer law as any other advertising, and so is a post you pay to promote. The ACCC says what a business posts on social media must be accurate and truthful.
General information, not legal advice. The ACCC’s pages on price displays and environmental claims are the places to check.
Social media gets no special treatment under the ACCC’s guidance: the general advertising rules reach it. Its examples include:
So the everyday post announcing a special is advertising, whether or not any money was spent getting it seen.
The post below is invented for this guide. Each numbered mark is a point where an ACCC rule applies, explained beside it.
An example, written for this guide
A refill shop’s business page
Spring refill box, just 1$39 a month. Our 2eco-friendly pantry staples, 3delivered to your door in 2 days.
12-month plan. Every box is delivered; $15 delivery per box.
1 The price. The ACCC says a monthly fee can be advertised as long as the total cost, including unavoidable fees such as this delivery charge, is advertised just as prominently.
12 boxes × ($39 + $15) = 12 × $54 = $648
2 “Eco-friendly”. The ACCC recommends businesses avoid broad terms such as “environmentally friendly” or “eco friendly”, saying few, if any, products can truthfully make that claim. A specific, provable statement about what is actually different is the alternative its guidance points to.
3 “Delivered in 2 days”. Shipping options and delivery times are on the ACCC’s list of things a business’s social media posts must state accurately.
4 The picture. The ACCC says graphics and visual elements, such as green colouring or logos representing a recycling process, can give the wrong impression about environmental benefits. Its example is the recycling loop: without more explanation, it may suggest the item is made from recycled material, is recyclable, or both, and that this applies to the whole product and packaging.
The ACCC’s own social media page gives a case. It alleged that two mobile phone companies each advertised their plans as “unlimited” in ads on social media, when the plans had a maximum data allowance. Each received an infringement notice, and the penalties paid were $126,000 and $12,600. A single word in a short post carried the whole claim.
If a post links to a purchase, the ACCC says businesses must clearly disclose at the start which types of fees will apply and when.
From 1 October 2026, the ACCC says businesses can no longer charge a surcharge for payments made with Visa, Mastercard, American Express or eftpos credit, debit or prepaid cards. Other fees not based on how the customer pays, such as weekend or public holiday surcharges, can still apply. A post or pinned menu that still mentions a card surcharge is worth checking against the ACCC’s price displays page.
Cafés and restaurants that charge a weekend or public holiday surcharge need a set sentence on the menu, “A surcharge of [percentage] applies on [day or days]”, and the ACCC says no price on that menu may stand out more than it does. A menu photographed and posted is still the menu a customer reads.
For environmental claims, the ACCC says a business making a representation about a future matter should have a reasonable basis for it, or not make the claim at all. It also cautions against aspirational goals unless legitimate plans are in place to meet them. A post announcing that the shop “will be plastic-free by next year” is that kind of claim.
Where it isn’t clear what a post can say, the ACCC’s suggestion is legal advice. Card 6 covers keeping the evidence behind a claim.
Other cards on the board