ACCC appeals $1m penalty in Employsure Google ads case

Andrew Banks

November 30, 2021 10:08

UPDATE: The ACCC has filed an appeal against the $1 million penalty ordered by the Federal Court against Employsure for making misleading representations that it was, or was affiliated with, a government agency, in Google ads published between August 2016 and August 2018.

Employsure published six misleading Google ads which appeared in response to searches for terms like ‘fair work ombudsman’, ‘fair work commission’ and similar terms and featured headlines like ‘Fair Work Ombudsman Help – Free 24/7 Employer Advice’.

“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.

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Andrew Banks

Andrew is an editor and journalist with over 27 years' experience, working across publications including news.com.au, The Sunday Telegraph and The Australian newspaper.

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