[ARCHIVE] What does the term 'publicly offered' mean?

Note: This article is out of date and has been archived.

For more detailed guidance on the definition of 'publicly offered', see Guidance for data holders — CDR products.

Archived Text

Question

Can you clarify what is intended by the term 'publicly offered' (clause 1.4 of Schedule 3 to the CDR Rules)?  Should CDR Data Holders have regard to whether a product is considered 'wholesale' or 'retail' when determining if a product is in scope? 

Answer

The ACCC considers ‘publicly offered’ to mean products that are generally advertised and available to customers as ‘standard form contracts’, including that they have terms and conditions that are subject to low levels of negotiation, if any. The ACCC understands this will often align with products that are made available in respect of a bank’s retail banking operations, as opposed to its wholesale banking operations. ‘Publicly offered’ does not necessarily mean the product can be acquired by any member of the public – the product may be subject to eligibility requirements. For example, a business overdraft may be publicly offered but not available to individual consumers.