Guides

Plain-English guides to the rules that apply to your website.

The Privacy Act, Australian Consumer Law, the Spam Act, email security — the obligations that quietly apply to every small-business website, explained for a business owner rather than an engineer. No jargon, no fear, just what to do.

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What Australian law actually requires of your website

Consumer Law, the Privacy Act, the Spam Act, the 2027 unfair trading ban, cookies and your ABN — in plain English, with sources. Including the laws that probably don't apply to you at all — the part that's easy to miss.

Transparency

Everything AegorIQ checks — and why it matters

The complete, itemised list of every check we run on a website — security, privacy, consumer law and performance — plus, just as importantly, exactly what we don't check. If you're going to trust a report, you should see precisely what produced it.

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Security & privacy

900,000 records, one login nobody switched off

Reports point to the Origin Energy breach starting with a former employee's login that was never deactivated. The Notifiable Data Breaches duty that applies at your scale, and the 15-minute offboarding check that closes the same gap on your own website.

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Security alert

A serious WordPress flaw was patched on Friday. Check your site in two minutes.

On 17 July 2026 WordPress shipped emergency updates for "wp2shell" — a flaw in WordPress itself, exploited within hours, no plugins needed. Which versions are affected, why "auto-update was on" isn't proof, and the two-minute check to do today.

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Privacy Act

The Privacy Act just started applying to businesses that were always exempt

From 1 July 2026, new anti-money-laundering rules cover real estate agents, conveyancers, lawyers and accountants — and bring Privacy Act obligations with them, regardless of turnover. Who's covered, the 29 July AUSTRAC deadline, and the privacy steps to take now.

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Privacy & trust

Data breaches just hit a record high — what your website should show customers

Australia logged a record 1,205 data breach notifications in 2025, and 82% of Australians now rank breaches their top privacy worry. The six visible signals on your own site that show customers you take their data seriously — and how to check each one this week.

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Security alert

The government just issued a critical alert about websites like yours

On 9 July 2026 the ACSC warned that attackers are mass-scanning websites — many Australian small businesses included — for out-of-date WordPress plugins. What's happening, whether it applies to your site, and the checks to do this week.

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Consumer law

Australia just banned unfair trading. Your website has until 1 July 2027.

Parliament has passed a ban on subscription traps, hidden checkout fees and manipulative online design, taking effect 1 July 2027. What it covers, what's already law today, and what to check on your own site.

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Spam Act

ACMA just fined a company $2.7 million for spam. Here's what the law actually requires.

TAB was fined more than $2.7 million on 22 July 2026 for spam and telemarketing breaches — its second such penalty in about two years. What the Spam Act and Do Not Call Register require (no small-business exemption), plus the SMS Sender ID rule in force since 1 July.

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Consumer law

"No refunds on sale items." The ACCC says that's illegal — and it's still checking.

The ACCC swept 2,000+ retail websites for illegal return-policy wording, then kept enforcing — a $10 million Federal Court penalty landed against JustAnswer on 8 July 2026. The exact phrases that break the law, what you're still allowed to say, and how to check your own site.

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Privacy Act

Privacy Act 2026: what your website must have

The Privacy Act reforms are widening the net of who has to comply — and what your privacy policy has to say. A plain-English rundown of what's changing, what's proposed, and the elements your policy needs today.

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Common mistakes

The compliance mistakes we see most often

Blanket "no refunds" wording, a privacy policy missing half its required parts, email that anyone can spoof, pre-ticked consent boxes. The everyday website mistakes that carry real regulatory and trust risk — and how to fix each one.

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More guides are published regularly. Each is grounded in current Australian regulation and cites its sources.

Prefer a checklist you can work through?

The 14 things every Australian small-business website needs — privacy, consumer law, spam, security. Plain English, yours free.

Get the free checklist