Mark Anton Zschech - s.87B undertaking

The ACCC has obtained court enforceable Undertakings from seven former directors of Mercy Ministries Incorporated and/or Mercy Ministries Limited in relation to representations made by those entities.

Mercy Ministries is a not-for-profit organisation which offered a residential counselling program to young women affected by issues such as eating disorders, depression, self harm, unplanned pregnancy, and abuse. The program was offered while the young women resided in a Mercy Ministries home.

The ACCC was concerned that between 2005 and 2008, Mercy Ministries made the following representations:

1. that its program was provided for free when majority of its residents were required to assign their Centrelink benefits to Mercy Ministries; and
2. that its program offered professional support for its residents from psychologists, dieticians, general practitioners, social workers and counsellors when Mercy Ministries did not employ the full range of professionals as represented.

The ACCC considers such conduct misleading and deceptive.

Each of the former directors providing the undertaking acknowledges they were ultimately responsible for the conduct of Mercy Ministries.

To address these concerns, as part of the Undertaking, the former directors:

• acknowledge that they were persons ultimately responsible for the conduct of Mercy Ministries, and admit its conduct was false, misleading and deceptive, and likely to contravene s 52, 53(aa) and 53(e) of the Trade Practices Act 1974;
• signed a joint letter of apology to past residents in the relevant period;
• offer a payment of $1050 to each of the past residents in the relevant period; and
• undertake to attend annual trade practices compliance training for three years