D4. Fair Business, Advertising and Competition

Code 8.0

Standards of fair business, advertising, and competition shall be upheld.

Elements to Demonstrate Compliance to RBA Code

1. Policy

Ensure facility ethics and/or fair business and competition policy includes the following elements:

• a. Ensure fair business, advertising, and competition standards are upheld.
• b. No collusion with other companies regarding product pricing or other factors that could reduce competition.

2. Procedures & Practices

Procedures & Practices are in place such that:

• a. The facility has a program to ensure advertising statements about the company's products and services are not false or misleading and they meet fair business and advertising legal requirements.
• b. The responsible person understands and can describe how the facility/company ensures that its advertising meets legal requirements.

3. Controls & Monitoring

Controls & Monitoring should include:

• a. Safeguards are in place to prevent collusion with other companies on product pricing or other factors that could reduce competition.
• b. Monitoring procedures related to fair business, advertising and competition are in place.
• c. Formal program to ensure public statements are not false or misleading.
• d. Allegations of fair business, advertising, or competition are investigated, and action is taken if the allegation is substantiated.

3.0.0 (2024-01-01)

Changed

• Expanded the single grievance-records test into mandatory Policy / Procedures & Practices / Controls & Monitoring requirements: The 8.0.0 single grievance-records AC was expanded into a full Policy / Procedures & Practices / Controls & Monitoring criterion with added mandatory conformance requirements: an explicit no-collusion policy commitment (1.b), a program ensuring advertising statements are not false or misleading and meet legal requirements plus a responsible person who can describe how advertising meets legal requirements (2.a, 2.b), anti-collusion safeguards (3.a), monitoring procedures (3.b), and a formal program ensuring public statements are not false or misleading (3.c). The grievance/investigation item survives only as 3.d. A facility that PASSED 8.0.0 on clean grievance records alone now FAILS 8.0.1 if it lacks any of these — a prior pass can become a fail, hence major.

2.0.0 (2022-06-01)

Changed

• Replaced the policy-adequacy test with a mandatory grievance-records evidence test: The rating determinant changed from a policy-adequacy test (7.0.0 Major = 'No detailed and understandable policy and procedures implemented' for anti-collusion safeguards and monitoring) to a grievance-records evidence test: grievance records (internal and external) must not reveal any allegations of fair business, advertising, or competition, and any such allegation must be investigated with action taken if substantiated. This new mandatory evidentiary condition did not exist in 7.0.0: a facility that passed 7.0.0 on the strength of a detailed anti-collusion policy would FAIL 7.1.2 if its grievance records reveal a substantiated (or un-investigated) allegation — a prior pass can become a fail, hence major. Rating bands were genericised to 'See finding severity definition'. The 7.1.2 and 8.0.0 rule text is audit-equivalent (only preposition, punctuation, and wording differ), so both VAP releases share this version.

1.0.0 (2021-01-01)

Changed

• Initial historical baseline — Fair Business, Advertising and Competition (RBA Code of Conduct 7.0, provision D5): Earliest imported version of the criterion (published as provision D5 in VAP 7.0.0). Conformance rested on an adequate and effective policy and procedures ensuring fair business, advertising, and competition standards are upheld, including safeguards to prevent collusion with other companies on product pricing or other factors that could reduce competition, and monitoring procedures. Rated purely on documentary policy completeness (Major = 'No detailed and understandable policy and procedures implemented'; Minor = 'Partial policy or procedures or implementation'; Priority = Not Applicable).