E-commerce is the name given to any form of business which is transacted electronically (eg, buying goods or services on-line). E-commerce is growing as more people get access to the Internet. Many businesses, large and small, have websites, and some of these allow customers to place orders.

E-commerce and use of the Internet create greater opportunities for consumers to purchase goods and services from overseas operators. The advantage of this is that it opens up new markets for consumers. However, the downside is that it is much more difficult for a consumer to be sure about who they are dealing with and what they can do if things go wrong if the business is based overseas. The challenge for Australian law-makers and regulators is to work with international counterparts to find solutions to global problems, including how to resolve cross-border disputes effectively.

As there is usually no physical product involved in buying or selling a financial product, the financial services industry is well suited to e-commerce transactions. Electronically transacted business is subject to much of the same consumer protection law as more traditional forms of business (in particular, the prohibition against misleading or deceptive conduct), but it is also important that consumer protection measures specifically designed to apply to e-commerce are put in place. One such measure is the Electronic Funds Transfer Code and the Electronic Transactions Act.

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