What could have been done differently: a legal lens on the Grill'd Tree Day Tuesday case

The ACCC has commenced Federal Court proceedings against Grill'd for allegedly misleading customers about the extent of donations made under its Tree Day Tuesday promotion. Reading through the ACCC's concise statement , there are clear moments where the right legal frameworks, put in place early, could have changed how this is currently playing out for Grill'd.

Here's how it could have looked different.

First, understanding what the campaign was actually promising 

The Tree Day Tuesday promotion told customers - across social media, in-store and online - that $1 from every burger purchased on a Tuesday would go towards planting trees. That's a simple, compelling message. But behind it sat a list of conditions that were rarely, if ever, fully disclosed. These conditions included that:

• the purchase had to be a dine-in main item;

• the purchase had to be by a Relish loyalty member;

• the purchase had to be ordered at the front counter (not via QR code), with the loyalty barcode scanned at time of purchase;

• the purchase had to be on a Tuesday, and with no other offers applied.

The first question any legal review should ask is: does the headline of this campaign reflect the reality of what most customers will actually experience?

Based on what the ACCC has alleged, the gap here was significant. Over five million burgers were bought on Tuesdays during the promotion period from January 2021 to April 2024. The ACCC alleges only around 4% qualified for a donation. Even among loyalty members, the figure was only about 17%.

Running those numbers before a single ad goes live is a fundamental step. If the headline says "every burger," the reality needs to come close to every burger. When there's that big a gap between the two, it's the campaign language needs to change - not the conditions.

Second, pressure-testing every piece of creative before it goes out

The ACCC's case covers 26 separate advertisements across social media, online and in-store. Statements like "for every Tuesday Grill'd burg purchase, $1 goes towards planting a tree" and "a burger for you, a baby tree for the planet" are unqualified and, the ACCC alleges, misleading.

A legal review of every piece of content before it goes live isn't a rubber stamp - it's a genuine check against a simple test: would a reasonable customer reading this understand the full picture of what qualifies? If the answer is no, the creative needs revision before it reaches customers.

This isn't about slowing down marketing. A well-crafted campaign can be both honest and powerful. It just requires legal and marketing to be in the room together early - not after the campaign has already launched across a national store network and multiple platforms.

Third, making conditions genuinely visible

Disclosure isn't just about including conditions somewhere in the fine print. The ACCC's position - and one we firmly agree with - is that conditions need to be adequately disclosed. That means prominent, clear and accessible to the average customer at the point where they're making a decision.

In practice, for a promotion like this, that looks like conditions clearly stated on every in-store asset, included in the body of every social media post rather than hidden in a link or comment, reflected honestly in the headline claim itself, and reviewed for consistency across every channel before launch.

If the conditions are so detailed that they can't be adequately disclosed in the format of the ad, that's a signal the campaign structure itself needs to be simplified - not that the disclosure requirement can be worked around.

Fourth, building a monitoring system for the life of the campaign

This promotion ran for more than three years. One practical reality of any long-running campaign is that original intent can drift, new creative gets made, and conditions can evolve without anyone stepping back to check whether the overall picture still holds together legally.

A review cadence built in from the start addresses this. Quarterly reviews of campaign materials, a clear process for signing off on new creative, and a regular check of actual donation data against what the campaign is claiming publicly. If the numbers aren't lining up with the story being told, that triggers a conversation - and a course correction - well before a regulator gets involved.

Fifth, ensuring the partnership documentation is airtight

The Tree Day Tuesday promotion was run in partnership with Greenfleet Trust, an environmental not-for-profit. When a business's environmental claims rest on a third-party partnership, the legal documentation around that relationship matters enormously. What was committed to? What triggers a donation? How is performance measured and reported?

Clear, well-drafted partnership agreements don't just protect the business legally - they create the internal clarity that makes accurate public claims possible.

When the mechanics of a promotion are properly documented, it becomes much easier to ensure the marketing is telling the right story.

The broader lesson for any business

Grill'd is not unique in wanting to build a brand around purpose and sustainability. Consumers respond to it, and businesses should absolutely be able to lean into it. But the ACCC has made its position clear: appealing to consumers' environmental concerns comes with a responsibility to be accurate, complete and transparent. Greenwashing - even unintentional greenwashing - is firmly in their enforcement sights.

The risk is entirely manageable. It just needs to be managed from the start.

How Legalite can help

Legalite operates as an outsourced in-house legal team, embedded in the detail the way an internal lawyer would be - across the detail, across the channels, and across the life of a campaign. We review marketing materials, structure promotional terms, advise on disclosure obligations and build the compliance frameworks that mean bold, purpose-driven marketing doesn't come with legal exposure attached.

If your business is running - or planning - any kind of charity-linked, sustainability or purpose-driven promotion, we'd love to talk. Getting it right from the start is always easier than managing the fallout later.

Get in touch with the Legalite team. Let's make sure your good ideas are also protected ones.