Australian Consumer Law

The Australian Consumer Law came into operation on 1 January 2011 as a single national law. It replaced 17 different pieces of Commonwealth, State and Territory legislation relating to consumer protection. Its introduction meant that for the first time, consumers throughout Australia had the same rights and remedies and correspondingly, businesses had the same obligations and responsibilities towards consumers without the barrier of confusing and expensive local variations in the law. Australian Consumer Law: Commentary and Materials contains up-to-date material on the Australian Consumer Law, and in particular the fifth edition incorporates: a revised treatment of unconscionability, taking account of the changes to Part 2-2 of the ACL that became effective in 2012; other State and Federal provisions relating to unfair terms and cases such as Kakavas v Crown Melbourne, ACCC v Lux Distributors, Director of Consumer Affairs v Scully and PT Ltd v Spuds Surf; a comprehensive treatment of the impact of Google v ACCC, Forrest v ASIC and ACCC v TPG ­– the trilogy of decisions that provide the most recent insights into the High Court’s thinking on aspects of the prohibitions of misleading conduct in the ACL and the Corporations Act 2001; numerous decisions of note; and the possible impact of the Harper Review. Some of the new cases discussed in this edition include the following: ACCC v Fisher & Paykel Customer Services Pty Ltd (requirement to pay for a contractual right) ACCC v Apple Pty Limited (misleading conduct concerning the nature of goods) Business and Professional Leasing Pty Ltd v Dannawi (definition of consumer) Zhang v United Auctions (guarantee of acceptable quality) Cary Boyd v Agrison Pty Ltd (Civil) (guarantee of fitness for purpose) Engine Imports v Diesel and Industrial Engine Spares (manufacturer's and supplier’s express warranties) Carroll v Pollock Wholesale Pty Ltd (remedies for major failure) Weir v Geelong Grammar School (Civil Claims) (damages for consequential loss) ACCC v Allergy Pathway Pty Ltd (No 2) (social media site liability) Malam v Graysonline, Rumbles Removals and Storage (unfair terms – no liability clauses) Peterson v Merck Sharpe & Dohme (Aust) Pty Ltd (safety defect and state of the art defence) ACCC v South East Melbourne Cleaning Pty Ltd (in liq) (civil pecuniary penalties) Valcorp Australia Pty Ltd v Angas Securities Ltd (contributory negligence).