BUS307 - The Australian Consumer Law
Added on 2020-03-02
11 Pages2960 Words64 Views
Running head: BUILDING LAWBuilding lawName of the studentName of the universityAuthor note
1BUILDING LAWThe Australian consumer law has been enacted to ensure fair trading and consumerprotection in Australia. The ACL become effective in Australia from January 1 2011. The ACLis the result of corporation between the state governments and the commonwealth for theestablishment of a common and strong consumer law framework within the country. The sale ofland in Australia is covered under the provisions of the ACL to the extent that the purchaser hasentered into the contract for utilizing the land for a domestic or household purpose. There havebeen various cases reported in Australia where fraud and misrepresentation has been involved inthe sale of land transaction. Another major problem which is faced by the consumer in contractsrelated to the sale of land are unfair terms. The ACL has laid down various provisions to protectthe consumers against the misrepresentation and unfair terms in relation to consumer contracts.The structure which has been provided by the ACL in relation to misrepresentation and unfairterms and its effects on the sale of land transactions are discussed in this paper. The conceptswould be discussed through the use of appropriate section of the ACL as provided by Schedule 2of the Australian Competition and Consumer Act 2010 along with specific cases related toconsumer contracts regarding sale of land in Australia. Misrepresentation Section 18 of the ACL states that persons while doing a transaction related to trade andcommerce must not base their conduct on any form of misleading or deceptive practices inaddition they must also not indulge in practices which they think may deceive or mislead theconsumers. A wide range of activities in businesses are covered under the section which includesadvertisements, commercial negotiations and contractual agreements. The identification of aconduct as misleading or deceptive is based on the question of fact, which means that it isdetermined by using the situation surrounding the case. In the same way the section is also
2BUILDING LAWapplicable on the transactions related to the sale of land. The specific section which deals withmisrepresentation related to property transaction in Australia is governed by section 30 of theACL. The section provides that in trade and commerce an individual must not with regards tothe grant or sale or possible grant or sale of a property or with respect to promoting a propertythrough the use of any means such as grant or sale of property indulge in an act ofmisrepresentation. An act of misrepresentation may arise out of making a misleading or falserepresentation that a person has an approval, sponsorship or a affiliation in connection to theland, the nature of the land, the place where the land is situated, the features of the land,provisions related to lawful use of the land and the accessories and facilities attached to the land.The section further reads through its note that the person breaching the section would be imposedwith a pecuniary penalty as determined by the court. No other provisions as provided by part 2-1of the act with respect to acquisition, supply or probable acquisition or supply of an interest island is affected through the application of this section. along with pecuniary penalties thecontravention of the section may also initiate remedial orders, civil proceedings for damages andinjections. The provisions of the ACL are ONLY applicable on those transactions which do notexceed the value of 40000 or those which have been entered into only for household or domesticpurpose. Thus when the question related to the same of land arises only those contracts aregoverned by the ACL which have been entered into for the household or domestic purposes.
3BUILDING LAWAs provided by section 18 it is not compulsory that the actions of a person have to actualmislead or deceive another but even if the conduct is likely to do so it is considered as acontravention of the section. The question which has to be addressed now is that what actions may be deemed to befalse or misleading. The courts through various cases have provided guidelines to determinewhat may be considered as false or misleading. In the famous case of Given v Pryor(1979) 39FLR 437 the judges ruled that the concept of misrepresentation is not only limiter to statementswhich are verbal but also extend to gestures, plans, demeanor, pictures, written , oral or impliedactions, maps and other conducts. Moreover, not disclosing a relevant fact where such actionmost probably would cause harm to the other would also be considered as misrepresentation. In Given v CV Holland (Holdings) Pty Ltd(1977) 29 FLR 212. The court ruled thatrepresentation is defined as an action which is not in accordance to the original facts. Thus nointention to make actual misrepresentation is required on the part of a person providing contraryfacts. Even if there is belief that such representation is actual true they would be liable forpenalties. The judges in the case of Latella v LJ Hooker Ltd(1985) 5 FCR146 ruled that in order tomake a claim for misrepresentation it is not necessary that such claim only has to be brought bythe person to whom the misrepresentation is made but, the only thing which is require is thatsuch conduct has been engaged in and as a consequence losses have been incurred by another. The case which has been chosen for discussion under part of the paper is the case ofAustralian Equity Investors, An Arizona Ltd Partnership v Colliers International (NSW) Pty Ltd(No 4) [2011] FCA 442. The question which was to be addressed by the court was that the
End of preview
Want to access all the pages? Upload your documents or become a member.
Related Documents
Assignment - Australian Consumer Law - Deskliblg...
|10
|3015
|73
Australian Consumer Law || Australian Legal Systemlg...
|10
|3270
|94
200292 - Paper on Impact of Australian Consumer Lawlg...
|13
|2992
|57
200292 - Building Law - Case studylg...
|12
|3252
|124
200292 Building Law Assignmentlg...
|13
|3217
|70
200292 - Assessment On Consumer Law - Reportlg...
|13
|2980
|62