Our readers may have already read our "Doing Business in Australia" series of articles posted before. Recently quite a few relevant facts and policies have been updated. Hence we have produced a new version. You will be able to receive the updated articles about "Doing Business in Australia" in the coming weeks.
Contract law
A contract is a legally enforceable agreement or promise. A contract will only be enforceable where it satisfies the relevant requirements including offer, acceptance, consideration, intention to create legal relations and certainty. While contract law is generally regulated by the common law there is also legislation to remedy unfair and unconscionable conduct.
A contract will not be enforceable where it contravenes legislation or public policy. Generally only the parties to a contract are bound by it and are entitled to enforce it.
Unfair Contracts Law
Legislation has recently been passed to put in place a new national law prohibiting unfair terms in consumer contracts.
What is the scope of the new unfair contracts regime?
The new regime applies to “standard form consumer contracts” entered into between corporations and consumers, and to contracts which are financial products or are for the supply (or possible supply) of financial services. The new laws are not intended to apply to business-to-business contracts and will only apply to contracts entered into with consumers.
The new regime provides that any term of a standard form consumer contract which is deemed to be “unfair” may be found to be void and treated as if it never existed. If the unfair clause cannot be severed, the entire contract could potentially be void. Consumers could either seek to challenge an unfair term or make a complaint about a term to the relevant regulator. The remedies which might be sought by a regulator or the affected consumer include injunctions, declarations, and other orders a court thinks appropriate (including orders to refund money).
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To view our previous news for Chinese investors and various articles in relation with the topic ‘Doing business in Australia’, please click the button on the upper-right hand corner on our WeChat platform, and choose ‘view history’. The contents include:
Business set up in Australia, business structures,company administration, etc.
Background information of Australia, including Australian government, legal system, and business structures, etc.
Laws and regulations in various common areas, including protection of technology and intellectual property, anti-trust and consumer law, contract law, business migration, real property, public takeovers, and electronic commerce etc.
