ACCC unfair contract terms crackdown – which terms failed the sniff test

Unfair contract terms (UCT) are on the ACCC's radar in a big way. As in 'tackling it industry by industry' and 'pushing for legislative change' big.

An ACCC inquiry and report into the dairy industry led to a series of one on one chats between the ACCC and individual dairy processors and – BAM – widespread changes to contract terms making them fairer for farmers.  And an ACCC investigation into the waste management industry just led to three of the biggest players in the game changing up their standard terms.  Right behind that came a prosecution against TPG Internet over unfair contract terms.

There’s also the fact that the ACCC is now pushing for courts to be able to add penalties and compensation to its toolkit for dealing with UCT.  Which means that the cost to business could suddenly be a lot more than the careful redraft of a problematic contract.