Australian Consumer Law

Your rights as a Consumer - Motor Vehicles and other products and services

Under the Australian Consumer Law, you have rights if you are a consumer. These are statutory consumer rights that the supplier and/or manufacturer cannot contract out of, and include that the product or service must:

• be of acceptable quality and free of defects

• be fit for purpose; and

• match its description.

I commonly see disputes regarding motor vehicles where a consumer has purchased a motor vehicle, and it is defective. At times that defect reveals itself immediately after purchase, 6 months after purchase, or even years later. Sometimes a dealership may quickly resolve the matter (which is obviously the preferred outcome if the defect constitutes a breach of statutory consumer guarantees), but unfortunately this is not always the case.