Will Your Contracts Be Unfair? The Australian Consumer Law

• On 24 June 2009 the Trade Practices Amendment (Australian Consumer Law) Bill 2009 (Bill) was introduced to Federal Parliament
• The new legislation applies to standard form contracts and provides that 'unfair' contract terms are void. All manner of standard form contracts including credit contracts are covered by the initiative. A contract containing an unfair term will continue to bind the parties to the extent that the contract is capable of operating without the unfair term.
• The law will apply to all standard form consumer contracts being contracts for:
• the supply of goods or services, or
• a sale or grant of an interest in land;

to an individual whose acquisition of the goods, services or interest is wholly or predominantly for personal, domestic or household use or consumption. The consultation papers contemplated that the initiative would apply to business to business contracts, but that proposal has been dropped.