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ARTICLE · 11 JUNE 2014

Essential things you should know about contracts - Part I

Holley Nethercote
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A well drafted contract would make it possible to identify the essence of a contract easily from the first few clauses.

AustraliaCorporate/Commercial Law
Samantha Hills
Samantha Hills
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Essential things you should know about contracts – Part I

Even if you engage lawyers to draft or review your contracts, there are some essential things you should know.

  1. The contract document does not necessarily reflect the whole agreement.

Even if its heading includes the word "contract" or "agreement", the document is merely evidence of the existence of a contract between two (or more) parties. It is not itself the contract. Other terms of your contract or agreement may be found in other places.

Some terms may not be expressly stated but rather implied. They may be implied by Courts or by statutory regimes. For example, the Fair Work Act 2009 implies terms in some contracts. Industry standards, customs or norms may also form implied terms in a contract.

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