New Consumer Guarantees
New consumer guarantees take effect from 1 January 2011
as part of the new Australian Consumer Law reforms.
The guarantees replace the existing regime of implied conditions
and warranties under the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) and the
various state and territory fair trading legislation with a
consistent national scheme. The Trade Practices Act will be renamed
the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)
False and Misleading Representations in Relation to Land
The provisions in the Trade Practices Act about false and
misleading representations in relation to land have been reproduced
in a simulation in the new legislation. But a new provision has
been added prohibiting false and misleading representations about
offers, gifts or other free items in connection with sales of land.
It extends to 'rebates', which includes 'cash-back
offers'. While these offers can still be conditional upon
certain obligations being fulflled by a consumer,
