The November 2016 amendments to the Australian Consumer Law (which extended the prohibition on ‘unfair terms' to contracts with small businesses) are starting to bite. Enforcement action by the ACCC since the amendments were introduced have demonstrated the Commission’s strong desire to get tough on onerous standard terms contracts. Under the amended legislation, some contracts [...]
The art deco doors of the Paragon café remained open throughout two world wars, three transfers of business and multiple financial crises. Now, despite purchase offers in multiples of the owner's asking price, the business's 102 years of operation is set for a tragic end. What/who could be responsible for the death of such a [...]
THE RECENT CASE OF CASDAR PTY LTD V JOSEPH FANOUS[1] reminds us of the hazards of non-binding and informal agreements. In that case, a Landlord, relying on a signed Heads of Agreement as the source of his rights, sought damages against a tenant. The court dismissed the claim on the basis that the Heads of [...]
The new unfair contracts legislation came into effect in November of 2016 and will affect hundreds of thousands of business contracts. Many of the contracts impacted by the legislation are grossly unfair to the small enterprise and contain provisions which enable the larger contracting party to unilaterally change the contract. Where the small business does [...]
