Australia: Competition and Consumer Law - What's News - 8 July 2015

In the media

ACCC welcomes funding to further regional issues
The acting chair of the ACCC said the Commission will prioritise detecting, deterring and taking action against conduct that breaches the Competition and Consumer Act(2010) (CCA) that affects farmers and small businesses in rural and regional areas, particularly cartels, misuse of market power, and misleading or unconscionable conduct (04 July 2015). More...

Coles refunds over $12 million to suppliers following ACCC action
The ACCC welcomes today's statement from independent arbiter, who has instructed Coles to refund over $12 million to suppliers. In December, the Federal Court made declarations in both proceedings by consent that Coles had engaged in unconscionable conduct in 2011 in its dealings with certain suppliers (30 June 2015). More...

Cabcharge's previous dominance of the Australian taxi industry falls
The ACCC has forced Cabcharge to allow rival companies to process its payments for the first time. The deal comes in the wake of five years of legal wrangling, which saw Cabcharge pay $15 million in penalties and costs for misuse of market power and predatory pricing breaches (29 June 2015). More...

Extending consumer like protections to small business across Australia
Minister for Small Business has introduced legislation to extend unfair contract term protections for small business. This legislation will extend the consumer unfair contract terms protections to cover standard form, small business consumer-like contracts that are valued below a prescribed threshold (24 June 20915). More...

Labor to introduce legislation to end consumer leasing access to Centrepay
Shadow Minister for Human Services will introduce legislation in the Senate that will make consumer leases 'excluded goods' under the Centrepay third party payments system. Consumer leases on household goods are fringe financial products offered to low income and financially vulnerable people and are widely known to cause financial hardship (23 June 2015). More...

Cases

Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Teleloans Pty Ltd [2015] FCA 648
CONSUMER LAW – consumer credit – conduct as a credit provider – alleged contraventions of the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act) and National Credit Code (Sch 1 to the Act) – application of the Act and the Code to the respondent companies' activities – first respondent provided loan application services to applicants for credit, the second respondent provided loans to successful applicants for credit – whether respondents had arrangement such that amounts payable to them under their respective contracts were each charges for the provision of credit – definition of contract. Held: need to apply terms of the statute – first respondent provided service not credit – charges by first respondent merely a fee for service – no direct relationship to loan with second respondent – no contraventions of the Act. More...

Williams v Pisano [2015] NSWCA 177 TRADE AND COMMERCE – Australian Consumer Law – conduct "in trade or commerce" – whether representations made on behalf of vendors to prospective purchasers of a residential property constituted conduct "in trade or commerce" – relevance of the fact of prior renovation of the property, with the intention to sell it at a profit TRADE AND COMMERCE – proportionate liability – whether Pt VIA of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) applies to a claim for damages caused by conduct done in contravention of a provision of the Australian Consumer Law other than s 18 TRADE AND COMMERCE – proportionate liability – definition of "concurrent wrongdoer", s 87CB(3) – whether that term applies to a single act committed by two or more persons jointly TRADE AND COMMERCE – proportionate liability – apportionment, s 87CD(1) – whether that provision requires that the sum of the judgment sums against each of the concurrent wrongdoers not exceed 100 per cent DAMAGES – measure of damages – whether the market value of a property can be determined by reference to the cost of rectification of defects that involve breaches of statutory warranties WORDS AND PHRASES – "in trade or commerce" – Australian Consumer Law, ss 18, 30. More...

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