Introduction
In Informax International Pty Limited v Clarius Group
Limited [2011] FCA 934 (18 August 2011) (Informax No.2), the
Federal Court of Australia has confirmed that the unfair contract
provisions of the Independent Contractors Act 2006 (the IC
Act) do not provide the Court with an ability to retrospectively
amend a contract.
This represents a move away from previous authority and has
far-reaching consequences for principals or contractors who may
seek to rely on those provisions to remedy a services contract.
Informax No.1
Earlier this year we reported on the decision of Justice Perram
in Informax International Pty Limited v Clarius Group
Limited [2011] FCA 183 (4 March 2011) (Informax No.1). In that
case, Justice Perram considered the enforceability of a restraint
of trade provision in a contract between Clarius Group Limited
(Clarius, a labour-hire provider) and Informax International Pty
Limited (Informax, a company through whom an IT contractor provided
her personal services) (the Informax Contract).
Informax had been assigned by Clarius to provide labour for the
benefit of Woolworths (pursuant to a contract between Clarius and
Woolworths (the Woolworths Contract). Subsequently, Informax sought
to contract directly with Woolworths, in essence cutting Clarius
out of the picture. The Informax Contract contained a restraint of
trade provision which purported to restrain Informax from
contracting directly with Woolworths. In addition, the Woolworths
Contract contained a provision which precluded Woolworths from
directly engaging any Clarius contractor (including Informax) (the
Woolworths Clause).
In Infomax No.1, Justice Perram made two key findings (summarised
for present purposes):
- The restraint of trade in the Informax Contract was not enforceable because it was unreasonable in its operation.
- The Woolworths Clause rendered the Informax Contract unfair, contrary to the IC Act (which allows the Court to review a services contract to assess whether it is unfair or harsh, and make orders varying such a contract). Justice Perram found that the Woolworths Clause, while not in the Informax Contract, operated as the de facto inclusion of an unreasonable restraint of trade in that contract. That inclusion, according to Justice Perram, was contrary to the IC Act.
In accordance with the unfair contract finding, Justice Perram ordered certain amendments to the Imformax Contract. The amendments had the effect of precluding Clarius from taking any step to enforce (against Woolworths) the Woolworths Clause to the extent that doing so would act as a restraint of Informax's trade
Informax No.2
Informax subsequently applied to Justice Perram for orders that
the amendments would have retrospective effect. If the amendments
have retrospective operation then it becomes possible for Informax
to sue Clarius for breach of contract in relation to conduct by
Clarius that occurred before the amendments were ordered by Justice
Perram in Informax No.1. Not surprisingly, Clarius resisted the
application.
Informax No.2 is the judgment which deals with the determination of
this application.
Analysis
As a starting point, Justice Perram found that his orders for
the amendment of the Informax Contract (in Informax No.1) had,
indeed, been intended to apply retrospectively. However, his Honour
also found that the IC Act does not afford the Court a power to
make such an order. Accordingly, he declined to grant
Informax's application. In effect, Justice Perram overturned
his own previous decision in the proceedings.
Justice Perram analysed the unfair contracts provisions of the IC
Act and found as follows:
- On application, the Court may review whether a contract is 'harsh' or 'unfair'.
- In conducting its review, the Court is limited to the state of the contract and surrounding circumstances as they were at the time the contract was formed.
- If, following review, the Court is of the opinion that the contract in question is 'unfair' or 'harsh', it is empowered to make an order setting aside the contract or varying the contract.
- However, in accordance with the words of the IC Act, the Court may only make an order "for the purpose of placing the parties to [the contract] as nearly as practicable on such a footing that the [harshness or unfairness] on which the [Court's] opinion is based no longer applies".
- As such, the orders may only go to the unfairness or harshness identified in the opinion (which, in turn, may only be based on matters subsisting at the time of the contract's inception).
Based on this analysis, Justice Perram found that the IC Act does not empower the Court to make an order which seeks to address the consequences of that unfairness (because the Court cannot take those consequences into account when making the orders).
Implications
The decision in Informax No.2 is important because it confirms
that the IC Act is limited to the reform of unfair contracts
"going forward" and does not concern itself with the
remediation or reversal of unfair behaviours conducted pursuant to
an unfair contract.
This has far-reaching consequences. Take the example of a principal
and contractor who are party to a services contract and begin to
experience difficulties in their relationship. The Informax No.2
decision, effectively, means that the termination of the services
contract (prior to the commencement of proceedings under the IC
Act) will render that contract immune from review pursuant to the
IC Act (because any order made by the Court can only be
prospective, and the variation of a terminated contract will have
no effect whatsoever).
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.