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Title

TRADE PRACTICES AMENDMENT (AUSTRALIAN CONSUMER LAW) BILL 2009

In Committee

Database

Senate Hansard

Date

16-03-2010

Source

Senate

Parl No.

42

Electorate

South Australia

Interjector

 

Page

1956

Party

IND

Presenter

 

Status

Final

Question No.

 

Questioner

 

Responder

 

Speaker

Xenophon, Sen Nick

Stage

In Committee

Type

 

Context

Bills

System Id

chamber/hansards/2010-03-16/0151


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Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Page: 1956


Senator XENOPHON (6:13 PM) —by leave—I move amendments (1) and (6) in my name together.

(1)   Schedule 1, item 1, page 5 (lines 17 to 22), omit subsection 2(3), substitute:

         (3)    A consumer contract is a contract for:

              (a)    the supply of goods or services; or

              (b)    a sale or grant of an interest in land;

where:

              (c)    if the contract is for supply, sale or grant to an individual—acquisition of the goods, services or interest is wholly or predominantly for personal, domestic or household use or consumption; or

              (d)    in any other case—the upfront price payable for the goods, services or interest supplied under the contract does not exceed $2 million.

(6)   Schedule 3, item 7, page 52 (lines 17 to 20), omit subsection 12BF(3), substitute:

         (3)    A consumer contract is a contract where:

              (a)    if at least one of the parties to the contract is an individual—the acquisition of what is supplied under the contract is wholly or predominantly for personal, domestic or household use or consumption; or

              (b)    in any other case—the upfront price payable for what is supplied under the contract does not exceed $2 million.

This relates to the definition of consumer contracts and the inclusion of low value business-to-business contracts. These amendments are designed to include business-to-business contracts involving transactions less than $2 million, to also be subject to the unfair contract term provisions of the legislation. This provision was included in the first drafting of the legislation but was removed before the bill was introduced, as the minister pointed out in the exposure draft. Like consumers, small businesses are increasingly victims of unfair contract terms and should have access to these unfair contract terms and options for redress. This amendment will enable small businesses to be covered by the unfair contract terms provision of the legislation.