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Dear Brian,
Welcome to the HWL Ebsworth Trade Practices Law Newsletter for June.
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| It is now official that the national unfair contract law passed earlier this year will commence on 1 July 2010. Any unfair term in a standard form consumer contract entered into after 1 July will be void and unenforceable. If successfully challenged, the term will be removed from the contract and the rest of the contract will continue. Read more » |
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| The introduction of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) represents the largest rewrite of Australia’s consumer protection laws since the Trade Practices Act (TPA) was first introduced, over 35 years ago. This article summarises some of the latest proposed changes, including new statutory warranty provisions, new definitions of 'consumers' and a new product safety regime.
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| The Government has been under pressure for some time to amend the merger regulations set out in section 50 of the TPA to deal with ‘creeping acquisitions’. Creeping acquisitions occur where a corporation makes a series of small-scale acquisitions that, individually, do not substantially lessen competition in a market but, collectively, may have that effect. The issue has been raised as a concern, for example, in the grocery and liquor sectors. Read more » |
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| The Federal Government has been under pressure for some time to strengthen the prohibitions on unconscionable conduct in the Trade Practices Act (TPA) and provide greater protection, in particular, in the franchising sector. Legislation has just been introduce into Federal Parliament that purports to finally address these calls. The real effect of the proposed changes, however, seems likely to be minimal. Read more » |
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| On 27 May 2010, the ACCC published its review of the Australian product safety recalls system. The review was in response to a 2006 Productivity Commission report that was subsequently adopted by the Council of Australian Governments in 2008. In the report, the ACCC foreshadows that it will become more involved in product recalls in the future and will published a revision to the current Recall Guidelines, Product safety recall: a guide for suppliers. Read more » |
We hope you find this newsletter both informative and enjoyable.
Kind regards,
HWL Ebsworth Lawyers
Trade Practices Law Group
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