Consumer Protection

Contributed by Ian Macdonald and Su Mahalingham and current to 1 September 2005

This chapter is divided into three parts:
• Contract – dealing with the basic principles of contract law;
• Consumer protection legislation – an outline of the laws concerning certain minimum standards of goods and services and conduct towards consumers; and
• Banking services.

Consumer credit issues are discussed in CREDIT , while rights of health consumers are dealt with in HEALTH CONSUMERS’ RIGHTS .

• Contract law - introduction
• What is a contract?
• The elements of a contract
• The terms of a contract
• When a contract ends
• Enforcing a contract
• Consumer protection legislation - introduction
• The Sale of Goods Act
• The Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth)
• The Fair Trading Act 1987(WA)
• Implied terms relating to goods
• Implied conditions and warranties relating to services
• Breach of the implied conditions
• Continuing relevance of the Sale of Goods Act
• False and misleading advertisements or statements
• Other sections of the Trade Practices Act and the Fair Trading Act
• Other consumer protection laws
• Consumer - trader claims
• Banking services
• Contact points and other useful resources