Business and Law in Australia

Business and Law in Australia assists students to understand the concepts and principles of business law in the current Australian commercial law environment. To enable students to understand the legal framework which underpins business law, this work contains a concise outline of the components that make up the historical and modern Australian legal system, a plain language explanation of contract law, and an overview of the different business organisations and their means of operation. It also provides a precise summary of some of the diverse areas of law that impact on the conduct of business, including criminal law, the law of torts and business ethics.

Several significant and recent legislative developments impacting the Australian commercial law environment have been incorporated into this edition, including:

• the introduction in 2011 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, covering new unfair contract terms provisions and consumer guarantees;
• the National Credit Code introduced by the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009;
• the proposed introduction of a new and comprehensive registration system for security interests in personal property through the Personal Property Securities Act 2009;
• amendments to the Bankruptcy Act;
• proposed amendments to the Insurance Contracts Act;
• expanded treatment of the role of equity in commercial relationships with a discussion of fiduciary duties; and
• proposed amendments to intellectual property laws by the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment (Raising the Bar) Bill 2011.

As the successor title to Gibson’s Commercial Law: In Principle 3rd edition, this edition retains many of the popular features of the original work. Flowcharts and tables, guides to problem solving and practice questions throughout the work map out complex concepts and aid student learning, ensuring that Business Law in Australia is an excellent learning tool for LLB and commercial or business law students.