The Australian Consumer Law, 4th Edition

Corones’ Australian Consumer Law, explains in a detailed yet accessible treatment the substantive rights and remedies of consumers, and the obligations of traders under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL).

The ACL is a uniform consumer protection law that applies in all jurisdictions throughout Australia. This book explains the law created by the ACL and the policy underlying it. This book covers the general and specific provisions of the ACL, and the remedial and enforcement regimes. It examines how the different parts of the ACL inter-relate, the scope for overlap, and why each provision is necessary to provide complete consumer protection.

Corones’ Australian Consumer Law Fourth Edition has been extensively reworked and updated to take account of the many changes in the law that have occurred since the introduction of the ACL in January 2011. The Fourth Edition includes commentary on amendments to the ACL, including increased civil pecuniary penalties for contraventions of key provisions. The text also considers important new court decisions such as Paciocco v Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited [2016] HCA 28 and ParkingEye Limited v Beavis [2015] UKSC 67 on the relationship between unfair terms and the penalty doctrine under the general law; ACCC v Servcorp Limited [2018] FCA 1044 and Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v JJ Richards & Sons Pty Ltd [2017] FCA 1224 on unfair terms in standard form small business contracts and Valve Corporation v ACCC [2017] FCAFC 224 discussing when contractual attempts to exclude or limit liability under the consumer guarantees will be misleading. New developments in the case law on misleading conduct, unconscionable conduct, consumer guarantees and civil pecuniary penalties are also examined.

Corones’ Australian Consumer Law remains the key text on consumer law in Australia, suitable for students and practitioners alike.