Australian Contract and Consumer Law

Contract law encompasses any laws or regulations directed toward enforcing certain promises. In Australia contract law is primarily regulated by the 'common law', but increasingly statutes are supplementing the common law of contract - particularly in relation to consumer protection.

This site is broken into a number of different categories:

The Law is split into sections on the common law of contract in Australia and consumer law (with some overlap). In relation to contract law the main section is divided into five broad areas:

• formation (agreement, consideration, intention to create legal relations, capacity to contract and formalities)
• scope and content (how do you determine and interpret the terms of a contract?)
• avoidance (how may a party avoid their obligations under a contract? This overlaps with consumer law and includes discussion of vitiating factors such as duress, undue influence and unconscionability as well as the effect of mistake on contractual obligations and frustration)
• performance and termination and
• remedies.

In relation to consumer law current topics include the law relating to implied terms in consumer contracts, unfair terms in consumer contracts, unconscionable conduct and manufacturers' liability.

Select from the left hand menu for quick links to each section.

Legislation includes extracts and links to key pieces of legislation relevant to contract law - in particular, consumer protection legislation which in some cases implies terms into consumer contracts and in others might provide remedies for 'unconscionable contracts', or provide mechanisms for avoiding 'unfair terms.'

Blog links to my contract and consumer law blog, containing discussion of relevant news items, new case law or legislative amendments relating to contract and consumer law.

Publications provides some information about relevant contract law publications.

Links contains links to other online resources relating to contract law.

About contains more information about this site, including currency, disclaimer and contact details.