By Chrystie Siapkas (Lawyer) and Paul Welling (Principal Solicitor) A recent Federal Court decision regarding the unfair contract terms regime provides valuable guidance for businesses regarding the types of terms which may be declared void. Background In November 2016, the existing unfair contract term protections for individual consumers were extended to cover standard … Read more
Last month, the Honourable Kelly O’Dwyer MP announced that the Turnbull Government would be introducing new laws in a bid to crack down on illegal phoenixing activities that cost the Australian economy up to an estimated $3.2 billion per year. What are phoenixing activities? “Phoenixing” occurs when individuals or entities deliberately strip assets from one … Read more
UK-based technology company, Purple WiFi, recently gave consumers a salient lesson in why it’s important to read terms of use. What happened? Purple provides WiFi hotspots for various clients including retail outlets, restaurants and hotels. People visiting these venues can access the free WiFi provided they create an account and accept Purple’s terms of use. … Read more
Upmarket activewear brand, Lululemon Athletica Australia Pty Ltd (Lululemon), has caught the attention of the ACCC over its policy on refunds and exchanges. What happened? In May 2017, Lululemon’s returns policy (as published on its website) stated that no refunds or exchanges would be accepted on final sale items such as water bottles and underwear, … Read more
By Clea Cole (Lawyer) and Kate Landells (Senior Associate) Last Thursday ASIC released two consultation papers which aim to assist: public companies; and crowd-sourced-funding (CSF) intermediaries (being CSF platform operators), to navigate the new CSF regime and their obligations under that regime, which is set to take effect at the end of September this year. … Read more
Health insurer, NIB, is being taken to task by the ACCC, over alleged misleading and deceptive conduct and unconscionable conduct. What happened? NIB has provided a MediGap Scheme to its customers since the early 2000s. The Scheme pays higher benefits to practitioners who agree to participate, and in return those practitioners agree to not charge … Read more
By Clea Cole (Lawyer) and Kate Landells (Senior Associate) In last Tuesday’s budget papers, the Government committed to making it easier for start-up companies to raise capital by releasing draft legislation to extend the crowd-sourced equity funding regime (CSF) to proprietary companies in the form of the Corporations Amendment (Crowd-sourced Funding for Proprietary Companies) Bill … Read more
The Australian ‘equity based’ crowd-sourced-funding (CSF) regime will come into effect by the end of September 2017. It introduces a new funding regime for small companies who have largely been restricted to the ‘kiddie pool’. Welcome to the big pool Eligible companies will be able to raise up to $5 million annually from the public … Read more
Christmas comes but once a year, and so does the ACCC’s list of enforcement targets. In his annual address to the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA), ACCC Chairman Rod Sims has revealed the ACCC’s naughty list for 2017. The ‘always on the hit list’ list The following are classified as ‘enduring priorities’ (meaning … Read more
