Safeguard your business from unfair contracts

Safeguard your business from unfair contracts

Ensuring all small businesses are protected under the unfair contract law is a priority for the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) in 2017.

ACCC has announced increased scrutiny on unfair contracts and is investigating a range of industries since the introduction of the new business-to-business (B2B) unfair contract terms laws in November 2016.

What is the unfair contract law?

Under the law, small businesses are able to have an unfair term in a contract declared void by a court if at the time of agreeing to a standard form contract:

• you had less than 20 employees
• the contract wasn’t for more than $300,000 (or $1 million for contracts longer than 12 months).

What is an unfair contract term?

Unfair terms are terms that let one party but not the other:

• avoid or limit their obligations under the contract
• terminate the contract
• vary the terms of the contract
• be penalised for breaching or terminating the contract.

Only a court or tribunal can decide that a term is unfair.

Find out more

• For more information about the laws on unfair contract terms check out the ACCC website.
• If you have further questions or have come across an unfair term in a standard form contract that you have been offered or entered into you can contact the ACCC.
• Read our Understanding contracts information.

Original article appeared first at Business.gov.au >

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