Business Law - S 18 of the Australian Consumer Law within the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (ACL) Free Essay Example, 2000 words

Enforcement of the provision Section 18 of ACL is arguably wide in its application, considering that it takes care of any individuals who participate in deceptive behaviour and or those intending to do so. Owing to the fact that the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA) is a statutory provision, section 51 of the Australian Constitution limit its enforcement. Nonetheless, section 18 of the ACL is premised upon the power of the business organizations as enshrined in the Constitution to operate freely in legal business and act in good faith. Mardirossian, Robbins and Leibler (2010) noted that the condition imposed by â€Å"trade or commerce† is important to its enforcement. As Heinrich and Bracken (2009) have argued, parties may be indirectly liable for violations of s18 if the court establishes their knowledge of the breach before its commission or omission. Each of the federations and regions of Australia are covered under fair trading laws, which draws several similarities to the ACL, but whose mandat es are limited. Misleading and Deceptive practices The outlaw of misleading practices as set out in section 18(1) of the ACL should be interpreted together with section 4(2)(a) of the CCA in order to give it a complete, productive meaning. We will write a custom essay sample on Business Law - S 18 of the Australian Consumer Law within the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (ACL) or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page As Morrison, Abraham and Sheargold (2010) have indicated, to be deceptive or misleading, the practice must comprise a distortion of fact capable of enticing the relevant victim into arriving at an erroneous judgment. In most cases, misrepresentations are inaccurate statements of information. Nonetheless, statements that are credible may also have the intent to misrepresentations if their use is capable of swaying consumers into making mistakes. The appropriate test applied in common law with regard to misleading and deception practices is whether the practice is in itself erroneous; or has the potential to create an erroneous judgment in the consumer (Schaper, 2009/2010).