In 2017 the course will be taught as an intensive: Monday 3 July to Friday 14 July 10am to 3pm daily (NB No classes on the weekend)
This course investigates the new Australian Consumer Law (“the ACL”) regime that became effective on 1 January 2011. The Trade Practices Amendment (Australian Consumer Law) No 2 Act 2010 (Cth) introduced a comprehensive national consumer protection and product liability law regime. The variety of consumer protection statutes throughout Australia such as the Fair Trading Acts and Door to Door Sales Acts were entirely replaced by the ACL.
In particular, the former Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) was replaced by the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) (“the CCA”) that contains the ACL. Accordingly, the CCA, the ACL and the various State and Territory application legislation are now the principal sources of consumer protection and product liability law throughout Australia.
The object of this elective is to introduce the Australian Consumer Law as it is applied as a law of the Commonwealth and as a law of the States and Territories. This will involve a consideration of the role and function of consumer protection and product liability laws as part of Australia's National Competition Policy, misleading and deceptive conduct and its most common forms including silence, comparative advertising, passing off, sale of businesses, breach of contract and franchising industry issues, various forms of false conduct, "special" areas of consumer concern such as pyramid selling and false claims for payments, conditions and warranties implied into consumer contracts by the ACL including the status of ‘No Refund' policies, unconscionable conduct, Industry Codes of Conduct with an examination of the franchising industry, product liability, remedies under the CCA including damages, injunctions and other orders and enforcement of the Consumer Protection and Product Liability provisions of the CCA by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
Students who satisfactorily complete this course will be able to:1. define, describe and apply in a coherent fashion an advanced knowledge of the Australian Consumer Law ("ACL") as an integral component of National Competition Policy, including the ACL's specific consumer protection provision in providing solutions to complex problems with intellectual independence;
2. define, describe and apply in a coherent fashion an advanced knowledge of product safety and defective product provisions in the ACL to provide solutions to complex problems with intellectual independence;
3. explain and apply complex statutory provisions within the ACL specifically and as part of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) ("CCA"), including analysing and applying relevant case law;
4. synthesise and communicate a clear and coherent body of knowledge of consumer protection and product liability law in ways that can be comprehended by peers and the course lecturer;
5. plan and complete a research project involving consumer protection and product liability law, with some independence.
The course objectives are:
1. To introduce students to the role and function of consumer protection and product liability laws and how the ACL and CCA work as part of Australia’s National Competition Policy;
2. To identify and critically evaluate the principal consumer protection provisions in the ACL and the intended purposes of those provisions;
3. To develop comprehension skills necessary to accurately navigate through the Parts, Chapters, Divisions, Sub-divisions and Sections of both the CCA and the ACL;
4. To identify the most effective forms of remedies that might be available in the event of a breach of the ACL;
5. To understand the role of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ("ACCC") as the principal regulator of the ACL, including understanding the investigation and enforcement powers of the ACCC in administering the ACL.
Indicative Assessment
• Exam: 50%• Research essay: 50%
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Workload
Three contact hours per week. Students are generally expected to devote at least 10 hours overall per week to this course.Requisite and Incompatibility
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 3
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees. Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2018 | $3420 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2018 | $4860 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
Winter Session
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6866 | 02 Jul 2018 | 02 Jul 2018 | 06 Jul 2018 | 13 Jul 2018 | In Person | N/A |
