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:
- 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;
- 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;
- 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;
- 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;
- plan and complete a research project involving consumer protection and product liability law, with some independence.
Other Information
Classes may be offered in non-standard sessions and be taught on an intensive base with compulsory contact hours (a minimum of 36 hours). Please refer to the LLB timetable for dates. Please contact the ANU College of Law Student Administration Services to request a permission code to enrol in classes offered in non-standard sessions.
Indicative Assessment
- Exam (50) [LO null]
- Research essay (50) [LO null]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
- Classes offered in non-standard sessions will be taught on an intensive base with compulsory contact hours (approximately 36 hours of face to face teaching). The course will also require advanced preparation through assigned readings. In total, it is anticipated that the hours required for completion of this course (class preparation, teaching and completion of assessment) will not exceed 120 hours.
- Classes offered during semester periods are expected to have three contact hours per week. Students are generally expected to devote at least 10 hours overall per week to this course.
Click here for the LLB Program course list
Inherent Requirements
Not applicable
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
Students must rely on the approved Class Summary which will be posted to the Programs and Courses site approximately two weeks prior to the commencement of the course. Alternatively, this information will be published in the Program course list when known.
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you 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). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 34
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found 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 |
|---|---|
| 2023 | $4860 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2023 | $5820 |
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.
Second Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8902 | 22 Jul 2024 | 29 Jul 2024 | 31 Aug 2024 | 25 Oct 2024 | Online | N/A |
