CONTRACTS – AUSTRALIA – INTERPRETATION AND CONSTRUCTION

Ombudsman warning over unfair clauses

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 6-Sep-19

Small business ombudsman Kate Cornell suggests that around 50 per cent of all ‘standard form contracts’ offered to small businesses by service providers outside the banking sector could contain clauses that deemed to be unfair. Carnell says that some of the worst offenders in this regard include companies in the advertising and rubbish removal sectors. She has called on companies that may have unfair terms in their contracts to remove them, as to avoid being sued. Bendigo & Adelaide Bank and the Bank of Queensland are being sued by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN SMALL BUSINESS AND FAMILY ENTERPRISE OMBUDSMAN, BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK LIMITED – ASX BEN, BANK OF QUEENSLAND LIMITED – ASX BOQ, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Insurers to be barred from using unfair contracts in new legislation

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Fernyhough
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 31-Jul-19

Labor is expected to support the Coalition’s proposal to subject insurers to the same rules with regard to unfair contract terms as other financial services providers. The final report of the Hayne royal commission recommended abolishing the exemption, which arose because insurers are regulated by the Insurance Contracts Act. In contrast, rules on unfair contract terms are covered by the ASIC Act. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has also made a number of recommendations for changes to the regulatory regime for insurers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Small business contract safeguards beefed up

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 28-Mar-19

The federal government has outlined plans to extend its laws on unfair contract terms to a broader range of small businesses. Firms with annual turnover of up to $10m will be covered by the laws under the proposed reforms, while the threshold will be increased from 20 employees to 100. Assistant Treasurer Stuart Robert has stressed that the government will not pursue any reforms without consulting with all relevant stakeholders.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Foodora warned over sham contracts

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 30-Apr-18

The contracts that food delivery company Foodora has with its delivery riders would not stand up under legal challenge, according to a leaked email. A Foodora executive who is a former lawyer stated in a March email that its contracts contain phrases that blur the lines between employee and contractor arrangements, and that if just one was successfully challenged it could have a devastating "domino" impact on Foodora. Commenting on the leaked email, Transport Workers’ Union national secretary Tony Sheldon says Foodora has been "caught out".

CORPORATES
FOODORA, TRANSPORT WORKERS’ UNION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

NAB simplifies its small business lending contracts

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 6-Oct-17

National Australia Bank has advised that its standard contract for small business loans has been streamlined to make it "simple, fairer and more transparent". The number of clauses in the standard contract has been reduced from 24 to just 17, while it includes a summary of key terms in plain English. The new contracts will apply to about 98.7 per cent of the bank’s business customers. The move to simplify small business lending contracts follows criticism of the banking sector’s existing contracts by small business ombudsman Kate Carnell earlier in 2017.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN SMALL BUSINESS AND FAMILY ENTERPRISE OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

China claims Woodside withheld gas

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angus Grigg, Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 : 29-Jan-15

Woodside Petroleum’s Chinese customers have accused the Australian company and its partners of delaying LNG shipments. The Chinese side claims that the North West Shelf Gas consortium is holding back gas in an attempt to force the clients to renegotiate the terms of a deal signed in 2002 and raise the price. At an investor briefing in August 2014, Woodside CEO Peter Coleman said the contract was running at a "cash loss"

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, NORTH WEST SHELF AUSTRALIA LNG PTY LTD, JAPAN AUSTRALIA LNG (MIMI) PTY LTD, TRI-ZEN INTERNATIONAL PTE LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY AND SCIENCE, BP PLC, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, CHEVRON CORPORATION, MITSUI AND COMPANY LIMITED, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP