Consumer Protection & Trade Practices Disputes

Unfortunately, disputes arise in the course of day to day business activities resulting from one or more parties failing to fulfil their obligations, or misrepresenting the circumstances around a particular transaction or product.

Our firm has experience in both bringing claims and defending claims for misleading and deceptive and/or other unlawful conduct pursuant to the Australia consumer law and state fair trading legislation. We can assist with any competition or consumer disputes or claims, whether these arise from property, business or other commercial transactions.

The Courts have far reaching jurisdiction to set aside contracts or strike out offending terms of contracts if they are deemed to be unfair contracts or unfair terms. This means that consumer contract terms can be treated as if they never existed in the first place. This applies to consumer contracts and contracts in relation to financial products.

If you are concerned that a term in your contract may be unfair, or that a contract in its entirety is unfair, we invite you to contact our team of expert commercial lawyers who can guide you through your rights and options in relation to the contract.

At the very heart of the Commonwealth and state legislation governing trade practices, there is a fundamental duty that contracting parties may not engage in conduct that is unconscionable or unfair towards another party. If you have suffered some loss at the hands of a business that has provided you with a faulty product or service that you consider is not of a suitable standard, or if you consider you were induced into a contract under duress, there are important steps and notices that you must provide in order to protect your interests. Our team of experienced lawyers can assist you to navigate this process, protect your rights and achieve your desired outcome.

Our firm frequently acts in relation to disputes arising from restraint of trade provisions in commercial contracts and employment contracts. We have had significant success in the enforcement of and challenge of restraints of trade in the District and Supreme Courts of Queensland.

Generally, the Courts will not allow unreasonable restraint of trade provisions to be enforced. Given our firm’s vast experience in these disputes, we also regularly advise our clients in relation to the implementation of restraint provisions which are more reasonable and more likely to be considered by the Courts as enforceable.