Consumer Law:

Everybody who participates on the market is a consumer of some sort. Whether you are buying goods and retaining services for yourself, or whether you are engaged in this activity for the purposes of business development, or even for a charitable cause, you are consuming some resource that is being provided by somebody else.

There is a host of legislation and case law that outlines the basic principles and concepts that relate to consumers, their rights and obligations, and the duties and responsibilities of those who are proving them with the services and goods being sought for value.

The legal system in Australia is based on these statutory provisions and the common law which interprets each of these statutory instruments. The common law, being the law which is embodied in the cases that are decided on a daily basis by judges and magistrates sitting in Court, is a constantly evolving and growing creature. It is not possible to know all the law as it might exist in any one given time, due simply to the vast quantity of the case law that has built up since the establishment of the Australian legal system.

For this reason, areas of practice such as consumer law, areas of legal activity that experience a very high level of litigation are prone to rapid evolution as the expectations of the community develop over time. This may be the case where new business types or new technologies enter the field and introduce new ideas into the law which may not have been contemplated even a few years back. Ecommerce and online shopping is a classic example of this phenomena.

Consumers’ rights have evolved over the decades. The old saying “buyer beware” (or as it is more properly known: caveat emptor) has been greatly limited in scope. Today it is not sufficient to lay all the responsibility on the buyer when he is purchasing some item or obtaining a service. Today, it is recognised that the vendor/seller and service provider have various obligations and responsibilities in respect of the customer and the broader public.

Professionals have a heightened level of responsibility due to their professional standing and the reliance that is placed on them and their expertise. Professional negligence cases can be filed against experts and professionals, but the principles of negligence apply generally to any person or business that offers specialist services to the client or customer. These cases are difficult to prosecute because the stakes are so high and the allegations so serious. For more information, see our section on “Negligence”.

If you require legal advice with a consumer law negligence matter you may wish to contact our firm by telephone on (02) 9233 4048 or email us at info@navado.com.au and make an appointment to see one of our solicitors. 

This webpage (and any material or wording appearing on this webpage) is provided for general information purposes only and does not constitute any Legal Advice. It does not take into account your objectives, your instructions or all of the relevant facts and/or circumstances. Navado accepts no responsibility to any person who relies on the information provided on this website. We further refer you to our Disclaimer.