Business and Working with Australian-Free Samples for Students

Question: How Do the Business and Working With the Australian? Answer: Introducation: In order to understand the relationship amid small business and Australian consumer law, it is important to first analyze the scope of small business contracts. In law, a contract is a small business contract provided it is a standard form contract for the supply of services/goods or for grant/sale of land interest. But, when the contract is made then at least one must employs less than 20 people and the contract upfront price does not exceed $300,000 OR if the contracts are for more than 12 months then the contract upfront price does not exceed $1,000,000.(Nick, 2015) Legislation that affects small businesses There are various legislations that affect the working of a small business in Australia. Some of them are:(wiley, 2017) National Measurement Act 1960; Australian Consumer Law and Fair Trading Act 2012 (Vic.); Food Act 1984; Licensing and inspection of all food premises, delegated through the FoodAct 1984; Local zoning laws; Local parking regulations; Australian Consumer Law The Competition and Consumer Act 2010 is the statutory enactment that has introduced the Australian Consumer Law (schedule 2) which has substituted various national/state/territory laws, with the main aim to protect the consumers and restore competition in the Australian Market. The law came into force from 1st January 2011. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission administer the working of the Act. The act has laid down various activities that are considered to be illegal and misleading and must not be carry out any business undertaking including the small business. No small undertaking should:(Paul, 2012) Indulge itself in act which is deceptive and misleading in nature. No product or service should be advertised which uses words which are deceptive. It results in portraying the nature of the product which is in realty false and misleading (section 18) (Inxs Hutchence, M.K. v. South Seas Bubble Company Pty Ltd t/as Bootleg T-Shirts Ors, [1986] ). Bait advertisement is strictly prohibited. Enter into transactions which are unreasonable or unfair or which is against the good conscience of the parties as such acts are considered to unconscionable in nature (section 21) (ACCC v Lux Pty Ltd , [2004]); Gave a representation regarding any goods and services which are misleading and false. A statement which is made which is false and which induces the other party to establish transactions are false or misleading representation and held invalid in law (section 29) (ACCC v Original Mama's Pizza Ribs Pty Ltd , [2008] ); Declare that it is willing to offer prizes or gifts along with the services and goods which in fact is not desirable by the business (section 32); Indulge itself in such actions or conduct which is misleading to the public at large; Thus, these are some of the statutory obligations which are imposed upon small business which must be complying with by them in order to avoid any kind of hardship. Rights of the consumer obligations on small businesses The Act has granted several consumer protection rights which must be cater by a small business while supplying any goods or services. Every small business manufacturer and the supplier must comply with this consumer guarantee and there are no requirements of any express warranty on the part of the manufacturer. The same are established under Part3-2, Division1, Subdivision A of ACL and are:(ACCC, 2017) The consumer will be granted a clear and legal title upon the goods so acquired. This is possible when the seller who is selling the goods has the clear title and thus has the right to transfer the ownership to the buyer; The goods which are to be sold must correspond with the demonstration, model, sample which is depicted to the buyer; The goods so supplied should be of acceptable quality, that is, durable, safe, free from defects, etc; They must comply with the purpose they are acquired for; The sparing and repairing of the goods must be cater adequately; Services must be provided within reasonable time and must provide with adequate skill and care; However, apart from imposing obligations, the Act in order to strengthen the competition has imposed restrictions on the small business not to indulge in any activities which ultimately results in restricting the trade and operations in the market. There are several provisions which are made: Section 45 imposes exclusionary provisions according to which no two business would make an agreement according to which they will exclude/limit themselves from trading with certain customers or suppliers; Section 44ZZRF deals with price fixing according to which no business can control/fix/maintain the price of any services/goods; Section 46 prohibit the business to use their market dominance for their won advantage and detrimental to others. Section 46 prohibit to fix the prices of the product at such a low level that it forces the other competitors to leave the market; Section 48 prohibits the small business to fix the prices for the retailers at which they must sell the products. Section 50 of the act does not allow any kind of acquisitions and mergers which results in the deterioration of the competition. If any Small business does not comply with its obligations and consumer guarantees then, the ACCC is authorized to take criminal proceedings against such small business defaulter. The penalties of up to $1.1 million can be imposed for companies and $220 000 upon the individual which are found to be defaulters. Compensation can also be imposed upon such small business units. If the penalties that are so imposed are further aggravated with the cost of the good will and the legal fees, then, the damages that are so imposed are more than enough to ruin such small business undertakings.(Gillian, Julie, Megan, 2011) Thus, every small business unit must make sure to comply with all the provisions of the Act. In any country some business are big and some are small. It is a common question, whether the small businesses require stronger protection when compared with large companies. The Australian consumer Law main aim is the protection of the consumers. In order to grant better protection to the small business there are few recommendations: (Conversation, 2017) The anti competitive practices such as fixation of price can be harmful to small business along with the local community. It is necessary that competition laws must be applicable on such business. Since the resources that are available to small businesses are not much thus thee are chances that unfair and unconscionable conduct can be carried against them by the big companies. So, it is necessary to help the small businesses to have just compete ions; The unfair contract terms legislation is extended to small business which will ultimately help them. Thus, there are several obligation that are imposed on small business in order to secure competition and to promote consumer justice, however, recommendation are also provided in order to strengthen the position of such businesses. References ACCC. (2017, May 2017). Consumer guarantees. Australia. ACCC v Lux Pty Ltd ([2004]). ACCC v Original Mama's Pizza Ribs Pty Ltd ([2008] ). Acts, C. C. (2017, MAy 8). COMPETITION AND CONSUMER ACT 2010 - SCHEDULE 2 - The Australian Consumer Law. Australia. Conversation, T. (2017). Why the Australian Consumer Law can help small business. Retrieved May 8, 2017, from The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/why-the-australian-consumer-law-can-help-small-business-20298 Gillian, S., Julie, C., Megan, J. (2011). Essential VCE Business Management Units 1 and 2. Cambridge University Press. Inxs References, M.K. v. South Seas Bubble Company Pty Ltd t/as Bootleg T-Shirts Ors ([1986] ). Nick, K. (2015, December 6). Mondaq- connecting knowledge and people. Retrieved May 8, 2017, from Mondaq: https://www.mondaq.com/australia/x/449534/Contract+Law/Small+businesses+to+benefit+under+proposed+changes+to+the+Australian+Consumer+Law Paul, l. L. (2012). Australian Busienss Law. CCH Australia Limited. wiley. (2017). Legal requirements of small businesses offering goods and services. Retrieved May 8, 2017, from Wiley: https://www.wiley.com/legacy/Australia/PageProofs/BUS_MAN/1_2/KC_VCE_BusMgmnt_U12_3E_c08__WEB.pdf