Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move government amendments (2) and (3), (4) to (7), (14), (20), (28) and (29), (31), (33) and (34), (37), (40), (43), (50), (56), (59), (61), (64) and (65), (2) and (3) on sheet BJ236:

(2)    Clause 2, page 2 (table item 4, 1st column), omit “39”, substitute “32”.

(3)    Clause 2, page 2 (table item 7, 1st column), omit “75”, substitute “74”.

(4)    Schedule 1, heading to Part 1, page 4 (line 2), omit “and prohibited”.

(5)    Schedule 1, item 1, page 4 (line 22), omit the definition of prohibited term in section 1.

(6)    Schedule 1, item 1, page 5 (line 9), omit the heading to Part 2, substitute:

        PART 2—UNFAIR CONTRACT TERMS

(7)    Schedule 1, item 1, page 5 (line 10), omit the heading to Division 1.

(14)  Schedule 1, item 1, page 8 (line 19), omit the heading to Division 3.

(20)  Schedule 1, item 5, page 12 (lines 3 and 4), omit “or 6(1)”.

(28)  Schedule 2, item 40, page 46 (line 2), omit “38”, substitute “32”.

(29)  Schedule 2, item 43, page 46 (line 20), omit “or a prohibited term”.

(31)  Schedule 2, item 47, page 46 (line 30), omit “or 6(1)”.

(33)  Schedule 2, item 59, page 48 (line 9), omit “or a prohibited term”.

(34)  Schedule 2, item 60, page 48 (lines 15 and 16), omit “of Part VC or of the Australian Consumer Law”, substitute “or of Part VC”.

(37)  Schedule 2, item 73, page 50(line 6), omit “or a prohibited term”.

(40)  Schedule 3, heading to Part 1, page 51 (line 3), omit “and prohibited”.

(43)  Schedule 3, item 7, page 52 (line 6), omit “and prohibited”.

(50)  Schedule 3, item 7, page 56 (line 25), omit “or 12BJ(1)”.

(56)  Schedule 3, heading to Part 8, page 79 (line 2), omit “and prohibited”.

(59)  Schedule 3, item 37, page 79 (line 28), omit “or a prohibited term”.

(61)  Schedule 3, item 42, page 80 (line 19), omit “or a prohibited term”.

(64)  Schedule 3, item 44, page 80 (line 29), omit “or a prohibited term”.

(65)  Schedule 3, item 45, page 81 (line 3), omit “BA,”.

We also oppose schedules 1, 2 and 3 in the following terms:

(13)  Schedule 1, item 1, page 8 (lines 1 to 18), Division 2 to be opposed.

(25)  Schedule 2, item 28, page 44 (lines 8 to 11), to be opposed.

(26)  Schedule 2, item 30, page 44 (lines 23 to 26), to be opposed.

(27)  Schedule 2, items 33 to 39, page 45 (lines 5 to 22), to be opposed.

(30)  Schedule 2, items 44 and 45, page 46 (lines 21 to 25), to be opposed.

(32)  Schedule 2, items 51 to 55, page 47 (lines 9 to 22), to be opposed.

(35)  Schedule 2, item 71, page 49 (lines 25 and 26), to be opposed.

(39)  Schedule 2, item 75, page 50(lines 15 to 17), to be opposed.

(42)  Schedule 3, item 2, page 51 (lines 8 to 10), to be opposed.

(49)  Schedule 3, item 7, page 55 (lines 6 to 25), section 12BJ to be opposed.

(57)  Schedule 3, item 33, page 79(lines 4 to 6), to be opposed.

(58)  Schedule 3, items 35 and 36, page 79 (lines 18 to 21), to be opposed.

(60)  Schedule 3, items 38 to 41, page 80 (lines 1 to 12), to be opposed.

(62)  Schedule 3, item 43, page 80(lines 20 to 22), to be opposed.

(67)  Schedule 3, item 56, page 82 (lines 23 to 25), to be opposed.

The group of amendments is to do with prohibited terms. The bill currently provides a regulation-making power whereby the minister may prescribe certain contract terms as unfair in all circumstances. It would then be a contravention for a business to rely on or purport to rely on a prohibited term in any standard form consumer contract. These amendments would remove the regulation-making power from the bill. A number of consequential amendments to the enforcement provisions of the bill will also need to be made to remove references to the prohibited terms. A similar regulation-making power has existed in section 32Y of the Victorian Fair Trading Act 1999 since 2003. However, it has never been used. No terms were proposed to be prohibited upon enactment of the bill. The removal of the regulation-making power to prescribe terms will not have any impact on an individual’s or regulators’ ability to seek a court declaration that a term is unfair. These amendments and all the consequential amendments relate to prohibited terms or the black list, so it is the one issue picked up in all the amendments.