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The IPA has backed the government’s introduction of legislation to boost unfair contract terms (UCT) protection for small business.
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IPA backs UCT protections
26 June 2015
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IPA chief executive officer Andrew Conway welcomed the legislation, saying the IPA has long advocated for a fairer deal for small business when it comes to contracts.
The legislation, introduced this week by small business minister Bruce Billson, extends the consumer unfair contract terms protections to cover standard form, small business consumer-like contracts which meet certain criteria.
Under the new protections, a contract will qualify if at least one party has fewer than 20 employees and its value is below the prescribed threshold of $100,000, or $250,000 for a multi-year contract.
“While we would have preferred a higher ‘upfront price’, we believe the new protections will help small business in dealing with unconscionable conduct,” Mr Conway said.
“The existence of the monetary limit will also make it possible for a dominant firm to avoid the UCT provisions by aggregating the contracts it makes with a particular small business so they exceed that limit," he added.
“However, there is no doubt that the Government has taken a positive step forward in support of small businesses across Australia; the IPA applauds the legislation and looks forward to its passage and implementation.
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“We will work with our members and small business to raise awareness of the benefits of this important legislation,” Mr Conway said.
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