Unconsciousability in Commercial Leasing - Distinguishing a Hard Bargain from Unfair Tactics?

Section 51AC of the TPA commenced on 1 July 1998 and was enacted primarily to answer the serious complaints made to the Reid Committee about the allegedly unconscionable conduct of lessors in their dealings with small traders in retail shopping complexes. Since then New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland have enacted derivative provisions in their retail shop leasing legislation allowing retail leasing tribunals to consider instances of unconscionable conduct by lessors. This is the first article that critically analyses how s 51AC and its cognate provisions in the States have been applied by the courts and retail leasing tribunals against the background of existing literature and the High Court decision of ACCC v Berbatis Holdings Pty Ltd, which dealt specifically with the application of s 51AA of the TPA to retail leasing situations. The article examines the types of lessor conduct retail lessees have claimed is unconscionable and concludes with the finding that the situations in which a lessor’s conduct is likely to be unconscionable under s 51AC have generally been limited to circumstances where a lessor's manipulation of their position or legal rights to deliberately force the termination of the lease or cessation of the lessee's business is clearly evident

The Requirements of Writing for Electronic Land Contracts - The Queensland Experience Compared with Other Jurisdictions

The increase in popularity of the Internet has seen more and more people entering into online contracts. However the move from paper based commercial transactions to using electronic communication techniques raises questions as to the validity of such contracts, the time and place of their formation, proof of the terms, the authentication and integrity of the electronic communications and determining the applicable law. This article examines the traditional legal requirements of writing for land contracts focussing on the law of Queensland, Australia. The authors critically analyse the ability of these accepted principles to adapt to a digital medium, and compare and contrast the approaches in several jurisdictions. They conclude by suggesting a framework for the application of existing legal principles to electronic land contracts

Property Agents and Motor Dealers Act (Qld) : disclosure, cooling-off and marketeers

The Property Agents and Motor Dealers Act 2000 commenced on 1 July 2001. Significant changes have now been made to the Act by the Property Agents and Motor Dealers Amendment Act 2001 (“the amending Act”). The amending Act contains two distinct parts. First, ss 11-19 of the amending Act provide for increased disclosure obligations on real estate agents, property developers and lawyers together with an extension of the 5 business day cooling-off period imposed by the original Act to all residential property (other than contracts formed on a sale by auction). These provisions are expected to commence on 29 October 2001. The remaining provisions of the amending Act provide for increased jurisdiction and powers to the Property Agents and Motor Dealers Tribunal (“the Tribunal”) enabling the Tribunal to deal with claims against marketeers. These provisions commenced on the date of assent (21 September 2001)

Thermal-infrared spectral observations of geologic materials in emission

The thermal-infrared spectra of geologic materials in emission were studied using the prototype Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES). A variety of of processes and surface modifications that may influence or alter the spectra of primary rock materials were studied. It was confirmed that thermal emission spectra contain the same absorption features as those observed in transmission and reflection spectra. It was confirmed that the TES instrument can be used to obtain relevant spectra for analysis of rock and mineral composition

Queensland property legislation update

This article discusses the legislative changes introduced by the new Government in Queensland in 2012 and their impact on property transactions. The changes generally relate to the government’s mandate to reduce red tape in property transactions as well as election promises to reintroduce the stamp duty reduction for the purchase of a home and wind back the previous government’s changes to the lot entitlement provisions of the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997

Exemptions from a Tenant’s Express Obligation to Repair - Is The Landlord Responsible by Implication?

The Victorian Supreme Court in Carbure Pty Ltd v Brile Pty Ltd (2002) V Conv R 54-663 declined to imply a covenant on the part of the landlord to undertake structural repairs to leased premises where the express repair covenant in the lease excluded from the tenant’s obligations structural repair. By contrast, the court in Reilly v Liangis Investments (2000) 9 BPR 17,509 (NSWSC) assumed that in identical circumstances, the landlord had the responsibility to undertake structural repairs. The conclusion that neither a landlord nor a tenant is obliged to undertake repair falling within the exclusions in the lessee’s covenant also has ramifications for other excluded obligations such as fair wear and tear. This article examines the position of the parties in this anomalous situation and whether or not an implied term relating to structural repair could exist against the landlord. The article critiques the differing views in relation to the landlord’s obligation of repair for stand alone leased premises as compared to multi-tenanted buildings and the backround influence of the covenant for quiet enjoyment. It concludes by noting that a repair covenant will rarely be implied against a landlord to the benefit of a tenant and, for the sake of certainty, if possible, an express covenant on the part of the landlord to undertake structural repair should be incorporated in the lease

Crisis on Impact: Responding to Cyber Attacks on Critical Information Infrastructures, 30 J. Marshall J. Info. Tech. & Privacy L. 31 (2013)

In the developing digital economy, the notion of traditional attack on enterprises of national significance or interest has transcended into different modes of electronic attack, surpassing accepted traditional forms of physical attack upon a target. The terrorist attacks that took place in the United States on September 11, 2001 demonstrated the physical devastation that could occur if any nation were the target of a large-scale terrorist attack. Therefore, there is a need to protect critical national infrastructure and critical information infrastructure. In particular, this protection is crucial for the proper functioning of a modern society and for a government to fulfill one of its most important prerogatives – namely, the protection of its people. Computer networks have many benefits that governments, corporations, and individuals alike take advantage of in order to promote and perform their duties and roles. Today, there is almost complete dependence on private sector telecommunication infrastructures and the associated computer hardware and software systems. These infrastructures and systems even support government and defense activity. This Article discusses possible at-tacks on critical information infrastructures and the government reactions to these attacks

The Sleep Or Mood Novel Adjunctive therapy (SOMNA) trial: a study protocol for a randomised controlled trial evaluating an internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy program for insomnia on outcomes of standard treatment for depression in men

BACKGROUND: Insomnia is a significant risk factor for depression onset, can result in more disabling depressive illness, and is a common residual symptom following treatment cessation that can increase the risk of relapse. Internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia has demonstrated efficacy and acceptability to men who are less likely than women to seek help in standard care. We aim to evaluate whether internet delivered cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia as an adjunct to a standard depression therapeutic plan can lead to improved mood outcomes.METHODS/DESIGN: Male participants aged 50 years or more, meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria for current Major Depressive Episode and/or Dysthymia and self-reported insomnia symptoms, will be screened to participate in a single-centre double-blind randomised controlled trial with two parallel groups involving adjunctive internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia and an internet-based control program. The trial will consist of a nine-week insomnia intervention period with a six-month follow-up period. During the insomnia intervention period participants will have their depression management coordinated by a psychiatrist using standard guideline-based depression treatments. The study will be conducted in urban New South Wales, Australia, where 80 participants from primary and secondary care and direct from the local community will be recruited. The primary outcome is change in the severity of depressive symptoms from baseline to week 12. DISCUSSION: This study will provide evidence on whether a widely accessible, evidence-based, internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia intervention can lead to greater improvements than standard treatment for depression alone, in a group who traditionally do not readily access psychotherapy. The study is designed to establish effect size, feasibility and processes associated with implementing e-health solutions alongside standard clinical care, to warrant undertaking a larger more definitive clinical trial.Trial registration: Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12612000985886.The study is supported by beyondblue: the national depression and anxiety initiative National Priority Driven Research Program and funded through a donation from the Movember Foundation

Towards Secure and Legal E-Tendering

Tendering processes are considered to be a suitable mechanism for governments to fairly assign contracts for construction projects and procurement. The demand for efficiencies to be created in the process has resulted in a significant number of governments implementing e-tendering systems. E-tendering systems generally involve the submission of tender offer documents to a secure system hosted by the government (principal). An electronic environment presents obvious opportunities for collusion between principal and certain tenderers, fraud by tenderers and a minefield of legal uncertainties for fuelling protracted disputes. Critical examination of the security and legal requirements for e-tendering systems does not appear in the current literature. This paper identifies key security and legal issues to be addressed in the design of e-tendering systems, which may be included in e-procurement software, and proposes a new e-tendering architecture, using distributed trusted third parties which may be suitable for secure large scale operations such as the construction industry

Submission to Australian Consumer Law Review Issues Paper

This submission was prepared by Professor Stephen Corones, Professor Sharon Christensen and Nicola Howell on behalf of the Commercial and Property Law Research Centre (CPLRC) at QUT. The CPLRC is a specialist network of researchers with a vision to reform legal and regulatory frameworks in the commercial and property law sector through high-impact applied research. The submission addresses particular issues and questions from the Issues Paper related to Lemon Laws, transactions involving digital content and the sharing economy, and financial services. The numbering of questions from the Issues Paper has been adopte