Part A

This part relates to The Australian Consumer Law or ACL.

Question 1:

I. What is the Australian Consumer Law or ACL?

II. The federal parliament has no specific powers to make laws to protect consumers. What sections of the Commonwealth Constitution were relied upon by the federal government to pass the ACL and the earlier Trade Practices Act 1974?
III. Briefly explain the rationale or justification for using those sections to pass the ACL.
IV. Briefly outline the benefits to consumers and business of the ACL.
V. Which government agencies administer the ACL?
VI. Identify the main functions of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission [the ACCC].
VII. Set out the definition of "consumer? from the ACL.

Question 2:

Penny bought three pairs of very expensive shoes from Angioletto's Shoes & Accessories in Sydney.

The shoes were advertised as being "Made in Italy? of the very finest quality Italian leather?.

When Penny unwrapped the shoes at home, she discovered small stickers on the shoes indicating they were „Made in China? of „imitation leather?.

Penny returned the shoes to Angioletto's Shoes & Accessories and asked for a refund of her money.

The store manager apologised for the mistake, and offered to replace the shoes with real leather Italian made shoes. However, he refused to refund

Penny?s money and pointed to a sign in the store which stated: WE EXCHANGE BUT DO NOT GIVE REFUNDS.

In relation to this scenario, answer the following questions:

1. Does the advertisement of the shoes "Made in Italy? of „the very finest quality Italian leather? and the no refunds sign breach the Australian Consumer Law. Explain.

2. Outline the available remedies and penalties for breach of the Australian Consumer Law.

3. Is Penny entitled to demand a refund of her money from Angioletto's Shoes & Accessories, or must she accept the replacement shoes? Explain.

4. Assuming Penny is entitled to a refund, briefly outline the procedure for obtaining an order for a refund from the NSW Consumer Trader & Tenancy Tribunal.

Part B

This part relates to Property Law.

Question 3:

There are three parts to this question.

I. The law recognises two main classes of property being "real property" and "personal property". Distinguish "real property" and "personal property" and give an example of each.

II. Describe the essential features of the Torrens title system of land registration. In your answer refer to indefeasibility of title.

III. What is a mortgage, and why does it provide more protection to a lender that just a loan contract? Outline the remedies of the mortgagee when a mortgagor is in default.

IV.

a) Which federal body administers the Personal Property Securities Act 2009?

b) b. What is the benefit of having a system for the registration of personal property security interests?

Part C

This part relates to Regulators and Compliance.

Question 4:

I. Select a statutory authority or regulator created by federal or state government legislation.

II. Name the statute that created the authority /regulator.

III. List the main functions of the authority /regulator. Note: You should NOT select the ACCC.

Question 5:

"It is important that all businesses develop policies and procedures to ensure compliance with their legal obligations." Discuss this statement.

Instructions to students

To complete this question you will need to do some research on the topic of legal compliance. Start with the Reading - introduction to compliance in the Learning Resource and then use the internet to research a broad range of articles about compliance. Type terms such as "legal compliance? "compliance program? „compliance manual? into a search engine. You may also of course, use books for research.

There is no prescribed word length, but it is expected your answer to this task will be approximately 250-500 words. You must acknowledge your sources. If for example, you quote from an article, provide the name of the author, title of the article and date.

Question 6:

Choose a small to medium size business (for example; a real estate agency, an on-line clothing store, an accounting firm, a computer supplies store, a franchised bread and cake shop, a newsagency, a landscape gardening firm, etc.) and answer the following questions in relation to that business.

1. What are the benefits to your business of having a trade practices compliance program?

2. What would be the essential elements of an effective trade practices compliance program for your business? (To answer this, you first need to think through the main areas of risk for your business, in relation to trade practices.)