Australian Contract Law & Precedents
Disclaimer: I’m not a lawyer and I have no claim that this advice should be taken as legal advice in replacement of seeking out professional help. What I hope to do is educate you over a series of small posts published here between 7 November, 2009 and 20 November, 2009. The articles discuss what constitutes a contract with the intention that you should be able to figure out when you might need to see a real lawyer. This series is in the Australian context.
Australians, Please Ignore Contract Law on US Television
How many times have you heard people insist that such-and-such was law because they saw it on American television. That’s kind of funny but it’s not cute at all when you’re in business. The series of articles linked to below provide an overarching view of Australian Contract Law (note the disclaimer on your way into each one) that draws from a number of credible and authoritative resources (noted at the end of this page).
Australian Contracts 101: The Series
- Contracts 101 – Part 1: Outline
- Contracts 101 – Part 2: Which Contract?
- Contracts 101 – Part 3: The Six Elements
- Contracts 101 – Part 4: The Agreement
- Contracts 101 – Part 5: The Offer
- Contracts 101 – Part 6: The Acceptance
- Contracts 101 – Part 7: Battle of the Forms
- Contracts 101 – Part 8: Consideration
- Contracts 101 – Part 9: Capacity
- Contracts 101 – Part 10: Legality of Object
- Contracts 101 – Part 11: Possibility of Performance
- Contracts 101 – Part 12: Genuine Consent
- Contracts 101 – Part 13: Promissory Estoppel
- Contracts 101 – Part 14: Ending the Contract
- Contracts 101 – Conclusion: Protect your Business
Who Should Read this Series?
If you’re a freelancer, think you’re ever going to be a freelancer, if you’re a business person, entrepreneur or just a curious bastard in need of some refuge in the interminable boring world of contract law… then have I got the goods for you. All jokes aside, you need to know when and when not to respect contracts… what constitutes a contract in the eyes of the Australian legal system… and how to assess whether or not you need to employ a lawyer before things get past the point of crisis. This post can save you money off your bottom line… so bookmark it.
Links to precedents have been included to assist you in at least having a cursory ability to enter a discussion about a contract – it’s bamboozle proofing.
Resources for this Series
The bulk of this information is obtained through Australian Business Law 26th edition by Paul Lattimer, Managers and the Law: A guide for Business Decision Makers by Lynden Griggs, Eugene Clark and Ian Iredale, A Guide to Business Law thirteenth edition by John Carvan, John Gooley and Evelyn McRae, Law in Commerce third edition by Brendan Sweeney and Jennifer O’Reillly, as well as through the MBA unit BFA682 Law for Managers taught at the University of Tasmania by Simone Watson in 2009. These resources are highly recommended for improving your understanding about these issues. Many case files hyperlinked within this series are directly accessed via the Austlii database (Australia) and the BAILLI database (United Kingdom).
