Trade practices – Consumer protection – Unconscionable conduct – Where s 21 of Australian Consumer Law ("ACL") relevantly provided that persons must not, in trade or commerce, in connection with supply of services, "engage in conduct that is, in all the circumstances, unconscionable" – Where s 224(1) of ACL relevantly provided that Court may order person to pay pecuniary penalty when that person "knowingly concerned in, or party to, the contravention" of provisions including s 21 – Where Productivity Partners Pty Ltd ("College") offered vocational education and training ("VET") courses funded through Commonwealth loan program – Where College altered enrolment process to remove safeguards ameliorating known risks of unwitting or unsuitable persons becoming and remaining enrolled at date on which VET fees became claimable by College from Commonwealth – Where Mr Wills was Chief Operating Officer of parent company of College and, for part of relevant period, acting Chief Executive Officer of College – Whether College engaged in unconscionable conduct in contravention of s 21 of ACL – Whether Mr Wills knowingly concerned in or party to that contravention.
Words and phrases – "accessorial liability", "community expectations", "community standards", "conscience", "corporate systems liability", "ecclesiastical", "essential elements", "essential facts", "essential matters", "intentionally participated", "involved", "knowingly concerned", "moral obloquy", "normative standard", "offensive to conscience", "sharp practice", "societal norms of acceptable commercial behaviour", "unconscionable conduct", "values of Australian common law".
Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) – s 139B, Sch 2 (Australian Consumer Law), ss 21, 22, 224(1).
Judgment date
Case number
S118/2023
S116/2023
Before
Gageler CJ, Gordon, Edelman, Steward, Gleeson, Jagot, Beech-Jones JJ
Catchwords