New South Wales Consolidated Acts

FAIR TRADING ACT 1987 - SECT 4

4 Definitions

(1) In this Act, except the ACL--

"acquire" includes--

(a) in relation to goods--acquire by purchase or exchange or by taking on lease, on hire or on hire-purchase,

(b) in relation to services--accept, and

(c) in relation to an interest in land--acquire by purchase or exchange or by taking on lease, or in any other manner in which an interest in land may be acquired for valuable consideration.

"advisory committee" means a committee appointed under section 9B.

"assisted person" means a person granted legal assistance under section 13.

"authorised person" means a person authorised by the Secretary.

"banker" has the same meaning as in section 2 (1) of the ACL.

"business" includes--

(a) a business not carried on for profit, and

(b) a trade or profession.

"consumer" has the same meaning as in section 3 of the ACL.

"consumer contract" has the same meaning as in section 2 (1) of the ACL.

"consumer goods" has the same meaning as in section 2 (1) of the ACL.

"dangerous" , in relation to goods, means likely to cause death or to cause injury to the body or health of a person, whether the death or injury is likely to be caused directly or indirectly and whether or not because of--

(a) a failure to include with or on the goods any instructions for their use,

(b) the inclusion with or on the goods of instructions for the use of the goods that are inaccurate or inadequate,

(c) a failure of the goods to function in the manner represented by the manufacturer or supplier,

(d) the goods not being of the quality represented by the manufacturer or supplier, or

(e) the necessity for, or possibility of, the use of the goods with other goods.

"defective goods action" has the same meaning as in section 2 (1) of the ACL.

"Department" means the Department of Customer Service.

"disposal" , in relation to an interest in land, means disposal by sale, exchange or lease or by any other method by which an interest in land may be disposed of for valuable consideration.

"document" has the same meaning as in section 2 (1) of the ACL.

"embargo notice" means a notice given under section 23D.

"employee" means--

(a) the Secretary or any other Public Service employee employed in the Department, or

(b) any person engaged by the Secretary (with the approval of the Minister and on such terms as the Minister thinks fit) to assist in the exercise of the Secretary's functions.

"goods" has the same meaning as in section 2 (1) of the ACL.

"interest" , in relation to land, means--

(a) a legal or equitable estate or interest in the land,

(b) a right of occupancy of the land, or of a building or part of a building erected on the land, conferred by shares, or by virtue of a contract to purchase shares, in a corporation that owns the land or the building, or

(c) a right, power or privilege over, or in connection with, the land.

"interim ban" has the same meaning as in section 2 (1) of the ACL.

"investigator" means an employee appointed by the Secretary under section 18 as an investigator.

"permanent ban" has the same meaning as in section 2 (1) of the ACL.

"price" includes a charge of any description and the price of goods or services acquired by a person (whether or not by purchase) is the amount paid or payable for them or, if such an amount is not specified because acquisition of the goods or services is part only of a transaction for which a total amount is paid or payable, is--

(a) the lowest amount for which the goods or services could reasonably have been acquired from the supplier at the time of the transaction or, if not from the supplier, from another supplier, or

(b) if they could not reasonably have been acquired separately from any supplier--their value at the time of the transaction.

"product related service" has the same meaning as in section 2 (1) of the ACL.

"public authority" means a public or local authority constituted by an Act (whether or not a statutory body representing the Crown) or a Public Service agency.

"published" , in relation to a statement, includes--

(a) inserted in a newspaper or other publication,

(b) publicly exhibited--

(i) in, on, over or under a building, vehicle, aircraft or ship, or in any other place (whether or not a public place and whether on land or water), or

(ii) in the air in view of persons who are, or are passing, in or on a street or public place,

(c) contained in a document sent or given to a person or thrown or left upon, or at, premises occupied by a person,

(d) broadcast by radio or television,

(e) reproduced electronically, and

(f) made verbally.

"recall notice" has the same meaning as in section 2 (1) of the ACL.

"regulations" means regulations made under section 92.

"rely on" has the same meaning as in section 2 (1) of the ACL.

"safety warning notice" means a notice published under section 129 of the ACL.

"Secretary" means--

(a) the Commissioner for Fair Trading, Department of Customer Service, or

(b) if there is no person employed as Commissioner for Fair Trading--the Secretary of the Department.

"services" includes any rights (including rights in relation to, and interests in, real or personal property), benefits, privileges or facilities that are, or are to be, provided, granted or conferred in trade or commerce, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes the rights, benefits, privileges and facilities that are, or are to be, provided, granted or conferred under--

(a) a contract for or in relation to--

(i) the performance of work (including work of a professional nature), whether with or without the supply of goods,

(ii) the provision of gas or electricity or the provision of any other form of energy,

(iii) the provision, or making available for use, of facilities for amusement, entertainment, recreation or instruction, or

(iv) the conferring of rights, benefits or privileges for which remuneration is payable in the form of a royalty, tribute, levy or similar exaction,

(b) a contract of insurance,

(c) a contract between a banker and a customer of the banker entered into in the course of the carrying on by the banker of the business of banking,

(d) a contract for or in relation to the lending of money,

(e) a site agreement (within the meaning of the Residential (Land Lease) Communities Act 2013 ), or

(f) a service contract (within the meaning of the Retirement Villages Act 1999 ),

but does not include the supply of goods or the performance of work under a contract of employment.

"small business contract" has the same meaning as in section 23 (4) of the ACL.

"statement" includes a representation of any kind, whether made by means of--

(a) words, maps, plans or drawings, or

(b) pictorial representation or design,

or by any combination of those means.

"supplier" means a person who, in the course of a business, supplies goods or services.

"supply" includes (except in Part 6A)--

(a) in relation to goods--

(i) supply (including re-supply) by way of sale, exchange, lease, hire or hire-purchase, and

(ii) exhibit, expose or have in possession for the purpose of sale, exchange, lease, hire or hire-purchase or for any purpose of manufacture or trade,

(b) in relation to services--provide, grant or render for valuable consideration, and

(c) in relation both to goods and to services--donate for promotional purposes.

"the ACL" means the Australian Consumer Law (NSW) .

"this Act" includes regulations.

"trade or commerce" includes any business or professional activity.

"Tribunal" means the Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

"unsafe consumer goods" means consumer goods that will or may cause injury to any person or a foreseeable use (or misuse) of which will or may cause injury to any person.

"unsafe product related services" means product related services of a particular kind supplied in trade or commerce, a result of the supply of which is that--

(a) any consumer goods will or may cause injury to any person, or

(b) a reasonably foreseeable use (including misuse) of any consumer goods will or may cause injury to any person.

Note : The Interpretation Act 1987 contains definitions and other provisions that affect the interpretation and application of this Act.

(2) Sections 2 (2) (Definitions), 11 (References to acquisition, supply and re-supply) and 13 (Loss or damage to include injury) of the ACL apply to all of the provisions of this Act in the same way as those sections apply to the provisions of the ACL.

(6) Where a provision of this Act (other than the ACL) is inconsistent with a provision of an Act specified in Schedule 1 or prescribed for the purposes of this subsection, or a provision of an instrument made under an Act so specified or prescribed, the provision of the Act so specified or prescribed, or of the instrument, prevails.

(7) In this Act, a reference to the making of a representation includes a reference to the publishing of a statement.

(8) In this Act--

(a) a reference to a function includes a reference to a power, authority and duty, and

(b) a reference to the exercise of a function includes, where the function is a duty, a reference to the performance of the duty.

(9) In this Act, a reference to a particular section of this Act does not include a reference to the same section of the ACL.

Note : For example, a reference to section 66 of this Act does not include a reference to section 66 of the ACL.

(10) Notes included in this Act do not form part of this Act.

Editorial note : References in this Act to any other Act or legislation administered by the Minister are to be construed in accordance with clause 4 of the Administrative Arrangements (Administration of Acts--Amendment No 4) Order 2015 .