Private Law Theory

ABSTRACT
Safeguarding vulnerable market participants is a critical function of consumer protection law. Statutory prohibitions are becoming a common feature of consumer law frameworks and provide a powerful tool to address instances of consumer exploitation. Australia has had unconscionability laws since 1986 and New Zealand introduced theirs in 2022. As the case law demonstrates, Indigenous consumers in both jurisdictions have often been victimised, and questions have been raised as to the efficacy of such laws in protecting these peoples. Against this backdrop, this article evaluates the capacity for the statutory unconscionability provisions in Australia and New Zealand to adequately protect Indigenous consumers and address instances of their exploitation. It also suggests how we can improve efforts in this regard, concluding that the statutory framework has been applied effectively but that more can and must be done.

Giancaspro, Mark, Evaluating the Capacity for the Unconscionability Provisions in the Consumer Laws of Australia and New Zealand to Protect Indigenous Consumers (October 30, 2023), (2023) 30 Competition and Consumer Law Journal 117; University of Adelaide Law Research Paper.