The Federal Court has recently delivered several decisions which must give corporations engaged in retail and financial services some pause for thought - especially in relation to their preparation of standard contract terms and conditions.

This article discusses two recent matters:

• Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Fuji Film & Business Innovation Australia Pty Ltd (2022) FCA928; and
• Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Retail Food Group Ltd (2022) FCA 961

The first decision analyses the far-reaching powers within the Australian Consumer Law to prohibit and strike down unfair contracts.  The second decision relates to the banning of unconscionable conduct in respect of franchise operations.

The recent Federal Court of Australia decision in Australia Securities and Investments Commission v Westpac Banking Corporation (Omnibus) [2022] SCA 515, in which Westpac was penalised an amount in excess of $113M, was informative in respect of the way that the Court will proceed in assessing the conduct of financial service providers.

This article is not intended to traverse all the matters considered in that case, but will instead discuss the way the Federal Court approaches issues of unconscionability in the provision of financial services and products, in light of the principles in section 12CC of the Australian Securities and Investments Commissions Act 2001.