Ambaras Khan, Mushera Bibi and Onn, Norhusna Emirah and Mohd Najid, Khadijah (2026) Consumer protection in service contracts: a comparative analysis of Malaysia and Australia on unfair terms and implied guarantees. In: The 9th International Conference on Law and Society - Navigating Justice in the AI-Driven Society Through Harmonisation of Laws, 22-24 September 2026, ISTAC, Kuala Lumpur, IIUM Gombak Campus.
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Abstract
The increasing use of AI in drafting and managing standard form service contracts has transformed how such contracts are created and performed. In this changing environment, the regulation of unfair contract terms and the role of implied guarantees have become increasingly important in legal and regulatory analysis. This paper presents a comparative analysis of the Consumer Protection Act (1999) (CPA 1999) and Australia's framework under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) focusing on their treatment of unfair terms in service contracts. This paper further analyses the role of statutory implied guarantees as mandatory constraints on contractual freedom. While the CPA 1999 establishes important protection, challenges lie regarding interpretive coherence and enforcement effectiveness in technologically complex markets. By contrast, the ACL adopts a structured unfairness test and following the reforms introducing civil penalties, provides a comparatively robust enforcement model. This paper argues that guarantees implied in both jurisdictions operate as mandatory statutory mechanisms capable of constraining exclusion clauses and other unfair terms.
| Item Type: | Proceeding Paper (Other) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Consumer Protection, Service Contracts, Unfair Terms, Implied Guarantees |
| Subjects: | K Law > K Law (General) K Law > K1001 Commercial Law K Law > K559 Comparative Law |
| Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button): | Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws > Department of Civil Law |
| Depositing User: | DR NORHUSNA EMIRAH ONN |
| Date Deposited: | 04 Nov 2026 16:32 |
| Last Update: | 04 Nov 2026 16:32 |
| Queue Number: | 2026-10-Q5979 |
| URI: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/132429 |
| Indexed In: | UNSPECIFIED |
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