U3 AO2 2b lesson 2 CAV Flashcards
(20 cards)
CAV
Consumer Affairs Victoria is a statutory body,
established because of Victorian parliament passing legislation: Australian Consumer and Fair Trading Act (Vic) 2012
purpose of CAV: dispute resolution process
In limited circumstances, provide consumers, traders and landlords with a dispute resolution process
purpose of CAV: info + guidance
- Provide information + guidance to educate people about consumer laws about the rights and responsibilities of businesses and consumers
purpose of CAV: accessible
- Providing accessible dispute resolution services
CAV appropriate: willing to settle
*Parties are willing to settle, therefore increasing the likelihood of a successful resolution.
CAV appropriate: cost and delays
- Parties wish to avoid costs and delays associated with resolving disputes through the courts or VCAT.
CAV appropriate: attempted
*Parties have attempted to resolve the dispute themselves.
CAV appropriate: CAV jurisdiction
- The dispute falls within CAV’s jurisdiction
CAV inappropriate: already ruled matter
- The court or VCAT has already ruled on the matter, or the case is currently waiting to be heard.
CAV inappropriate: conciliation
- One or both parties are not willing to attend and participate in conciliation.
CAV inappropriate: better method
- There is a better method of resolving the dispute, including via an alternate organisation that is better suited to dealing with the matter.
CAV inappropriate: jurisdiction
*The dispute is initiated by a landlord or business.
*The dispute is a class action.
strength of CAV: delays
can provide a quick and relatively efficient method for parties to resolve their dispute without the delays and stress associated with going to trial whilst also allowing for impartial processes using a conciliator.
bcs X extensive pre-trial proceedur+ X rules of evidence + proceedure
strength of CAV: free
Another strength of CAV is that it is free, this means that if a party cannot afford to bring their claim through the courts or VCAT, they are still able to participate in the justice system - ensuring fairness
strength of CAV: conciliation over the phone
CAV’s conciliation process can be conducted over the phone, enable individuals in rural areas to engage (access) in the process CAV uses the informal process of conciliation which is less intimidating, formal and complex in comparison to trials allowing individuals to be better informed of the process
weakness of CAV: complex and disagreement
CAV is not appropriate for large and complex disagreements, including those with difficult legal questions or several different parties, which can only be resolved by a court or tribunal that has greater expertise in the law.
weakness of CAV: enforcement
CAV has no powers to enforce any decisions reached by the parties in conciliation. Unless the parties have entered into a binding agreement at conciliation, then one of the parties may just ignore the outcome. This can leave the parties no better off than they were before conciliation.
weakness of CAV: limited assistance
CAV’s assistance is limited mainly to consumer and CAV disputes, meaning that it has no power to assist with many other types of civil disputes.
CAV jurisdiction acts
a complaint against a business by a consumer who believes the Australian Consumer Law and Fair Trading Act 2012 (Vic) has been breached.
a complaint against a landlord by a tenant who believes the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (Vic) has been breached
when does CAV assist
- CAV will only assist parties if they have tried to resolve the issue first and have failed
