The Independent Contractors Act 2006 provides a national unfair contracts scheme for independent contractors. This replaces most state or territory unfair contracts legislation, so far as that legislation previously applied to any services contract of an independent contractor.
Under the Independent Contractors Act 2006, an independent contractor (or a principal) can apply to a court for orders to have their contract (or a part of it) set aside or varied on the grounds that it is ‘harsh’ or ‘unfair’.
When determining if a contract is unfair or harsh, the Court may consider matters as existing at the time the contract was made, such as:
- the terms of the contract
- the relative bargaining strengths of the parties to the contract
- whether any undue influence or pressure was exerted upon, or any unfair tactics were used against, a party to the contract
- whether the contract provides total remuneration that is or is likely to be less than that of an employee performing similar work
- any other matters the Court considers relevant.