Contract law is based on two basic principles: freedom of contract and sanctity of contract. This means that parties have freedom to select their contracting partners and freedom to agree on terms on which they wish to deal with each other. Once the parties make a deal contract, they are bound by its terms. The doctrine of 'privity of contract' provides that no-one has the right to interfere in a contract between two capable parties. In recent years, the contract law principles has been replaced by a number of Acts of parliaments - both state and federal - designed to protect consumers against unfair practices. These Acts are collectively known as consumer protection laws and include:

There are strong links between this section on Consumer Protection and the Credit Law section and you should read them together.