Wisdom Properties Group Pty Ltd

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has accepted a court enforceable undertaking from Wisdom Properties Group Pty Ltd (Wisdom) in relation to alleged unfair contract terms in its standard Home Building Agreements (Agreement).

Since at least October 2008, Wisdom included in its Agreement certain clauses that allowed it to prevent or control any public statements made by customers about the services provided by Wisdom under the Agreement (Non-disparagement clauses). The Agreement also allowed Wisdom to suspend the customer’s building works if the customer breached the Non-disparagement clauses.

Wisdom has admitted that the Non-disparagement clauses were unfair contract terms within the meaning of sections 23 and 24 of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL).

The relevant undertaking

To address the ACCC’s concerns, Wisdom has undertaken to:

• ensure future Agreements, for a minimum period of three years, do not include the Non-disparagement clauses, or clauses of a similar effect
• not enforce or rely upon the Non-disparagement clauses, or clauses of a similar effect, for all customers that have signed an Agreement that includes the Non-disparagement clauses
• publish a corrective notice on the Wisdom website
• issue a corrective consumer letter to all affected customers who signed an Agreement with Wisdom since 1 January 2015
• establish and implement an ACL Compliance Program.