Andrews & Ors v Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited

The applicants, who were customers of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ), sought to bring a representative proceeding against ANZ concerning alleged breaches of contract and misleading or deceptive conduct in relation to fees charged on certain credit card accounts. The proceeding was brought in the High Court of Australia.

The central legal issues before the High Court were whether the applicants had established a sufficient cause of action to proceed with their representative proceeding, particularly concerning the alleged misleading or deceptive conduct under the *Trade Practices Act 1974* (Cth) and the *Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001* (Cth), and whether the applicants' claims were sufficiently similar to warrant a representative proceeding.

The High Court considered the requirements for a representative proceeding, focusing on the need for common questions of law or fact. The Court analysed the nature of the alleged misleading or deceptive conduct, noting that the applicants' claims were based on the way ANZ communicated its fee structures to a diverse range of customers with varying account types and circumstances. The Court found that the applicants had not demonstrated that the alleged misleading or deceptive conduct gave rise to a common question of law or fact that was sufficiently substantial to justify a representative proceeding, particularly given the individualised nature of the alleged reliance and loss.

The High Court therefore dismissed the application for leave to appeal from the Full Federal Court's decision, which had refused to grant an order authorising the representative proceeding.