Director of Consumer Affairs Victoria v Domain Register Pty Ltd

In the case of Director of Consumer Affairs Victoria v Domain Register Pty Ltd, the dispute centred on whether Domain Register Pty Ltd's conduct, involving the sending of unsolicited notices to businesses offering to register a ".com" domain name equivalent to their existing ".com.au" domain name, constituted misleading or deceptive conduct in breach of s 18 of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). The notices were designed to appear similar to an invoice, which raised concerns about their true nature as commercial offers. Additionally, the case examined whether "unsolicited services" in s 40(3) of the ACL includes services to be provided in the future.

The primary legal issues revolved around determining if Domain's conduct was likely to mislead or deceive the recipients and if the notices constituted an offer for an unsolicited service. The court had to decide whether Domain's actions breached s 40(3) of the ACL, which imposes restrictions on unsolicited services. The reasoning included an examination of the notices' appearance and content, and whether they could be considered as invoices or other documents under s 40(3) of the ACL. The court concluded that Domain's conduct did not fall within the prohibitions of s 40(3) because the notices did not meet the criteria of being an invoice or other document as intended by that section.

Ultimately, the court found that Domain's conduct did not constitute misleading or deceptive conduct under s 18 of the ACL. The notices, although unsolicited, were not found to be deceptive as they did not hide their true nature as commercial offers. The court's reasoning was based on the lack of evidence showing that the notices misled the recipients into believing they were anything other than commercial communications. The final orders directed the parties to confer and prepare draft minutes to give effect to these reasons and to propose a timetable for submissions and a hearing on the appropriate relief. If the parties could not agree, they were to file competing draft minutes and short submissions.