Heraud v Roy Morgan Research Ltd (No 2)

In *Heraud v Roy Morgan Research Ltd (No 2)*, the Federal Court of Australia considered a dispute between Ms Heraud and Roy Morgan Research Ltd concerning alleged contraventions of the *Australian Consumer Law* (ACL). Ms Heraud claimed that Roy Morgan Research engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct and made false or misleading representations in contravention of sections 18 and 29 of the ACL, respectively.

The central legal issues before the Court were whether Roy Morgan Research had engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct by representing that its research services were independent and objective, when in fact they were influenced by commercial arrangements with third parties. The Court also had to determine whether the representations made by Roy Morgan Research regarding the independence and objectivity of its research were false or misleading, thereby contravening section 29 of the ACL.

Judge Jones found that Roy Morgan Research had engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct in contravention of section 18 of the ACL. His Honour reasoned that the company's representations about the independence and objectivity of its research were likely to mislead consumers into believing that the research was free from commercial bias. This was particularly so given the evidence of commercial arrangements that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research outcomes. The Court applied the established principles for assessing misleading or deceptive conduct, focusing on the likely effect of the representations on a significant number of consumers.

The Court made orders in favour of Ms Heraud, finding that Roy Morgan Research had contravened the ACL.