Mitsubishi Motors Australia Ltd & Anor v Begovic

The High Court of Australia considered an appeal by Mitsubishi Motors Australia Ltd and another party against a decision of the Full Federal Court concerning the interpretation of the *Competition and Consumer Act 2010* (Cth) (CCA). The dispute arose from allegations that the appellants engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct in contravention of section 18 of the CCA by representing that certain vehicles were new when they had been previously used as demonstrator vehicles.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the representations made by the appellants regarding the vehicles' status as "new" were misleading or deceptive, having regard to the fact that these vehicles had been used as demonstrator vehicles. This required the court to consider the objective test for misleading or deceptive conduct under the CCA, focusing on the likely effect of the representations on a reasonable consumer.

The High Court affirmed the principles governing misleading or deceptive conduct under section 18 of the CCA. It held that a representation is misleading if it leads a consumer into error. The court found that the use of a vehicle as a demonstrator, even if for a limited period and mileage, meant that it was not "new" in the ordinary sense of the word. Therefore, representing such vehicles as new was likely to mislead or deceive reasonable consumers, constituting a contravention of section 18. The appeal was dismissed.