Untitled document

Hire-Purchase (Further Amendment) Act 1997

Act No. 74/1997

TABLE OF PROVISIONS

Section	Page
PART 1—PRELIMINARY	1

1.	Purposes	1
2.	Commencement	2

PART 2—AMENDMENT OF HIRE-PURCHASE ACT 1959 3

3.	Application of Hire-Purchase Act 1959	3
4.	Definitions	4

PART 3—AMENDMENT OF GOODS ACT 1958 5

5.	New Part V inserted in Goods Act 1958	5
PART V—RIGHTS OF HIRERS UNDER HIRE-
PURCHASE AGREEMENTS	5
120. Definitions	5
121. Hirer's right to surplus if goods repossessed by owner	6

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NOTES 9

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Victoria

No. 74 of 1997

Hire-Purchase (Further Amendment)

Act 1997†

[Assented to 25 November 1997]

The Parliament of Victoria enacts as follows:

PART 1—PRELIMINARY

1. Purposes

The purposes of this Act are—

(a) to amend the Hire-Purchase Act 1959 to limit its application to certain hire-purchase agreements;

Hire-Purchase (Further Amendment) Act 1997

Act No. 74/1997 s. 2

(b)

to amend the Goods Act 1958 to provide if the goods are repossessed by the owner.

2. Commencement

(1) This Part comes into operation on the day on

which this Act receives the Royal Assent.

(2) Subject to sub-section (3), the remaining

provisions of this Act come into operation on a

day or days to be proclaimed.

(3) If a provision referred to in sub-section (2) does

not come into operation before 1 July 1998, it

comes into operation on that day.

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Hire-Purchase (Further Amendment) Act 1997

s. 3 Act No. 74/1997

PART 2—AMENDMENT OF HIRE-PURCHASE ACT 1959

3. Application of Hire-Purchase Act 1959

No. 6531.	In section 1 of the Hire-Purchase Act 1959, for
Reprint No. 3
as at 27	sub-section (4) substitute—
November
1991. Further	"(4) Subject to sub-sections (4A) and (4B), this
amended by
Nos 41/1995,	Act does not apply to a hire-purchase
35/1996 and	agreement or any agreement made in
19/1997.	connection with a hire-purchase agreement entered into on or after the commencement of Part 2 of the Hire-Purchase (Further
Amendment) Act 1997.

(4A) This Act applies to a hire-purchase

agreement and any agreement made in
connection with a hire-purchase agreement
entered into and in operation immediately
before the commencement of Part 2 of the
Hire-Purchase (Further Amendment) Act

1997.

(4B) Sections 24 and 25 apply to a hire-purchase

agreement made in connection with such an
agreement if the agreement is entered into
within 2 years after the commencement of
Part 2 of the Hire-Purchase (Further

agreement for farm machinery and any reference to a notice in the form of the Fourth Schedule were a reference to a notice in the form required under the agreement.

(4C) An owner must not repossess farm

machinery under a hire-purchase agreement to which sub-section (4B) applies unless the owner gave to the hirer at the time that the
agreement was made a copy of sections 24
and 25, receipt of which was acknowledged
in writing by the hirer.".

Hire-Purchase (Further Amendment) Act 1997

Act No. 74/1997 s. 4

4. Definitions

In section 2 of the Hire-Purchase Act 1959
insert—

' "farm machinery" means—

(a)	a harvester, binder, tractor, plough or other agricultural implement;
(b)	a motor truck used for the purposes of a farming undertaking or any other business involving the cultivation of the soil, the gathering of crops or the rearing of livestock;'.

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Hire-Purchase (Further Amendment) Act 1997

s. 5 Act No. 74/1997

PART 3—AMENDMENT OF GOODS ACT 1958

5. New Part V inserted in Goods Act 1958

No. 6265.	After Part IV of the Goods Act 1958 insert—
Reprint No. 8
as at 22
January 1992.	'PART V—RIGHTS OF HIRERS UNDER HIRE-

PURCHASE AGREEMENTS

120. Definitions

(1) In this Part—

"hire purchase agreement" includes—

(a)	an agreement for the hire or letting of goods with an option to purchase; and
(b)	goods by instalments (whether the agreement describes the

an agreement for the purchase of otherwise)—

but does not include an agreement—

(c)	to which the Hire-Purchase Act 1959 applies; or
(d)	goods comprised in the agreement

under which the property in the agreement or any time before the delivery of goods; or

(e)	that is a regulated contract within the meaning of the Credit Act 1984; or
(f)	that is a credit contract within the meaning of the Consumer Credit (Victoria) Code.

Hire-Purchase (Further Amendment) Act 1997

Act No. 74/1997 s. 5

"owner" means a person who lets, hires or

agrees to sell goods under a hire-
purchase agreement and includes a
person to whom the owner's property in
the goods or any of the owner's rights
or liabilities under the agreement have
passed by assignment or by operation
of law;

"hirer" means a person to whom goods are

let, hired or agreed to be sold under a
hire-purchase agreement and includes a
person to whom the hirer's rights or
liabilities under the agreement have
passed by assignment or by operation
of law.

(2) A reference in this Part to taking possession

by an owner of goods comprised in a hire-
purchase agreement does not include a
reference to taking possession by the owner
as a result of the voluntary return of the
goods by the hirer.

121.  Hirer's right to surplus if goods repossessed by owner

(1) If an owner takes possession of goods

comprised in a hire-purchase agreement and
the agreement is neither reinstated nor
finalised by the hirer, the hirer may recover

from the owner—

(a)	if the owner sells or disposes of the goods, an amount equal to the proceeds of the sale of the goods; or
(b)	if the owner does not sell or dispose of the goods or fails to sell or dispose of the goods as soon as reasonably practicable after taking possession of the goods (or such other time as the

Hire-Purchase (Further Amendment) Act 1997

s. 5	Act No. 74/1997
owner and the hirer agree), an amount equal to the value of the goods at the time that the owner took possession of the goods—

less any amounts which the owner is entitled
to deduct from those proceeds under this
section.

(2) An owner who sells or disposes of goods under sub-section (1) is entitled to deduct from the proceeds of sale or the value of the

goods, as the case requires, only the

following amounts—

(a)	the total amount owed by the hirer under the hire-purchase agreement at the time the owner took possession of the goods, not being an amount greater than the amount required to discharge the agreement; and
(b)	the reasonable expenses of the owner incurred in taking possession of the goods; and
(c)	any amount reasonably incurred by the owner on the storage, repair or maintenance of the goods; and
(d)

the reasonable expenses incurred in whether or not the goods have subsequently been sold or disposed of by the owner.

(3) In this section "value of the goods" means the best price reasonably obtainable by the owner at the time the owner took possession

of the goods.

(4) The onus is on the owner to prove that the

price obtained for the goods was the best

Hire-Purchase (Further Amendment) Act 1997

Act No. 74/1997 s. 5

price reasonably obtainable at the time that

the owner took possession of the goods.'.

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Hire-Purchase (Further Amendment) Act 1997

Notes Act No. 74/1997

NOTES

†

Minister's second reading speech—

Legislative Assembly: 18 September 1997

Legislative Council: 29 October 1997

The long title for the Bill for this Act was "to amend the Hire-Purchase
Act 1959 and the Goods Act 1958 and for other purposes."