Contracts & Disputes

Implied Term

In plain English

A promise that is part of a contract even though no one wrote it down or said it, because the law or common sense puts it there.

What it means

An implied term is one that the parties did not expressly state but which the law treats as part of the contract. Terms can be implied by statute, by past dealings, by custom in an industry, or by the courts to give a contract 'business efficacy' (to make it work as the parties obviously intended). In Australia, the Australian Consumer Law implies powerful 'consumer guarantees' into contracts for goods and services — for example, that goods are of acceptable quality. These statutory guarantees usually cannot be contracted out of.

How it's used

Even though the contract said nothing about quality, an implied term under the Australian Consumer Law required the new fridge to actually work.

Dealing with implied term in real life?

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