The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has instituted legal proceedings against Orbit Homes Australia Pty Ltd in relation to alleged misleading advertising of its homes.
The ACCC alleges that between March and May 2001 Orbit Homes advertised a range of its home packages with representations that a number of features were to be provided at no cost to purchasers. The ACCC alleges these features included an H-class slab foundation, timber fencing, front landscaping, carpet, driveway and path. The ACCC alleges Orbit Homes passed on some or all of the cost of those features to the homebuyer. The advertisements appeared in a Melbourne newspaper and also on Orbit Homes' Internet website.
The ACCC is seeking:
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declarations from the Court that the advertising contravened the Trade Practices Act
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injunctions restraining Orbit Homes from making similar representations in future
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an order requiring Orbit Homes to publish a public disclosure notice in a major Victorian newspaper and also on its website; and
- an injunction requiring Orbit Homes to implement a trade practices corporate compliance program
A directions hearing for the matter is listed for Monday 29 October 2001 at the Federal Court in Melbourne.