Letter of Intent to Sue (Australia)

Create an Australian Letter of Demand for unpaid debts, invoices, or contract breaches. Covers pre-litigation notice requirements, interest under the Penalty Interest Rates Act 1983 (Vic) / Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW), GST, ASIC debt collection guidelines compliance, legal costs warning, and enforcement consequences. Suitable for all Australian states and territories.

Create a formal cease and desist letter for Australia. Covers IP infringement (Copyright Act 1968, Trade Marks Act 1995, Patents Act 1990, Designs Act 2003), misleading or deceptive conduct (Australian Consumer Law s18), false representations (ACL s29), passing off, and breach of confidence. Includes demands to stop infringing conduct, destroy materials, provide undertakings, and pay compensation. For use in Federal Court or FCFCA proceedings.

Create a formal Australian Complaint Letter to a business or government agency under the Australian Consumer Law and other applicable legislation. This template is designed for consumers and businesses lodging complaints about defective goods, deficient services, misleading conduct, billing errors, privacy breaches, government services, and financial products — covering the full scope of consumer protection rights in Australia. The Australian Consumer Law (ACL), set out in Schedule 2 to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) and applying as a law of each Australian state and territory, provides consumers with powerful and non-excludable rights. Sections 54 to 59 of the ACL establish consumer guarantees for goods — including that goods must be of acceptable quality (s 54), fit for a disclosed purpose (s 55), match their description (s 56), and be accompanied by full title (s 51). Sections 60 to 62 provide consumer guarantees for services — including that services must be rendered with due care and skill (s 60), be fit for any purpose made known to the supplier (s 61), and be completed within a reasonable time (s 62). These guarantees apply automatically to all supplies of goods or services to consumers (defined as individuals purchasing goods or services for personal, domestic, or household use, or businesses purchasing goods worth less than $100,000 for business use). They cannot be excluded, restricted, or modified by any contract term. Where a consumer guarantee failure has occurred, the consumer's remedies depend on whether the failure is major or minor. A major failure includes goods that are unsafe, substantially unfit for purpose, do not match their description, or a reasonable consumer would not have bought them knowing the problem. For a major failure, the consumer can reject the goods and choose between a full refund or replacement, or keep the goods and seek compensation for the reduction in value. For a minor failure, the supplier can choose to repair, replace, or refund. Similar remedies apply to failures in the supply of services under sections 267 and 268 of the ACL. Section 18 of the ACL prohibits conduct in trade or commerce that is misleading or deceptive, or likely to mislead or deceive. Section 29 prohibits specific false or misleading representations about goods or services, including representations about quality, standard, value, sponsorship, or approval. Sections 20 and 21 prohibit unconscionable conduct. A consumer who has suffered loss or damage because of a contravention of these provisions may recover compensation from the supplier under section 236 of the ACL. For financial products and services, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) provides a free, independent dispute resolution service. Consumers must first complain to the financial firm (following the firm's internal dispute resolution process) before lodging an AFCA complaint, unless the firm has failed to respond within 45 days. AFCA can deal with complaints about banking, insurance, superannuation, credit, investments, and financial advice. This complaint letter provides a clear, formal written record of the consumer's complaint — including the legal basis under the ACL, the factual description of the issue, prior resolution attempts, the specific remedy sought, a response deadline, and optional escalation warning to the ACCC, state fair trading agency, AFCA, NCAT, VCAT, or other relevant body. A formal written complaint is an important step before lodging with a regulator or commencing tribunal proceedings, as most regulators require evidence that the consumer first attempted to resolve the complaint directly with the business.

An Invoice Dispute Letter is a formal written communication sent by a business or individual to a supplier disputing all or part of a commercial invoice. In Australia, the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) and general contract law provide significant protections for businesses and individuals who receive invoices that are incorrect, excessive, or not supported by the underlying transaction. This Australian Invoice Dispute Letter template enables you to formally dispute an invoice in a legally effective way, setting out the grounds for the dispute, identifying the amounts in contention, and specifying the resolution you are seeking from the supplier. Invoice disputes are common in Australian commerce and arise in a wide variety of circumstances. A business may receive an invoice for goods or services that were never delivered. An invoice may charge for quantities in excess of those ordered under a purchase order. A supplier may apply incorrect pricing, fail to account for a previously agreed credit note or discount, issue a duplicate invoice for amounts already paid, or incorrectly calculate or apply Goods and Services Tax (GST) under the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (Cth). In each case, the business receiving the invoice has clear legal rights to dispute it and withhold payment of the disputed amount pending resolution. Under the Australian Consumer Law (Schedule 2 to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)), sections 18 and 29 prohibit misleading and deceptive conduct and false representations in trade or commerce in connection with the supply of goods or services. Where a supplier issues an invoice claiming payment for goods or services that were not supplied, or at a price that was not agreed, or in amounts that are incorrect, this may constitute misleading conduct in breach of the ACL. The ACL also contains provisions in Part 3-2 protecting consumers and small businesses against goods that do not meet consumer guarantees of acceptable quality and fitness for purpose (sections 54-55), which may be relevant where the dispute relates to defective goods or services that do not conform to specification. Under general contract law, a party is only obliged to pay for goods or services that were actually supplied and that conform to the contract. Where an invoice claims amounts not supported by an underlying agreement, purchase order, or delivery record, the recipient is entitled to withhold payment of those amounts and to require the supplier to correct or withdraw the invoice. A bona fide invoice dispute, raised in good faith with reasonable grounds, is a complete defence to any claim of late payment interest for the period during which the dispute is being resolved. This template also addresses the common issue of late payment interest. Australian trade credit contracts often include a clause entitling the supplier to charge interest on overdue invoices at a specified rate. However, where an invoice is genuinely disputed, the legal position is that interest does not run on the disputed amount while the dispute is unresolved. The template includes an optional clause formally objecting to any late payment interest claimed on the disputed amount. The letter complies with Australian legal best practices by setting out the dispute in writing (creating an evidentiary record), identifying the specific legal grounds for the dispute, reserving the disputing party's rights under the ACL and at general law, and requesting a specific resolution within a defined timeframe. Sending a formal dispute letter by email (with read receipt) or by registered post creates a clear paper trail that may be important if the dispute escalates to a formal complaint with a consumer tribunal, the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, or court proceedings.

Create an Australian Settlement Agreement for the full and final resolution of a civil dispute, including ongoing obligations, payment terms, mutual release of claims, confidentiality, non-disparagement, and discontinuance of court or tribunal proceedings. This template is designed as a comprehensive settlement document — broader than a simple deed of release — covering the full range of settlement provisions commonly used in Australian commercial, employment, construction, consumer, and personal litigation. A settlement agreement in Australia is a binding contract that resolves a dispute between parties without the need for a court or tribunal to determine the matter. It is the most common method by which civil disputes in Australia are resolved: the overwhelming majority of civil proceedings filed in Australian courts are resolved by agreement before trial. A settlement agreement documents the terms of that resolution, extinguishes the parties' rights to re-litigate the same dispute, and creates new contractual obligations (payment, performance, confidentiality) that are enforceable in their own right. The legal basis for settlement agreements in Australia is the common law of contract, supplemented by civil procedure legislation. Under the Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW) section 26, and equivalent provisions in other states (Civil Procedure Act 2010 (Vic), Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld), Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015 (Vic)), courts actively encourage parties to resolve disputes by agreement at the earliest opportunity. Failing to consider settlement may attract adverse costs consequences. For disputes involving companies, a settlement agreement may be executed as a deed (without the need for consideration) or as a simple contract (with consideration). This template is structured as a simple contract — the mutual obligations and the Settlement Amount are the consideration. Where the parties' solicitors advise that a deed format is more appropriate (e.g. where no payment is being made and the only obligation is a release), the deed format of the au-deed-of-release-mutual template may be preferred. GST implications of settlement payments in Australia are significant. Under the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (Cth), a settlement payment that is in substitution for a taxable supply may be subject to GST. The ATO's GST Ruling GSTR 2001/4 addresses GST and settlement payments in detail. Parties should obtain tax advice before finalising settlement terms, particularly where the dispute relates to the supply of goods or services, employment, or insurance. This settlement agreement includes all essential elements: party identification with ABN/ACN, description of the dispute and any court or tribunal proceedings, settlement amount in AUD with GST provisions, payment method and deadline (EFT, bank cheque, trust account), instalment schedule if applicable, mutual release of all claims including unknown and contingent claims, ongoing performance obligations, discontinuance of proceedings, confidentiality, non-disparagement, non-admission of liability, representations and warranties that the parties have not assigned their claims, governing law (applicable state or territory), and the counterparts and electronic signature provisions required for modern Australian practice.