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The Commonwealth government has taken a step towards supporting the use of the Internet as a means for forming legally binding transactions by enacting the Electronic Transactions Act 1999 (Cth), which makes electronic contracts legal, and recognises the legality of electronic signatures under s 10, although it does not prescribe any attributes that the signature must have in order to be legally recognised. As mentioned in Traditional Contract Laws - Application to Electronic Contracts the time of dispatch and the time of receipt of an email that purports to make an offer or acceptance can be fundamental to whether a contract was formed. This is covered in the Act as follows:
Section 14(1) – If an electronic communication enters a single information system outside the control of the originator, unless otherwise agreed between the parties, the dispatch of the electronic communication is taken to occur when it enters that information system.
Section 14(3) – If the addressee of an electronic communication has designated an information system for the purpose of receiving electronic communications, unless otherwise agreed between the parties, the time of receipt of the electronic communication is when the communication comes to the attention of the addressee.
However, contracts specifically have not been incorporated into the Act, and as yet no court has applied these rules in the context of an electronic contract. Therefore, until such time, this area will remain uncertain.
Electronic Transactions Act 1999 (Cth) s 10
Electronic Transactions Act 1999 (Cth) s 14(1)
Electronic Transactions Act 1999 (Cth) s 14(3)
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Kirsty Newman 10:04, 26 Oct 2004 (EST)
