An agent advertises a property as 'walking distance to the beach' when it is actually 2.5 kilometers away. A consumer could potentially claim this as misleading conduct because:
Correct Answer
B) It could mislead a reasonable consumer about how close the beach really is
Under the Australian Consumer Law, conduct is misleading if it could mislead a reasonable consumer. The test is whether an ordinary consumer might be misled about the actual walking distance to amenities, not whether there are specific distance thresholds.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
The ACL test is whether the claim is likely to mislead ordinary members of the audience. Calling a 2.5 km trip 'walking distance' can give a false impression of how close the beach is.
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An agent advertises a property as 'walking distance to the beach' when it requires a 45-minute walk. A buyer purchases based on this representation and later discovers the actual distance. Which legal principle under Australian Consumer Law would most likely apply?