PRETEXT:

You have secured a competitive internship with ClickTryBuy ('CTB'). CTB is a start-up business, based in Wollongong, that designs augmented reality (AR) software for use in online retail stores. CTB's software suite allows customers to 'hold', 'inspect' and 'try on' 3D renderings of products before they make a purchase. Within your first rotation through the company, you have been assigned to work with a team that is performing risk and compliance assessments for the company's latest AR software: Change Room 3.0. Your supervisor, Che, has just emailed you the following urgent task:

Dear Intern,

To fulfil our 2022 risk assessment strategy, our team is required to investigate whether all aspects of CTB's new AR software - Change Room 3.0 - comply with Australian laws and regulations. Since you are currently studying 'LAW101' at university, we would like you to tackle some preliminary questions concerning the legal and regulatory context of this software.

Q5. Given that CTB is involved in the design of software, we are unsure whether we are engaging in a 'trading practice' for the purposes of s 12 of the Consumer Protection Act 2016 (Cth)*. It is our understanding that the term 'trading practice' is not defined in the Act and therefore some interpretation is required. To this end:

(a) Explain the general approach that a Court would take to the statutory interpretation of 'trading practice';

(b) Discuss whether this approach is consistent with the doctrine of the separation of powers.