ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines and responds to a thought-provoking 'Discussion Paper to Explore the Scope for Reforming Australian Contract Law'(DP). Reform initiatives may indeed promise fewer directly-measurable benefits than in the European Union and even the United States. Foreign lawyers encounter even more impediments in determining Australian contract law, when advising their clients overseas wishing to deal with Australian parties. Australia's main association for in-house lawyers urged consideration of 'centralisation, so that contract law is accessible in one location', as well as removal of some ambiguity and in particular more uniformity among different legislative regimes impacting on domestic contract law. Simplification and harmonisation should generate further advantages to other firms and hence contributions to the economy in that way. One response is to clarify when and how mandatory provisions of Australian contract law can apply even despite contrary choice of law by the parties.
