The Justice Legislation Amendment Bill 2008 (pdf) has been introduced into the Queensland Parliament to amend the Consumer Credit Code (the Code) to ensure particular contracts for the sale of land or goods by instalments (known as ‘terms sale of land contracts’, ‘conditional sale agreements’ and ‘tiny terms contracts’) are credit contracts under the Code.

A
terms sale of land (a sale on ‘vendor’s terms’ or a ‘wrap loan’) is a
sale of land under which the purchase price is payable by instalments.
The vendor lets the purchaser into possession but retains title until
conveyance following the final payment.

A conditional
sale agreement (or ‘Romalpa agreement’) is a sale of goods under which
the purchase price is payable by instalments.  The seller delivers the
goods to the buyer but retains title until the final payment. 

Tiny
terms contracts are contracts where the cost of credit is incorporated
into the cash price and the transaction is represented as a sale of
goods by instalment (without any credit charges). 

Technical
amendments have also been drafted to capture contracts containing
instalment payments that exceed the cash price of the goods, which are
related to the contract for the actual sale of the goods. 

Once the
amendments are passed by the Queensland Parliament, industry will be
provided with at least 6 months before they are commenced.

Justice Legislation Amendment Bill 2008 – Explanatory Notes (pdf)