A no-reliance clause is a contractual provision under which the buyer acknowledges that they have not relied on any representation or statement by the seller other than those expressly set out as warranties in the agreement. No-reliance clauses are intended to limit the seller’s exposure to claims for misleading or deceptive conduct under section 18 of the Australian Consumer Law (Schedule 2 to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)) or its statutory predecessors.
The enforceability of no-reliance clauses against statutory misleading and deceptive conduct claims is qualified. Australian courts have held that such clauses cannot fully exclude liability for statutory misleading conduct, particularly where reliance was reasonable in the circumstances. Buyers should treat them with care; sellers should not assume they provide full protection.